In this episode, we’ve talked about Taiwanese dialects, regional differences, and a bit on Taiwan’s early immigrants and development. (These show notes use tables and rich formatting. Please visit the episode webpage for an optimal viewing experience.) Since there are several dialects and accents in Taiwan, what you hear from one native speaker may sound quite different from another. This could be challenging when you learn Taiwanese. We hope this lesson will guide you through different...

In this episode, we’ve talked about Taiwanese dialects, regional differences, and a bit on Taiwan’s early immigrants and development. Please visit the episode webpage for a detailed outline of the episode!

In this episode, we’ve talked about “when” exactly to change tones in a Taiwanese phrase or sentence. In particular, this episode: Tone Change Rules - Part 2 is about the tone change in Pronouns, Verbs & Verb Complements. Please visit the episode webpage for a detailed outline of the episode! If you missed our last episode (Ep 08), which is Part 1 of this discussion, make sure to listen to it first.

  In this episode, we’ve talked about “when” exactly to change tones in a Taiwanese phrase or sentence. In particular, this Tone Change Rules Part 1 episode is about the tone change in Nouns, Time Words, and Measure Words. (These show notes use tables and rich formatting. Please visit the episode webpage for an optimal viewing experience.) TONE CHANGE HELP GROUP WORDS TOGETHER What’s interesting about Taiwanese is that it uses tone changes to help group together ideas and thoughts. In a...

In this episode, we’ve talked about “when” exactly to change tones in a Taiwanese phrase or sentence. In particular, this Tone Change Rules Part 1 episode is about the tone change in Nouns, Time Words, and Measure Words. Please visit the episode webpage for a detailed outline of the episode!

In this episode, we’ve talked about the special tone changes and sound changes of the “-á” suffix in Taiwanese. (These show notes use tables and rich formatting. Please visit the episode webpage for an optimal viewing experience.) THE SUFFIX “-Á” The suffix “-á” is very common in Taiwanese. Historically it derives from “kiánn” (child, son) and later takes on the function of “diminutive suffix” to mean the small or little one, or just to add some color to the noun. For some nouns it’s...

In this episode, we’ve talked about the special tone changes and sound changes of the “-á” suffix in Taiwanese. Please visit the episode webpage for a detailed outline of the episode!

In this episode, we’ve talked about the “Ninth tone” in Taiwanese. (These show notes use tables and rich formatting. Please visit the episode webpage for an optimal viewing experience.) WHAT IS THE NINTH TONE AND HOW DOES IT SOUND? The “Ninth tone” is a “mid rising tone”, which sounds like a higher Fifth tone. It is not an official basic tone and it appears mainly in the following situations: As a result of syllable contractions The first syllable of a triplicated adjective Foreign loanwords...

In this episode, we’ve talked about the “Ninth tone” in Taiwanese. (Please visit the episode webpage for a detailed outline of the episode!

In this episode, we’ve talked about the “neutral tones” in Taiwanese. Please visit the episode webpage for a detailed outline of the episode!

In this episode, we’ve talked about the “neutral tones” in Taiwanese. (These show notes use tables and rich formatting. Please visit the episode webpage for an optimal viewing experience.) When we say “neutral tone”, it’s when words lose their original tones and become “shorter and lighter”, or “neutralized”. In Taiwanese, the neutral tone is called “khin-siann 輕聲”, which can be translated as a “light tone”. In English, a rough analogy might be like how we “de-stress” certain syllables, and...

NOTE: Phil has been out sick these past couple of days, so today's episode will be a re-run of Ep01: Basic Tones.  Don't worry, we'll have a brand new Pronounce it Like a Pro episode two weeks from today. Stay tuned. In this first episode of Pronounce it Like a Pro, we learned the 7 basic tones of Taiwanese. (These show notes use tables and rich formatting. Please visit the episode webpage for an optimal viewing experience.) When we talk about “tone”, there are two parts to it: Pitch:...

NOTE: Phil has been out sick these past couple of days, so today's episode will be a re-run of Ep01: Basic Tones.  Don't worry, we'll have a brand new Pronounce it Like a Pro episode two weeks from today. Stay tuned. In this first episode of Pronounce it Like a Pro, we learned the 7 basic tones of Taiwanese. Please visit the episode webpage for a detailed outline of the episode!

In this episode, we’ve practiced the “nasal” sounds in Taiwanese.(These show notes use tables and rich formatting. Please visit the episode webpage for an optimal viewing experience.) What are “nasals”? Nasals are the sounds that come out of your nose, or both your nose ​and your mouth. In Taiwanese, there are three nasal consonants (m, n, ng) and several nasal vowels. For example, “close the door” in Taiwanese is “kuainn mn̂g”, which has a nasal vowel “-uainn” [ũ̯ãĩ̯], a nasal consonant “m-”...

In this episode, we’ve practiced the “nasal” sounds in Taiwanese. Please visit the episode webpage for a detailed outline of the episode!

In this episode, we’ve explained the basic Taiwanese tone change (also called “tone sandhi”) rules. Here are some key points. Please visit the episode webpage for a detailed outline of the episode!

In this episode, we’ve explained the basic Taiwanese tone change (also called “tone sandhi”) rules. Here are some key points. (These show notes use tables and rich formatting. Please visit the episode webpage for an optimal viewing experience.) Original tone (“citation form”) Every syllable in Taiwanese has a tone and there are in total 7 basic tones. When a monosyllabic word is said in isolation, it is pronounced in its original tone. Changed tone (“sandhi form”) When more...

In this episode, we learned 11 Taiwanese consonants and the important features about these sounds: voiced, voiceless, aspirated, and unaspirated. Please visit the  episode webpage for a detailed outline of the episode!

In this episode, we learned 11 Taiwanese consonants and the important features about these sounds: voiced, voiceless, aspirated, and unaspirated. For those of you who are familiar with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), the chart below is a quick summary for you: Place & Manner of Articulation Voiceless Voiceless Voiced   Aspirated Unaspirated -- Bilabial ph- /pʰ/ p- /p/ b- /b/ Alveolar th- /tʰ/ t- /t/ -- Alveolar affricate (Palatalization) tsh- /tsʰ/ (tshi...

In this first episode of Pronounce it Like a Pro, we learned the 7 basic tones of Taiwanese. Please visit the episode webpage for a detailed outline of the episode!

In this first episode of Pronounce it Like a Pro, we learned the 7 basic tones of Taiwanese. When we talk about “tone”, there are two parts to it: Pitch: High, Mid and LowContour: Flat/Level, Falling, Rising or Stop Tone 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 are the long tones, and Tone 4 and 8 are the short tones that end abruptly in a stop (i.e. -p, -t, -k, or glottal stop, written as “-h”). When we write Taiwanese using the Tâi-lô (TL) Romanization system or the Pe̍h-ōe-jī (POJ) Romanization system,...

Bite-size Taiwanese is a brand new podcast giving you a taste of real, everyday Taiwanese. Co-hosts Phil & Alan will guide you through the ins and outs of the Taiwanese language (Southern Min/Hokkien) with light-hearted, friendly (and occasionally funny) conversations on using this language in contemporary Taiwan. We’re excited to launch 3 podcasts that will help you whether you’re starting from zero, or wanting to brush up and level-up what you already have: The Newbie level podcast,...

Bite-size Taiwanese is a brand new podcast giving you a taste of real, everyday Taiwanese. Co-hosts Phil & Alan will guide you through the ins and outs of the Taiwanese language (Southern Min/Hokkien) with light-hearted, fun (and occasionally funny) bite-sized conversations on how it's used in today's Taiwan.  We're excited to launch 3 podcasts that will help you whether you’re starting from zero, or wanting to brush up and level-up what you already have: The Newbie level podcast,...