Standard Chinese Phonology - Word Stress

Word Stress

The stress pattern of Chinese language is made up of three degrees of stress. There are three stress patterns, which commonly occur in the two-syllable compound words:

  1. Normal Stress + Primary Stress (\ + /)
    • 字画儿 zìhuàr
    • 音乐 yīnyuè
    • 学校 xuéxiào
    • 汽车 qìchē
  2. Primary Stress + Unstressed (/ + o)
    • 父亲 fùqin
    • 喜欢 xǐhuan
    • 东西 dōngxi
  3. Primary Stress + Normal Stress (/ + \)
    • 农村 nóngcūn
    • 社会 shèhuì
    • 热情 rèqíng

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Famous quotes containing the words word and/or stress:

    “The word snob belongs to the sour-grape vocabulary.”
    —Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946)

    “In the stress of modern life, how little room is left for that most comfortable vanity that whispers in our ears that failures are not faults! Now we are taught from infancy that we must rise or fall upon our own merits; that vigilance wins success, and incapacity means ruin.”
    —Agnes Repplier (1858–1950)