American Accent Training for Mandarin Speakers

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The sound system of your native language affects how you hear and pronounce other languages.  When speaking American English, native Mandarin speakers have accent patterns based on first hearing and speaking Mandarin.  Use the chart below to learn more about the Mandarin accent in English.  Click on the individual sounds  for recordings and help with pronunciation. 

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sound

b


t


d


g

v

th (as in “think”)


th (as in “those”)




z


j


n


ng


r


consonant clusters (more than one consonant sound together)


vowels

error pattern

can sound like p or be left off the ends of words

can be left off the ends of words


can sound like t or be left off the ends of words

can sound like k at the ends of words

can sound like f at the ends of words

can sound like s at the start of words
can sound like s at the ends of words

can sound like d or z at the start of words
can sound like voiceless th or z at the  ends of words

can sound like j at the start of words
can sound like s at the ends of words

can sound like ch or zh at the ends of words

can sound like ng or be left off the ends of words

can sound like n or be left of the ends of words

 can sound like “uh” in the middle or at the ends of words

can have sounds left off or have the same errors listed above at the ends of words
can have r/l confusion at the start of words

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Example

robe sounds like rope
tube sounds like too

boat sounds like bow


code sounds like coat,
made sounds like may

pig sounds like pick

leave sounds like leaf

thing sounds like sing
with sounds like wiss

those sounds like dose or zose
breathe sounds like breeth or breeze

zero sounds like jero
buzz sounds like bus

ridge sounds like rich or rizh


thin sounds like thing
moon sounds like moo

thing sounds like thin
sung sounds like suh

bird sounds like bud
paper sounds like papuh

lived sounds like live, 
want sounds like wan, 
words sounds like word
pleasant sounds like present
class sounds like crass