The Pinyin Final: ü

Just to show you that Larry is not infallible, a sister told me after the meeting that the Chinese phrase I used in my part, 坦白從寛，抗拒從嚴 (Confess and you'll be shown leniency, argue and you'll be dealt with harshly) was a phrase frequently used by the Red Guards and communist officials during the Cultural Revolution. Millions of innocent people were tortured or murdered in the Cultural Revolution. Therefore, I think it's inappropriate to use the phrase and I won't use that anymore.

 

Another point I would like to point out is that a lot of friends are still having trouble with the Pinyin final ü. It's important for you to get this one right because there are simply too many words with ü that are used daily. Some examples are:

 

女人 Women/woman

女性 Female

兒女 Children

律法 / 法律 Laws

去 To go

旅行 Traveling

先驅 Pioneer(s)

拒絶 Refuse / Reject

聚會 Meeting(s)

 

I've attached a link to Yoyo Chinese Youtube video above.