Pinyin Lesson 11 – Compound Finals and Nasal Finals Group 5&6

LESSON NOTES

Chinese Special Pinyin Final: er

Pinyin Final er is usually considered a Special Final, while some put it in the category of Simple Finals or Compound Finals. Either way, it’s a special sound that kind of has to be in a category of its own.

To pronounce "er", it requires a little bit of tongue movement. Try pronouncing the Simple Final “e” (not the same as the "e" in the English word "bed"), and while pronouncing it, raise the tongue, curl it back a little and then immediately relax it.

Retroflexed Suffix 儿化

The Final “er” only has one syllable, and which is itself. But a lot of the times this sound can be combined with another syllable and is pronounced as a “suffix” of that syllable. And it’s called a “Retroflexed Suffix”, and is written as an “r” after another syllable.

儿化 (ér huà) “Retroflexed Suffix”, is common in Northern Chinese dialects, especially in Beijing.

There are a few variations in the pronunciations of "儿化" depending on the Final used before "er". If you want a little more practice of “儿化”, please comment and let us know, so we can make a video lesson about it.