Chinese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "小时" in Chinese?

Q: How do you pronounce 小时 in Chinese?

小时 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ɕjɑʊ˨˩˦.ʂʐ̩˧˥/. It means “hour.” shyao-SHRR: a low sagging first syllable with the thin x hiss, then a rising second with a retroflex buzz and no vowel.

shyao-SHRR: a low sagging first syllable with the thin x hiss, then a rising second with a retroflex buzz and no vowel.

小时 /ɕjɑʊ˨˩˦.ʂʐ̩˧˥/

xiǎoshí

A sag followed by a climb, with no conversion since shí rises. The word puts the x and sh contrast directly side by side, which makes it a natural drill: one hiss is thin, forward and made with spread lips, the other dark, hollow and made with the tongue curled back.

Listen: 小时

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Sound it out

xiǎo A thin palatal hiss with the lips spread with the tip down, then a long glide from "ee" through open "ah" toward a rounded finish. The voice sinks to the floor.

shí Now the tongue curls back for the retroflex hiss and simply buzzes in place — no vowel at all. The tone lifts from mid to high, so the word climbs out of its low start.

Hear it in a sentence

我等了一个小时。

Wǒ děngle yí ge xiǎoshí.

I waited for an hour.

Listen: 我等了一个小时。

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我等了一个小时。 opens with wǒ and děng adjacent, both dipping, so wǒ rises. Then le fades, yí is the converted 一 before the underlyingly-falling ge, ge fades, xiǎo dips, shí climbs. Two conversions in a seven-syllable sentence, and three toneless syllables keeping it fluid.

Where English speakers slip

Both initials get produced as a single English "sh", which erases the contrast the word is built on. Say them as a pair. The second syllable additionally acquires an "ee" vowel that does not exist, and the long glide in xiǎo gets shortened to "shao". And the wǒ děng conversion at the start is the usual casualty.