How to pronounce “de” in Chinese
de = d + e,[tɤ].Used in 1 tone and 14 words from HSK 1–3.
Hear it, then say it
Tap play for each tone, then record yourself — your pitch curve is drawn on top of the model.
得到dé dào — to get
Rise from the middle to the top, like the English question “huh?”. The rise must reach the top, not stall halfway.
— model— your pitch· Shape, not score. Scoring lives in the app.
觉得jué de — to think that ...; to feel that ...
No pitch shape of its own: short, light, and pitched by whatever came before it.
— model— your pitch· Shape, not score. Scoring lives in the app.
Same sounds, different word
These words are built from the exact same consonant and vowel. Only the tone tells them apart — which is why tones are not decoration.
of; ~'s (possessive particle)
Neutral tone — short and weightless
to obtain
Second tone — rising
The initial: d
[t]
- What the mouth does
- Tongue tip on the ridge behind the upper teeth, released with no puff of air.
- Closest English sound
- The t in “stop”, not the d in “dog”.
- Where learners slip
- Voicing it like English d — again fine alone, fatal for the d/t contrast at speed.
- Drill that fixes it
- Say “stop… top”, then strip off the s: that first sound is Mandarin d.
The final: -e
[ɤ]
- What the mouth does
- Tongue back and mid-high, lips NOT rounded. The sound has no English twin.
- Closest English sound
- The u in “but” pulled back and up, or the noise you make when someone says something dumb: “uhh”.
- Where learners slip
- Saying the e of “bed”, which is a completely different vowel and the single most common pinyin error.
- Drill that fixes it
- Say “oh”, hold the tongue exactly where it is, then unround the lips into a flat line. That is e.
“de” in real words
Every word below comes from the HSK 1–3 vocabulary, so you can practise on words you will actually meet.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| de | of; ~'s (possessive particle) | 1 | |
| jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ... | 1 | |
| bié de | else | 1 | |
| jì de | to remember | 1 | |
| yǒu de | (there are) some (who are...) | 1 | |
| dé dào | to get | 1 | |
| de huà | if (coming after a conditional clause) | 2 | |
| dǒng de | to understand; to know; to comprehend | 2 | |
| dé | to obtain | 2 | |
| dé chū | to obtain (a result); to arrive at (a conclusion) | 2 | |
| qǔ dé | to acquire; to get; to obtain | 2 | |
| zhí de | to be worth | 3 | |
| dé fēn | to score | 3 | |
| bù dé bù | have no choice or option but to | 3 |
Syllables you might confuse with this one
One sound apart from this syllable — the pairs that make natives mishear you.
Questions people ask about this syllable
How do you pronounce “de” in Chinese?
“de” is the initial d plus the final e, pronounced [tɤ]. Tongue tip on the ridge behind the upper teeth, released with no puff of air. Tongue back and mid-high, lips NOT rounded. The sound has no English twin. It occurs in 1 tone, and the tone changes the word completely.
What does “de” mean in Chinese?
It depends entirely on the tone. de 的 — of; ~'s (possessive particle); dé 得 — to obtain.
Which mistake do English speakers make on “de”?
Voicing it like English d — again fine alone, fatal for the d/t contrast at speed. Saying the e of “bed”, which is a completely different vowel and the single most common pinyin error. Fix it like this: Say “stop… top”, then strip off the s: that first sound is Mandarin d.
The other half is producing it so a native hears the right tone. The free 2-minute check tells you which syllables are actually your weak ones.