<p>In phonology, the &quot;clean i&quot; sound, IPA <code>/i/</code>, is called &quot;close front unrounded vowel&quot;, which, in Chinese is called:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>闭前不圆唇元音</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The &quot;dirty i&quot; instead, as I learned it, should be the IPA <code>/ɨ/</code>, which is called &quot;close central unrounded vowel&quot;, in Chinese:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>闭央不圆唇元音</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Those are the terms used in phonology, which are (more or less) scientifically validated.</p>
<p>For the &quot;dirty i&quot;, the IPA <code>/ɿ/</code> has also been used, especially by sinologists, to describe the <code>-i</code> sound with the retroflex initials &quot;zh&quot;/&quot;ch&quot;/&quot;sh&quot;, but it's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsolete_and_nonstandard_symbols_in_the_International_Phonetic_Alphabet" rel="nofollow noreferrer">now considered obsolete</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Other characters have been added in for specific phonemes which do not possess a specific symbol in the IPA. Those studying modern Chinese phonology have used ⟨ɿ⟩ to represent the sound of -i in Pinyin hanzi which has been variously described as [ɨ], [ɹ̩], [z̩] or [ɯ].</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>As for colloquial terms, I'm not aware of any, because the pinyin syllables &quot;zhi&quot;, &quot;chi&quot;, &quot;shi&quot;, &quot;zi&quot;, &quot;ci&quot;, &quot;si&quot;, &quot;ri&quot; are said to be pronounced just as their respective initials (声母）“zh&quot;, &quot;ch&quot;, &quot;sh&quot;, &quot;z&quot;, &quot;c&quot;, &quot;s&quot;, &quot;r&quot;, except they are a little bit more loud and clear (响亮). Therefore the addition of the grapheme &quot;i&quot; after them is a romanization convention.</p>
<p>If you need to <strong>describe</strong> the term to someone who isn't familiar with phonology, or pinyin romanization, you can say it in your own words (or mine), but that's subjective. Example:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>更响亮的舌面「衣」音 (衣 is simply used to represent the vowel sound)</p>
<p>A louder and clearer &quot;i&quot; sound, (pronounced with) the blade of the tongue (lateral sound).</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>更细弱的舌尖「衣」音</p>
<p>A thinner and weaker &quot;i&quot; sound, (pronounced with) the tip of the tongue (apical sound)</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-03T14:57:46.400Z
2020-08-05T07:46:09.010Z
2020-08-05T07:46:09.010Z
blackgreen
<p>i in <em>zhi, chi, shi, ri</em>: <strong>舌尖后元音-i</strong></p>
<p>International Phonetic Alphabet[ ʅ ]</p>
<p>i in <em>zi, ci, si</em>: <strong>舌前元音-i</strong></p>
<p>International Phonetic Alphabet[ ɿ ]</p>
<p>They're hard to study for those young student in primary school, so there's a special way to study these syllable, it named <strong>整体认读音节</strong>(Holistic recognition and pronunciation syllables)</p>
<p>i in others such as <em>ji, qi, xi</em>: <strong>前高不圆唇元音-i</strong></p>
<p>International Phonetic Alphabet[ i ]</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-04T01:08:31.603Z
2020-08-04T01:08:31.603Z
T-Pioneer
<p>In the Chinese language, we have a &quot;clean i&quot; sound (for example, when linked to &quot;ji&quot;, &quot;li&quot;, &quot;pi&quot;) and a &quot;dirty i&quot; sound (for example, when linked to &quot;zhi&quot;, &quot;chi&quot;, &quot;zi&quot;, &quot;ci&quot;).</p>
<p>How do Chinese people call these two types of &quot;i&quot; sounds?<br />
I'm using &quot;clean&quot; and &quot;dirty&quot; here, because that's how we call it in my language.</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>

<phonology>
How do Chinese call the sound "i"
# How do Chinese call the sound "i"

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-08-03)

In the Chinese language, we have a "clean i" sound (for example, when linked to "ji", "li", "pi") and a "dirty i" sound (for example, when linked to "zhi", "chi", "zi", "ci").

How do Chinese people call these two types of "i" sounds?  
I'm using "clean" and "dirty" here, because that's how we call it in my language.

Thank you!

**Tags:** phonology

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-08-03. Score: 4

In phonology, the "clean i" sound, IPA `/i/`, is called "close front unrounded vowel", which, in Chinese is called:

> 闭前不圆唇元音

The "dirty i" instead, as I learned it, should be the IPA `/ɨ/`, which is called "close central unrounded vowel", in Chinese:

> 闭央不圆唇元音

Those are the terms used in phonology, which are (more or less) scientifically validated.

For the "dirty i", the IPA `/ɿ/` has also been used, especially by sinologists, to describe the `-i` sound with the retroflex initials "zh"/"ch"/"sh", but it's [now considered obsolete](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsolete_and_nonstandard_symbols_in_the_International_Phonetic_Alphabet):

> Other characters have been added in for specific phonemes which do not possess a specific symbol in the IPA. Those studying modern Chinese phonology have used ⟨ɿ⟩ to represent the sound of -i in Pinyin hanzi which has been variously described as [ɨ], [ɹ̩], [z̩] or [ɯ].

---

As for colloquial terms, I'm not aware of any, because the pinyin syllables "zhi", "chi", "shi", "zi", "ci", "si", "ri" are said to be pronounced just as their respective initials (声母）“zh", "ch", "sh", "z", "c", "s", "r", except they are a little bit more loud and clear (响亮). Therefore the addition of the grapheme "i" after them is a romanization convention.

If you need to **describe** the term to someone who isn't familiar with phonology, or pinyin romanization, you can say it in your own words (or mine), but that's subjective. Example:

> 更响亮的舌面「衣」音 (衣 is simply used to represent the vowel sound)
>
> A louder and clearer "i" sound, (pronounced with) the blade of the tongue (lateral sound).

> 更细弱的舌尖「衣」音
>
> A thinner and weaker "i" sound, (pronounced with) the tip of the tongue (apical sound)


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### Answer by username_2 on 2020-08-04. Score: 0

i in *zhi, chi, shi, ri*: **舌尖后元音-i**

International Phonetic Alphabet[ ʅ ]

i in *zi, ci, si*: **舌前元音-i**

International Phonetic Alphabet[ ɿ ]

They're hard to study for those young student in primary school, so there's a special way to study these syllable, it named **整体认读音节**(Holistic recognition and pronunciation syllables)

i in others such as *ji, qi, xi*: **前高不圆唇元音-i**

International Phonetic Alphabet[ i ]


---

