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🔗Linking & Assimilation

Linking and assimilation shape the natural flow of speech by smoothly connecting sounds across word boundaries. This guide highlights key processes that make spoken Mandarin sound fluid and native-like.

Linking

Linking occurs when a sound at the end of one word connects directly to the start of the next, often adding an intrusive sound to ease the transition. This happens most with particles and common phrases.

Examples

他买了很多苹果和香蕉 (and)橘子。

tā mǎi le hěn duō píngguǒ hé xiāngjiāo hé júzi.

Hanzi SentencePinyin SentenceEnglish Sentence
☕️ 我喝了杯咖啡。Wǒ hēle bēi kāfēi.I drank a cup of coffee.
🍵 她喝茶聊心事。Tā hē chá liáo xīnshì.She drank tea and chatted about feelings.
🥐 面包配咖啡很香。Miànbāo pèi kāfēi hěn xiāng.Bread with coffee smells great.
🚶‍♂️ 我边走边喝咖啡。Wǒ biān zǒu biān hē kāfēi.I drank coffee while walking.

Linking with 的

Hanzi SentencePinyin SentenceEnglish Sentence
🍰 桌上摆了一盘🍓的草莓蛋糕。Zhuō shàng bǎi le yì pán cǎo méi de dàn gāo.There is a plate of strawberry cake on the table.
🧴 桌上有瓶蓝色的水。Zhuō shàng yǒu píng lán sè de shuǐ.There is a bottle of blue water on the table.
📰 我看了今天的咖啡馆新闻。Wǒ kàn le jīn tiān de kāfēi guǎn xīn wén.I read today’s coffee shop news.
🪑 角落放着几把木头的椅子。Jiǎo luò fàng zhe jǐ bǎ mù tou de yǐzi.There are several wooden chairs in the corner.

Linking with 了

Hanzi SentencePinyin SentenceEnglish Sentence
☕️ 我喝了一杯拿铁。Wǒ hē le yī bēi ná tiě.I drank a cup of latte.
🥖 面包卖完了，店里很忙。Miànbāo mài wán le, diàn lǐ hěn máng.The bread sold out, the shop is busy.
🌧️ 外面下雨了，大家都进来避雨。Wài miàn xià yǔ le, dà jiā dōu jìn lái bì yǔ.It started raining outside, everyone came in to shelter.
🕒 店里装修了，改了很多座位。Diàn lǐ zhuāng xiū le, gǎi le hěn duō zuò wèi.The shop was renovated, many seats were changed.

Assimilation

Assimilation happens when a sound changes to become more like a neighboring sound, making quick speech easier. It often affects consonants in sequences of function words.

Examples

Hanzi SentencePinyin SentenceEnglish Sentence
🍊 我买了橙子和咖啡一起带走。Wǒ mǎi le chéngzi hé kāfēi yìqǐ dài zǒu.I bought oranges and took coffee to go.
🥪 她准备了三明治给朋友。Tā zhǔn bèi le sān míng zhì gěi péng yǒu.She prepared sandwiches for friends.
💡 店里推出了新的优惠套餐。Diàn lǐ tuī chū le xīn de yōu huì tào cān.The shop launched a new special offer.
📅 我预约了明天的咖啡课程。Wǒ yù yuē le míng tiān de kā fēi kè chéng.I booked tomorrow’s coffee class.

Assimilation of 把

Hanzi SentencePinyin SentenceEnglish Sentence
☕️ 我把杯子放在窗边。Wǒ bǎ bēizi fàng zài chuāng biān.I placed the cup by the window.
🧺 店员把面包整理在篮子里。Diàn yuán bǎ miànbāo zhěng lǐ zài lánzi lǐ.The staff arranged the bread in the basket.
🧹 我把桌子搬到一边打扫。Wǒ bǎ zhuōzi bān dào yī biān dǎ sǎo.I moved the table aside to clean.
🔑 她把钥匙放进了咖啡袋里。Tā bǎ yào shi fàng jìn le kāfēi dài lǐ.She put the keys into the coffee bag.

Assimilation of 就

Hanzi SentencePinyin SentenceEnglish Sentence
🏃‍♂️ 他一说话，大家就笑了。Tā yī shuō huà, dà jiā jiù xiào le.As soon as he spoke, everyone laughed.
⏰ 咖啡一煮好，我就去排队。Kāfēi yī zhǔ hǎo, wǒ jiù qù pái duì.Once the coffee was ready, I went to line up.
📢 店长一提醒，顾客就注意了。Diàn zhǎng yī tí xǐng, gù kè jiù zhù yì le.As soon as the manager reminded, customers paid attention.
🧍 他到了，朋友们就开始点单。Tā dào le, péng yǒu men jiù kāi shǐ diǎn dān.He arrived, and friends immediately started ordering.

Weak Forms

Weak forms arise when high-frequency function words are pronounced more quickly and less distinctly, sometimes reducing to a vowel or dropping entirely. This speeds up speech and signals fluency.

Examples

Hanzi SentencePinyin SentenceEnglish Sentence
🥛 我今天早上喝了牛奶。Wǒ jīn tiān zǎo shang hē le niú nǎi.I drank milk this morning.
🗣️ 他说店里很热闹。Tā shuō diàn lǐ hěn rè nào.He said the shop is lively.
🛍️ 我买了咖啡和蛋糕。Wǒ mǎi le kāfēi hé dàn gāo.I bought coffee and cake.
🧑‍🎨 店员正在布置新菜单。Diàn yuán zhèng zài bù zhì xīn cài dān.The staff is arranging the new menu.

Weak Form of 是

Weak Form of 有

Summary

Linking, assimilation, and weak forms work together to create smooth, natural speech by connecting sounds and simplifying pronunciation in fast Mandarin.

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Last updated: Fri Oct 24, 2025