Learn about Cantonese consonants
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| Hi everyone. |
| Welcome to The Ultimate Cantonese Pronunciation Guide. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn another 8 Cantonese consonants. |
| m, m, n, ng, ng, b-/-p, p, s |
| Are you ready? Then let's get started! |
| The first consonant is... |
| m |
| 媽 (maa1) |
| 咩 (me1) |
| 眯 (mi1) |
| Like the M in the word 'mouse'. |
| m, m (slowly) |
| m, m (slowly) |
| The next consonant is... |
| m (syllabic) |
| 唔 (m4) |
| 唔 (m3) |
| 唔 (m2) |
| This is identical to the previous M sound, except that it's syllabic. This means that you must pronounce and hold the sound longer than the previous M sound so that it becomes its own syllable. It's a little similar to the sound English speakers make when expressing enjoyment about something like food, "mmmmmmmm". Listen to (host name). |
| m, m (slowly) |
| m, m (slowly) |
| The next consonant is... |
| n |
| 拿 (naa4) |
| 腦 (nou5) |
| 糯 (no6) |
| Like the N in the word 'nice'. |
| n, n (slowly) |
| n, n (slowly) |
| The next consonant is... |
| ng |
| 我 (ngo5) |
| 熬 (ngou4) |
| 呆 (ngoi4) |
| Like the NG sound in the word 'sing'. |
| ng, ng (slowly) |
| ng, ng (slowly) |
| The next consonant is... |
| ng |
| 五 (ng5) |
| 吳 (ng4) |
| 伍 (ng5) |
| This is identical to the previous NG sound, except that it's syllabic. This means that you must pronounce and hold the sound longer than the previous NG sound so that it becomes its own syllable. Listen to (host name). |
| ng, ng (slowly) |
| ng, ng (slowly) |
| The next consonant is... |
| b-/-p |
| 巴 (baa1) |
| 啤 (be1) |
| 十 (sap6) |
| This sound is represented by the letter B in the initial position, or the letter P in the final position. It sounds like the P in the word 'span'. There should not be a burst of air when you pronounce this sound. Listen to (host name). |
| b-/-p, b-/-p (slowly) |
| b-/-p, b-/-p (slowly) |
| The next consonant is... |
| p |
| 怕 (paa3) |
| 破 (po3) |
| 鋪 (pou3) |
| This sound is represented by the letter P. It sounds like the P in 'pan'. Make sure that there's a burst of air when you pronounce this sound. Listen to (host name). |
| p, p (slowly) |
| p, p (slowly) |
| The final consonant sound for this lesson is... |
| s |
| 沙 (saa1) |
| 寫 (se2) |
| 梳 (so1) |
| Like the S in the word 'saw'. |
| s, s (slowly) |
| s, s (slowly) |
| Well done! You just learned another 8 consonant sounds in Cantonese. |
| m, m, n, ng, ng, b-/-p, p, s |
| In the next lesson, you'll learn the remaining 6 consonant sounds in Cantonese. |
| How difficult were they to learn? Please comment and share your thoughts. |
| See you in the next Ultimate Cantonese Pronunciation Guide lesson! |
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