# Pronunciation: 雀



## yuechu

大家好！

I was recently reading the novel 北京青年 and came across the following paragraph:

儿子辞职，他急了，这工作干的好好的，起码他能在同学同事堆里大言不惭地侃儿子，时不时还能用假谦虚调调味儿，哎，我儿子就那样，没出息，其实满足的很。当父母的到了他这岁数，什么都不比，就比孩子。钱不钱的都是小事儿，孩子好，家长不但活的踏实张扬，还什么聚会都敢去。孩子不争气，不但打蔫，还轻易不跟朋友聚，就是聚也是溜墙根当哑巴家雀儿。可儿子真敢辞这铁饭碗，还不是为钱，就为了能活出自己，活出幸福，他又有点小骄傲，原来以为儿子跟自己一样本分保守，不知道儿子怎么就成这样了，思想上还挺前卫。

Does anyone know what "溜墙根当哑巴家雀儿" means? Also, is the character 雀 here pronounced qiao1, que4, or qiao3?
Thanks!


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## Skatinginbc

never heard of it, but let me guess: 溜墙根当哑巴家雀儿 = 溜到牆根, 靜悄悄地待著, 像隻不會叫的麻雀.

趁人不注意, 就躲到一旁, 默無一言聽人說話, 好像不會叫的家雀兒(sparrow)一樣, 老是待在那兒(有人像家雀兒,不願意挪窩;有人像候鳥,永遠在路上).

I don't know its pronunciation in the Beijing dialect.


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## fyl

I would say qiao3.


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## yuechu

Thanks for your help, Skatinginbc and fyl!


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## SuperXW

In Beijing dialect, it is qiao3.


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## Skatinginbc

Thanks for the info, SuperXW.


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## yuechu

I have another question about this sentence. Does "家" here mean that it's a sparrow that you have as a pet at home?


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## brofeelgood

That's "house" as in "house sparrow". 

家雀 (qiao3)... interesting! How about 雀斑? Is this also qiao3 in Beijing dialect?


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## Skatinginbc

臉上的*雀斑* quèbān or *雀子* qiāozi?


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## fyl

qiao and que may be another 白读/文读 difference, though the tones are a bit irregular.
家雀 is a traditional dialectal word, so it's jia1qiao3.
雀斑 is a modern word (old people in my life don't use it), so it's que4ban1.

雀子 is qiao1zi and means the same as 雀斑 according to dictionaries. But in my dialect 雀子qiao1zi is a vulgar synonym of 小鸡鸡(penis).


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## brofeelgood

Got it.


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## AlwaysLearner

I think the pronounciation of 雀 as "qiao" is a dialect, just like fyl pointed out above.


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## Skatinginbc

What's the difference between 雀 qiao3 and 雀 qiao1?  When should we pronounce qiao3 and when should we pronounce qiao1?


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## yuechu

On Youtube today, I saw the name of a video: *雀圣*
(I think it's the name of a movie) How should the first character be pronounced in this context?



Skatinginbc said:


> What's the difference between 雀 qiao3 and 雀 qiao1? When should we pronounce qiao3 and when should we pronounce qiao1?


I am also curious about this. Would anyone know?
Thanks!


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## SuperXW

You should almost always pronounce que4, including 麻雀 and 雀圣.
家雀qiao3儿 is only a dialectical pronunciation, you don't have to know it. Pronouncing 家雀que4 would let everyone understand. 
I never heard of the dialectical word 雀qiao1子.


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## yuechu

Thanks for your reply, SuperXW! So is "雀圣" someone who is good at 麻将？ (I am just guessing from the movie's English title)


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## SuperXW

^
Yes.
In Chinese, the game 麻将 was originally called 麻雀 (pinyin: máquè)—meaning sparrow— which is still used in some southern dialects. (Wikipedia)


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## yuechu

谢谢！


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## philchinamusical

One thing more: Even in Beijing dialect, 雀 is only qiao3 when it's referring to sparrows or little birds. It's still que4 when used in formal cases, like "朱雀门" is still Zhu1 Que3 Men2 in Beijing dialect.

I have many Beijing friends and they rarely pronounce 雀 as qiao3 when we are together, except for some local idioms. I think the pronunciation is more about an cultural identification: To show people that you are real "Beijing breed".


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