verb / noun HSK 3
Traditional 發音
yīn
pronunciation · to pronounce

Meaning

发音 means 'pronunciation' or 'to pronounce'. It refers to the act of producing sounds when speaking, or the way words are articulated. This is a fundamental concept in language learning and is commonly used when discussing how to correctly say words in any language.

Usage

发音 is used both as a noun (e.g., 'his pronunciation is good') and as a verb (e.g., 'how do you pronounce this word?'). It's extremely common in language learning contexts. Teachers frequently ask students about their 发音, and learners often inquire about correct 发音 for challenging words. The verb form often appears in patterns like '怎么发音' (how to pronounce) or '发音不准' (pronunciation is not accurate).

Examples

  1. 01
    这个字怎么发音
    Zhège zěnme fāyīn?
    How do you pronounce this character?
  2. 02
    她的中文发音很标准。
    de Zhōngwén fāyīn hěn biāozhǔn.
    Her Chinese pronunciation is very standard.

Characters

Common collocations

  • 发音准确
    yīn zhǔn què
    pronunciation is accurate
  • 发音不准
    yīn zhǔn
    pronunciation is not accurate
  • 怎么发音
    zěn me yīn
    how to pronounce
  • 练习发音
    liàn yīn
    to practice pronunciation

Origin

The word combines 发 (to emit/produce) with 音 (sound), literally meaning 'to emit sound'. This straightforward composition reflects the word's meaning of producing speech sounds.

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