XI
It's one of the strange rules of Pinyin that the
initial letter 'x' is pronounced the same way as the initial combination 'sh'.
But 'x' is used instead of 'sh' when the subsequent 'i' is pronouced like any of the 'i' in India, while the 'i' after 'sh' is
pronounced like the 'i' in girl， or the 'u'
in 'church, or the 'e' in 'her'.
'Xi' is one of the more common sounds of
the Chinese language. There are some 133 standard characters that are spoken
'xi'.
xi(1)
息 = information, rest
The morphology of this character goes
like this:
目 = mu(4) = the 'eye' character; this character is not used for
the current word for 'eye'
Add a 'dian' stroke: 丿 (it should only
be a short one); you get:
自 = zi(4) = self
At the bottom, add a 'heart', 心; you get:
息 = information, rest
This character has so many meanings that
using it outside of a set context makes it difficult to understand what one is
talking about. Set contexts can be other words or expression patterns.
信息 = xin(4)xi(1) = message
讯息 = xun(4)xi(1) = message, especially used for text
messages sent from cell phones
休息 = xiu(1)xi(-) = rest (n, v)
**********
xi(2)
习 = to practice
习惯 = xi(2)guan(2) = to be
accustomed with
Not to be confused with:
喜欢 = xi(3)huan(-) = to like
学习 = xue(2)xi(2) = to study, to learn
**********
xi(3)
洗 = to wash (while most Chinese
verbs use two characters in everyday language, this is a common
single-character verb)
洗澡 = xi(3)zao(3) = take a bath
Please note: when two third tones follow
each other, the first of the two is spoken as a second tone. However, in
Pinyin with tone marks, tone mark changes are often not indicated, as this
would make it difficult to identify the meaning of the respective Pinyin word.
One just has to remember that if there are two third tones in a row, the first
is spoken as a second tone.
冲洗 = chong(1)xi(3) = to flush
Sign in train toilets:
请放水冲洗 = Qing(3) fang(4) shui(3)
chong(1) xi(3)! = Please flush! (Lit. Please release water flush!)
*****
喜 = to like; but always used as two-character form:
喜欢 = xi(3)huan(-) = to like
Not to be confused with:
习惯 = xi(2)guan(2) = to be accustomed with
**********
xi(4)
|
