Pinyin initial: "qu"

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Mouth Mechanics (step-by-step)

1. Start with your teeth close (not clenched), lips relaxed.
2. Smile slightly so the corners of your mouth pull outward (this helps keep the tongue “flat” and forward).
3. Put the front of your tongue high and forward, so it’s very near the front part of the roof of your mouth (just behind the ridge behind your top teeth), but don’t touch the teeth.
4. Create a narrow “channel” for the air: the tongue is close to the roof of the mouth, making a tight passage.
5. Build pressure behind that narrow passage.
6. Release the sound with a clear, light burst of air (aspiration): it should feel a bit like a soft “ch” with extra breath.
7. Immediately shape what comes after:
   • For qu- (as in qu, qun): round your lips tightly as if saying “ü” (like “ee” but with rounded lips).
   • For que-, quan-: start with the same q but glide quickly into a “yü + eh/ɛ”-type mouth shape.
   • For qiong-: start with q and glide into a “y + ‘o’ as in ‘book’” feeling (a tight, high “y” glide into a rounded back-ish vowel).

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English Approximation (how to get close)

Important: This exact sound does not exist as a normal English consonant, so you’ll “build” it from familiar parts.

Approximation A (most practical)

• Use the “ch” in cheese / cheat / cheery, but: 1) Move the tongue more forward and flatter than your usual English “ch,” and
  2) Add a noticeable breathy puff on release, and
  3) For qu-, immediately form ü (rounded-lips “ee”).

Where it matches: the initial “ch” portion of cheese/cheat/cheery.

Approximation B (helpful for avoiding the wrong “ch”)

• Say “t + y” quickly (like the start of “ty” in tune for some speakers), then turn it into a soft “ch”:
  • Think t → quickly slide toward y → it naturally becomes a fronted “ch”.
• Then add the puff of air, and the ü mouth shape if needed.

Where it matches: the front-of-mouth “ty/che” feeling, not the exact English sound.

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Common Mistakes (English speakers)

1. Using English “ch” too far back (like chair).
   • Fix: keep the tongue more forward and the sound lighter.
2. Forgetting the puff of air (making it too “tight” or too “j”-like).
   • Fix: after you release, you should feel a gentle burst of breath.
3. Replacing it with “kw” because of the spelling “qu.”
   • Fix: Mandarin q is not English queen (kw). There is no “k” and no “w” in the consonant.
4. Saying “oo” instead of “ü” after q (for qu, qun).
   • Fix: keep the tongue like “ee” but round the lips like “oo.”
5. Over-hissing like English “sh.”
   • Fix: it’s not sh; it’s a clean, crisp “ch”-type release with breath.

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Practice Pairs (visual anchors)

These English words are approximations to cue your mouth position; they are not exact matches.

Pinyin syllable	Closest English cue	What to copy from English	What to change for Mandarin q
qu- (as in qu1–qu4, qu5)	cheese	the initial “ch”	move it more forward, add a puff of air, then form ü (rounded “ee”)
que-	che- in chess / che- in cherry	the initial “ch”	make the “ch” lighter + puff, then glide into ü + “eh” (not “oo”)
quan-	che- in chess + -an in “Anna” (approx.)	“ch” feeling + open vowel target	after q, keep a quick ü-glide, then an “eh/ɛ” before -n
qun-	ch in chew (only the “ch”)	just the “ch” release	don’t use oo; use ü (rounded “ee”) before -n
qiong-	ch in cheer + -ong (approx.)	“ch” + a quick y glide	keep the tongue high like y, then round into the -ong ending

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Comparisons and caveats (similar sounds to watch out for)

q vs j (both feel “front and flat”)

• q has a clear puff of air on release.
• j is the same general tongue area but without that puff (it sounds “tighter/softer,” closer to a voiced feeling).
• Quick self-check: hold a tissue in front of your mouth—q should move it more than j.

q vs ch (Mandarin “ch”)

• Mandarin ch is made farther back and often feels “heavier,” with more of a retroflex flavor (tongue curled/raised farther back).
• q is forward, “flatter,” and brighter.

q vs x

• x is like a soft, breathy “sh” made forward—it is continuous (no stop/burst).
• q has a stop + burst: you build pressure, then release.

q and the spelling “qu”

• In Mandarin pinyin, qu- is q + ü (not kw).
• You should feel “fronted ch” + “ü”, not “k” and not “w.”

Finals after q (why it matters)

• qu / qun: the vowel is ü-like (tight, front tongue + rounded lips).
• que / quan: you will hear/feel a quick ü-glide before the main vowel (e / ɛ) and then possibly -n.
• qiong: you will hear/feel a quick y-glide into -ong; keep it tight and high at the start so it doesn’t drift into an English “cho-” sound.