curriculum/challenges/english/blocks/zh-a1-learn-initials/6965fcb4bb6e84e8f942622d.md
To pronounce r, curl the tip of your tongue slightly upward and back, but keep it lower and more relaxed than for zh and ch. The tongue should not press upward. Instead, let it hover gently with the front slightly raised and the sides lowered.
Allow the air to flow smoothly over the relaxed tongue surface. The sound comes from this steady airflow passing through the open, relaxed mouth shape, creating a soft, vibrating quality.
When r combines with the finals e and u, you get the syllables: re and ru.
Let's practice pronouncing these syllables, and then use ru in different tones as an example.
| Pinyin | Character |
|---|---|
rú | 如 |
rǔ | 乳 |
rù | 入 |
I've listened to the audio and practiced pronouncing the initial and syllables.
{
"setup": {
"background": "company3-reception.png",
"characters": [
{
"character": "Wang Hua",
"position": {
"x": 50,
"y": 15,
"z": 1.4
},
"opacity": 0
}
],
"audio": {
"filename": "ZH_A1_pinyin_initials.mp3",
"startTime": 1,
"startTimestamp": 789.76,
"finishTimestamp": 802.54
}
},
"commands": [
{
"character": "Wang Hua",
"opacity": 1,
"startTime": 0
},
{
"character": "Wang Hua",
"startTime": 1,
"finishTime": 1.7,
"dialogue": {
"text": "r",
"align": "center"
}
},
{
"character": "Wang Hua",
"startTime": 3.07,
"finishTime": 3.83,
"dialogue": {
"text": "re",
"align": "center"
}
},
{
"character": "Wang Hua",
"startTime": 5.17,
"finishTime": 6.02,
"dialogue": {
"text": "ru",
"align": "center"
}
},
{
"character": "Wang Hua",
"startTime": 7.55,
"finishTime": 8.38,
"dialogue": {
"text": "rú",
"align": "center"
}
},
{
"character": "Wang Hua",
"startTime": 9.91,
"finishTime": 10.78,
"dialogue": {
"text": "rǔ",
"align": "center"
}
},
{
"character": "Wang Hua",
"startTime": 12.16,
"finishTime": 12.78,
"dialogue": {
"text": "rù",
"align": "center"
}
},
{
"character": "Wang Hua",
"opacity": 0,
"startTime": 13.28
}
]
}