Appendix: Pronunciation Guide

Pronunciation Guide

 

Mandarin Chinese is the official state language of China. It is a tonal language, so correct pronunciation is vital to being understood! Below is a simplified guide on the pronunciation of select character names and terms from MXTX’s series to help get you started.

 

Series Names

SCUM VILLAIN’S SELF-SAVING SYSTEM (REN ZHA FAN PAI ZI JIU XI TONG):

ren jaa faan pie zzh zioh she tone

GRANDMASTER OF DEMONIC CULTIVATION (MO DAO ZU SHI):

mwuh dow zoo shrr

HEAVEN OFFICIAL’S BLESSING (TIAN GUAN CI FU):

tee-yan gwen tsz fuu

 

Character Names

SHEN QINGQIU: Shhen Ching-cheeoh

LUO BINGHE: Loo-uh Bing-huhh

WEI WUXIAN: Way Woo-shee-ahn

LAN WANGJI: Lahn Wong-gee

XIE LIAN: Shee-yay Lee-yan

HUA CHENG: Hoo-wah Cch-yung

 

XIAO-: shee-ow

-ER: ahrr

A-: ah

GONGZI: gong-zzh

DAOZHANG: dow-jon

-JUN: june

DIDI: dee-dee

GEGE: guh-guh

JIEJIE: gee-ay-gee-ay

MEIMEI: may-may

-XIONG: shong

 

Terms

DANMEI: dann-may

WUXIA: woo-sheeah

XIANXIA: sheeyan-sheeah

QI: chee

 

General Consonants & Vowels

X: similar to English sh (sheep)

Q: similar to English ch (charm)

C: similar to English ts (pants)

IU: yoh

UO: wuh

ZHI: jrr

CHI: chrr

SHI: shrr

RI: rrr

ZI: zzz

CI: tsz

SI: ssz

U: When u follows a y, j, q, or x, the sound is actually ü, pronounced like eee with your lips rounded like ooo. This applies for yu, yuan, jun, etc.