How to Say Water in Chinese * flexco.com

Imagine yourself wandering through the vibrant streets of Beijing or Shanghai, the tantalizing aroma of street food filling the air. As you approach a vendor, your mouth watering in anticipation, you realize the crucial need to quench your thirst. How would you ask for a refreshing glass of water in Mandarin Chinese, the native language of this vast and ancient land?

The Chinese language, with its rich history and intricate characters, holds a special word for water: 水 (pronounced as “shui”). This simple yet essential word is used in countless everyday situations, from ordering drinks at restaurants to asking for directions to the nearest water fountain. To request a glass of water, you can simply say, “我要一杯水” (“wǒ yào yī bēi shuǐ”), which translates to “I want a glass of water.” The phrase “一杯” (yī bēi) means “a glass,” and adding the word “水” (shuǐ) after it specifies that you are requesting water.

However, if you find yourself in a more formal setting, such as a business meeting or an upscale restaurant, you may want to opt for a more polite and respectful way of asking for water. In such situations, you can use the phrase, “请给一杯水” (“qǐng gěi yī bēi shuǐ”), which translates to “Please give me a glass of water.” The word “请” (qǐng) is a common phrase used to express politeness and respect, indicating that you are making a request rather than simply demanding something.

The Mandarin Chinese Term for Water

The Mandarin Chinese term for water is 水 (shuǐ). It is a common word that is used in everyday conversation and writing. In addition to its literal meaning, 水 can also be used in a figurative sense to refer to other concepts, such as wealth or power. There are many different ways to write 水, depending on the context in which it is being used.

Pronunciation:

The Mandarin Chinese term for water is pronounced “shway.” The “sh” sound is pronounced like the “sh” in the English word “shoe.” The “w” sound is pronounced like the “w” in the English word “water.” The “i” sound is pronounced like the “ee” in the English word “bee.”

Character:

The Mandarin Chinese character for water is 水. It is a simple character that consists of two strokes. The first stroke is a horizontal line, and the second stroke is a vertical line that intersects the horizontal line in the middle. The character 水 can be written in either simplified or traditional form. The simplified form is 水, and the traditional form is 水.

Usage:

The Mandarin Chinese term for water is used in a variety of contexts. It can be used to refer to water in its natural form, such as water in a river or lake. It can also be used to refer to water in a man-made form, such as water in a swimming pool or water bottle. In addition, 水 can be used to refer to other concepts, such as wealth or power.

Simplified Form	Traditional Form	Pinyin	Meaning
水	水	shuǐ	water
水	水	shuǐ	wealth
水	水	shuǐ	power

Pronunciation Guide: Mandarin Water

Mandarin Chinese has four distinct tones: first tone (high and flat), second tone (rising), third tone (falling-rising), and fourth tone (falling). The pronunciation of “water” in Mandarin depends on the tone used:

Tone	Pinyin	Pronunciation
First	shuǐ	“shwee”
Second	shuǐ	“shway”
Third	shuǐ	“shwu-ee”
Fourth	shuǐ	“shway”

The first and second tones are the most common in Mandarin. The third tone is typically used for questions, while the fourth tone is usually used for commands or strong statements.

Pronunciation

In Standard Mandarin, “water” is pronounced as “shuǐ” (IPA: /ʂu̯ɛ̌ɪ̯/). The “sh” sound is similar to the “sh” in “show”, and the “u” is pronounced with a slight off-glide, similar to the “u” in “put”. The tone is a falling-rising tone, starting high and then falling slightly before rising again.

Cantonese Chinese Term for Water

In Cantonese Chinese, the term for “water” is “水” (Jyutping: seoi2). The pronunciation varies slightly from region to region, but it is generally pronounced with a high-falling tone.

Cantonese Dialects

Within the Cantonese language, there are several different dialects, each with its own unique pronunciation for the word “water”. Some of the most common dialects include:

Dialect	Pronunciation
Hong Kong Cantonese	seoi2
Guangzhou Cantonese	seoi2
Taishan Cantonese	seoi2
Toishan Cantonese	seoi2

Tonal Variations

In addition to the regional variations in pronunciation, the tone of the word “water” can also vary depending on the context in which it is used. For example, when used as a noun, “water” is typically pronounced with a high-falling tone. However, when used as a verb (e.g., “to water the plants”), it is pronounced with a low-rising tone.

Pronunciation Guide: Cantonese Water

Cantonese is a widely spoken Chinese dialect, particularly in Hong Kong and Guangdong province. Here’s how to pronounce “water” in Cantonese:

Jyutping Romanization: seoi2
Yale Romanization: seoi2
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet): sɔ́i̯˨

Tonal Contour: The number 2 in Jyutping and Yale indicates a low-rising tone, which means the tone starts low and then rises slightly.

Jyutping	Yale	IPA	Audio
seoi2	seoi2	sɔ́i̯˨

Additional Notes:

The “s” sound in Cantonese is pronounced like the “s” in “sing.”
The “o” sound is pronounced like the “o” in “more.”
The “i” sound is pronounced like the “i” in “sit.”
The tone is crucial for distinguishing the word “water” from other words with similar pronunciations.

Diluting Water in Mandarin Chinese

Diluting water simply means mixing water with something to reduce its strength or concentration. In Mandarin Chinese, there are two verbs you can use to express this action: “xiē” (稀释) and “rǎo” (饶). “Xiē” is the more common verb and can be used in most situations, while “rǎo” is more specific and is used when you want to emphasize the reduction in strength or concentration.

To say “dilute water” in Mandarin Chinese, you would say “xiēshuǐ” (稀释水) or “rǎoshuǐ” (饶水). For example:

“`
我需要稀释一下水。
Wǒ xūyào xīshì yīxià shuǐ.
I need to dilute the water a little.
“`

“`
请给我饶一点水。
Qǐng gěi wǒ rǎo yīdiǎn shuǐ.
Please give me some diluted water.
“`

You can also use “xiē” and “rǎo” to dilute other liquids, such as juice, milk, or soup. For example:

“`
我想要稀释一下果汁。
Wǒ xiǎngyào xīshì yīxià guǒzhī.
I want to dilute the juice a little.
“`

“`
把汤饶一饶。
Bǎ tāng rǎo yī rǎo.
Dilute the soup a little.
“`

Here is a table總結 summarizing the verbs you can use to dilute water in Mandarin Chinese:

Pinyin and Pronunciation

The Pinyin for water is “shuǐ.” The pronunciation is similar to the English word “shway.” The tone is the third tone, which means the pitch of your voice rises slightly and then falls.

Characters

The Chinese character for water is 水. It is a pictograph, meaning it was originally a picture of water. The character is made up of two parts: the left part represents the water itself, and the right part represents a container.

Usage

水 is used in a wide variety of contexts to refer to water. It can be used as a noun, a verb, or an adjective. For example:

水 is a noun when it refers to water itself.
水 is a verb when it means “to water” or “to irrigate.”
水 is an adjective when it means “watery” or “liquid.”

Pluralizing Water in Mandarin Chinese

There are two ways to pluralize water in Mandarin Chinese. One way is to add the plural marker 们 (-men) to the end of the word. The other way is to use the measure word 瓶 (píng). A measure word is a word that is used to quantify a noun. The measure word for water is 瓶 (píng). Here is an example of how to use each method:

Using the plural marker 们 (-men)

水们 (shuǐmen) means “water (plural).” This is the most common way to pluralize water in Mandarin Chinese.

Using the measure word 瓶 (píng)

瓶水 (píngshuǐ) also means “water (plural).” This is a more formal way to pluralize water. It is often used in writing.

Here is a table that summarizes the two ways to pluralize water in Mandarin Chinese:

Method	Example
Plural marker 们 (-men)	水们 (shuǐmen)
Measure word 瓶 (píng)	瓶水 (píngshuǐ)

Lengthening Water in Mandarin Chinese

Lengthening the vowel sound in Mandarin Chinese is a common way to change the meaning of a word. This is also true for the word “water.” When the vowel sound is lengthened, it becomes a different word with a different meaning.

Short Vowel Sound

The short vowel sound in the word “water” is pronounced as “shui.” This word means “water” in the general sense.

Long Vowel Sound

The long vowel sound in the word “water” is pronounced as “shuǐ.” This word has several different meanings, depending on the context in which it is used.

Here are some of the meanings of the word “shuǐ” when the vowel sound is lengthened:

Meaning	Explanation
Water flow	The movement of water, such as a river or stream.
Watery	Containing or resembling water.
Juice	The liquid that is contained in fruits and vegetables.
Wet	Covered or soaked with water.
To water	To apply water to something, such as a plant or field.

What Water Is Called in Mandarin Chinese

水 (shuǐ) is the word for “water” in Mandarin Chinese.

Diluting Water in Cantonese Chinese

In Cantonese Chinese, “diluted water” is written as 兑水 (deui seui). It is typically used to refer to water that has been mixed with another liquid, such as juice or tea.

How to say “diluted water” in Cantonese Chinese

To say “diluted water” in Cantonese Chinese, you can say “兑水 (deui seui)”.

Example Sentences

我想要一杯兑水。 (Ngo seung ho yat bui deui seui.) – I want a glass of diluted water.
请给我兑一杯水。 (Cing bei ngo deui yat bui seui.) – Please give me a glass of diluted water.

Here is a table that summarizes the different ways to say “diluted water” in Chinese:

Simplified Chinese	Traditional Chinese	Cantonese	Pinyin
兑水	兑水	兑水 (deui seui)	deui seui

Pluralizing Water in Cantonese Chinese

When it comes to pluralizing nouns in Cantonese Chinese, the general rule is to add the suffix "-哋" (-dei) to the end of the word. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, and "water" is one of them. The plural form of "water" in Cantonese Chinese is "水哋" (-sui-dei), where the "-哋" suffix is dropped and replaced with "-dei" instead.

Here’s a table summarizing the pluralization of "water" in Cantonese Chinese:

Singular	Plural
水 (-sui)	水哋 (-sui-dei)

Example Sentences

我飲咗一杯水。 (ngo yam leut gaap cup -sui) – I drank a glass of water.
我飲咗好多水哋。 (ngo yam leut hou do -sui-dei) – I drank a lot of water.
水喺度。 (-sui hai do) – The water is here.
水哋喺度。 (-sui-dei hai do) – The water is here.

Cantonese Chinese

Cantonese Chinese is a dialect of Chinese spoken by over 60 million people worldwide. It is the native language of Hong Kong and Macau, and it is also spoken in Guangdong Province, Guangxi Province, and Hainan Province in China. Cantonese Chinese is known for its distinctive tones, and it can be difficult for Mandarin Chinese speakers to understand.

Lengthening Water in Cantonese Chinese

In Cantonese Chinese, there are three ways to lengthen the vowel sound in the word “water” (水). The first way is to add the final consonant “-h” to the end of the word. This creates the word “shuih” (水h), which is pronounced with a long “o” sound.

The second way to lengthen the vowel sound in “water” is to add the final consonant “-m” to the end of the word. This creates the word “shum” (水m), which is pronounced with a long “u” sound.

The third way to lengthen the vowel sound in “water” is to add the final consonant “-n” to the end of the word. This creates the word “shun” (水n), which is pronounced with a long “o” sound.

The following table shows the three ways to lengthen the vowel sound in “water” in Cantonese Chinese:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
水	shui	water
水h	shuih	water (lengthened)
水m	shum	water (lengthened)
水n	shun	water (lengthened)