# 生意



## James Bates

Is 生意 ("business") to be pronounced shēngyì or shēngyi?


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## persiano

shēngyì, because in standard Mandarin you don't have 轻声 (neutral tone).

Similarly, you have to pronounce 喜欢 as xǐhuān. If you pronounce it as xǐhuan (with 轻声), then it won't be considered standard Mandarin.

Another example: 朋友 péngyǒu (and not péngyou).


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## Skatinginbc

James Bates said:


> Is 生意 ("business") to be pronounced shēngyì or shēngyi?


Standard: shēngyi (soft tone), because shēngyì "vitality" and shēngyi "business" do NOT mean the same.
Most people in Taiwan say _shēngyì_ to mean "business" regardless of what the dictionary says.


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## persiano

Really? You mean shēngyi (with a soft tone) is standard Mandarin?
What about in 喜欢 and 朋友?


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## fyl

There are definitely soft tones in standard Mandarin. (Otherwise why there is the concept of "soft tones"?... The phonology concepts one usually learn at school are for the standard Mandarin. Other Mandarin dialects may have a quite different set of tones that are inconsistent with these concepts.) And I believe the soft tone is a part to test in a standard Mandarin exam.

For the word  生意, I agree with Skatinginbc. And the difference between sheng2yi4 and sheng2yi is also seen in some standard dictionaries.
But it's true that people often do not distinguish sheng2yi4 and sheng2yi in life, as the soft tone in this word really sounds like a fourth tone (even in north China where soft tones are popular, at least to me).


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## retrogradedwithwind

If you want to stress the word 生意, you will naturally pronounce 意 in the forth tone


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## Yichen

Hi, put it in a sentence: 你那里有什么生意[shēngyì]做呢？


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## SuperXW

The natural tone is mostly closed to the fourth tone. If you stress the word, it would become a forth tone anyway. It is never a big deal.
Also, it depends on the regional accent. Taiwanese people use much less natural tone, for example.


Skatinginbc said:


> Standard: shēngyi (soft tone), because shēngyì "vitality" and shēngyi "business" do NOT mean the same.
> Most people in Taiwan say _shēngyì_ to mean "business" regardless of what the dictionary says.


Whatever different meaning shēngyì has, it was an antiquated usage.


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## Yichen

> Whatever different meaning shēngyì has, it was an antiquated usage.



It's a daily-used word. The meaning of 生意 varies a great deal according to its context, but basically, the pronunciation shēngyì is always safe.


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## SuperXW

Yichen said:


> It's a daily-used word. The meaning of 生意 varies a great deal according to its context...


For example?


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## Yichen

I don't know if you have ever heard of "百度", considering "生意" is already out of your daily use?  Just try using it and you'll find out the example hits you need.


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## SuperXW

Yichen said:


> I don't know if you have ever heard of "百度", considering "生意" is already out of your daily use?  Just try using it and you'll find out the example hits you need.


生意 is in my daily usage, but those meanings of 生意 other than "business" are not.
I use 百度, and "business" can substitute nearly every 生意 I can see. I don't see the word "varies a great deal". ╮(╯_╰)╭
Only in literature, writers would use 生意 to mean 生机 or 生气, as a classic article would do.
Actually, I believe, even in literature, as long as it is a modern one, 生机 and 生气 are more common than 生意 when referring to "vitality".


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## Yichen

1. 他居然娶了她，这生意不错；
2. 他想从房顶跳进她家，然后揍她妹一顿，那生意还是不错的；
3. 他走在半道上突然想起和尚说的话，他叹到，做人也是生意啊
。。。

A native speaker of Chinese can easily give a lot of meanings that may differ from
those definitions a dictionary can offer.


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## Youngfun

For me it's sheng1yi4 (I'm from Southern Mainland China). But I may say sheng1yi when it's not a stressed word.


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## SuperXW

Yichen said:


> 1. 他居然娶了她，这生意不错；
> 2. 他想从房顶跳进她家，然后揍她妹一顿，那生意还是不错的；
> 3. 他走在半道上突然想起和尚说的话，他叹到，做人也是生意啊
> 。。。
> 
> A native speaker of Chinese can easily give a lot of meanings that may differ from
> those definitions a dictionary can offer.


I'm a native speaker and I think those examples are just metaphors of "business"...taking the affairs as "deals". Otherwise I've no idea what they mean.


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