Chinese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "运动" in Chinese?

Q: How do you pronounce 运动 in Chinese?

运动 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /yn˥˩.tʊŋ˥˩/. It means “sport / exercise; to exercise.” ün-DOONG, both syllables dropping hard. The first vowel is the rounded front ü, written as a plain u because a syllable cannot start with bare ü.

ün-DOONG, both syllables dropping hard. The first vowel is the rounded front ü, written as a plain u because a syllable cannot start with bare ü.

运动 /yn˥˩.tʊŋ˥˩/

yùndòng

Both syllables plunge, with the first compressed and the second fuller — the usual asymmetry in a double-falling pair. The word also contains a nasal contrast: yùn closes at the teeth ridge and dòng at the back of the mouth, which is easier to feel here than usual because the vowels are so different.

Listen: 运动

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Sound it out

yùn The ü vowel: tongue high and front as for "ee" while the lips push forward into a tight circle, closed with the tongue tip at the ridge. The pitch plunges across it.

dòng d with the air held back, then a rounded vowel nearer "oo" than "oh", sealed by the back nasal. Another full descent, so the word drops twice.

Hear it in a sentence

我一个星期运动三次。

Wǒ yí ge xīngqī yùndòng sān cì.

I do sports three times a week.

Listen: 我一个星期运动三次。

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我一个星期运动三次。 opens with wǒ keeping its dip, since 一 has converted to a rising yí before the underlyingly-falling ge. Then xīngqī gives two level syllables, yùn and dòng both plunge, sān holds level, and cì plunges again. Three descents and three plateaus, alternating.

Where English speakers slip

The ü is replaced by a plain "oo" for most learners, giving "woon" — the tongue must stay high and forward while the lips round. Aspirating the d gives tòng. And the two nasals get merged, so the syllables end up rhyming when the first should close at the front and the second at the back.