The house of Babel

Every Chinese book take the pronunciation of suffix “儿(er)” as a big problem. Some books say that is the big part of learning Chinese, if you could not learn suffix “儿(er)”, you are not really learning Chinese. Hearing that, a lot of foreign students got scared.

Suffix “儿” is a a retroflex sound. Curve your tongue a little bit, so you get it. It is very easy, isn’t it?

Suffix “儿” is a pronunciation phenomenon whereby the “儿” in modern Chinese combined with other syllables to give a retroflex sound. After you added that, it sounds cute.

Not all the Chinese put suffix “儿(er)” in their every sentences. It is mainly used in the north of China, like Beijing.

In the south of China, barely could you hear somebody put so many “儿(er)”s behind everything.