# Pronunciation: 谁 (shei2 / shui2)



## Agarina

And “谁” is sometimes "shei" and sometimes "shui".  Why is that?


*split from “的” as "de" and "di" thread*


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## kareno999

As for 谁, "shui" is more formal than "shei". Both are used quite often in conversation. shei is never used in formal speech.


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## kkmp

As for 谁，both shuí and shéi are official pronunciations. Shuí is more often used but shéi is heard frequently in pop songs.


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## kareno999

kkmp said:


> As for 谁，both shuí and shéi are official pronunciations.


Never heard it that way.
The only pronunciation taught in school in shui.


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## Mugi

"Shui2" and "shei2" are both official pronunciations for 谁 in Modern Standard Chinese, as practically any dictionary will attest. "Shui2" is the literary pronunciation, "shei2" the colloquial pronunciation. Hence, contrary to a comment from another poster, "shei2" is by far the more common pronunciation in native Mandarin speaking areas (almost to the total exclusion of "shui2" in places like Beijing). As the colloquial pronunciation, you'll note that "shei2" is easier to pronounce than "shui2."


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## anialuo

Hi,

is there any difference between the two forms of pronounciation of 谁: shui/shei? 
Maybe some local bias?
Thanks in advance!


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## Jialin

the pronounciation of "shei" is correct, while "shui" is also used since someone are not able to pronounciate "shei" appropriately and "shui" is similar to their dialects...


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## sunnyjay

just say shui


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## YangMuye

the pronounciation of "shui" is correct, while "shei" is also used since someone are not able to pronounciate "shui" appropriately and "shei" is similar to their dialects...

In standard Mandarin, "ui" = "uei". The "u" is sometimes lost since it would be easier to pronounce.
Anyway, "shei" is perfect acceptable.


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## BODYholic

I was taught 'shui' in school but that was a long time ago. I also believe most Chinese in my country pronounce likewise. But I find the sound 'shui' very coarse for the ears. Perhaps, people here tend to mispronounce it as 'sui2'. I have since switched to the other sound, 'shei'. Of course, this is entirely my personal preference.

In any case, both sounds can be found in most good dictionaries and they don't distinguish one from the other.
http://www.zdic.net/zd/zi/ZdicE8ZdicB0Zdic81.htm
http://www.nciku.com/search/zh/detail/谁/1314249

You may, however, try to read this "随谁?".


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## xiaoxue

Both are right. (You can type in either way to get a 谁.)
But if you live in the northen part you will hear "shei" most of the time in daily conversations.

Originally, it was promonced as "shui", but pronunciation changes sometimes unnoticibally. (Actually, this happens in all languages)
Today, "shui" sounds a little bit "antique", especially when you use 谁 in a simply way, like "他是谁".
However, it sounds natural to pronounce "shui" in idioms, since idioms, to some extend, are "antiques" left up to today. (I guess~)



BODYholic said:


> You may, however, try to read this "随谁?".


An interesting example.
I say "sui2shei2?"


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## Uncle Shin

Anyway, most of chinese people pronounce "谁" as "shei2".


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## zhinianlove

"shei" is the official and literary pronounce of "谁". "shui" is often pronounced in old poems.


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## aggeloskina

i haven't heard anyone pronounced "shui" in my life, it's always "shei". but we learnt shui at school.


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## flenci

shei is the pronounciation in Beijing, shui is textbook way and we have to remember that for  exams...


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## bamboobanga

formally it should be _shui_2, but in daily life everyone pronounces _shei_2.


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## Olivia2013

In a word, shei, de and le are more popular than shui, di, liao.
Let' s say the difference one by one:
1. shui is going to be forgotten except using for the infrequent surname;
2. di is supposed to use in phrases, such as "mu di(目的) mu di di 目的地) di que(的确)";
3. liao is in the same usage as di, such as "liao jie(了解)， zhi liao（知了--the name of a kind of insect)".
More words for "谁"： please just pronounce it as shei, you won' t be wrong and it is also easy to speak for a language learner.


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## goodatchinese

If you are not tring to pass some advanced Mandarin test on national-level, which designed for the teachers, TV and radio host / hostess. Always use "shei2".If you are, "shui2" will be a plus while "shei2" is OK.


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## ronnie osullivan

i've rarely,even never, heard people pronounced it as 'shui'.


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## mancoffee

shui是书面语，shei是口语。


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## annie21

In the past, we pronounced it shui. But as time goes by, more and more people pronounce shei, nowadays, I hardly heard people say shui. I pronounce it shei. So it's a change of the pronounciation.


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## Rethliopuks

I think I have to clarify...
Indeed shei2 is colloquial(developed from shui2) and shui2 is formal, and usually people don't use shui2, but it does not mean that shui2 is obsolete. They should be used accordingly. That is, to speak properly you should pronounce it as shui2 in almost all archaic/serious/formal/literature situations, as shui2 itself brings a sense of such, and shei2 in all conversational/colloquial situations. Mind that "converstional" includes some formal conversations.
For example: 
凭谁问，廉颇老矣，尚能饭否。 This is from an ancient poem, so shui2 should be used.
谁买了那盒笔？This is from a colloquial conversation so shei2 should be used.


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## ridgemao

我在北京长大，我一直说的是"shei"，今天才知道"shei"是方言，"shui"才是标准读音


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## sb70012

Who’s this?   (这是谁) (Zhè shì *shéi*)

Hello,
I copied this from Google translate. One of my Chinese friends in China told me that Google translate is wrong because the red part should be *shui* not *shéi.*

Do you agree with her?

Thank you.


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## Robby Zhu

I agree with her, but actually some people read it as something like "*shéi*", not the standard pronunciation, though.


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## albert_laosong

The official pronunciation should be shui，but colloquially it's more often pronounced as shei.  many people even pronounce it as "sei".


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## NewAmerica

Both are officially acceptable. See 《汉典》.


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## AChineseKitten

sb70012 said:


> Who’s this?   (这是谁) (Zhè shì *shéi*)
> 
> Hello,
> I copied this from Google translate. One of my Chinese friends in China told me that Google translate is wrong because the red part should be *shui* not *shéi.*
> 
> Do you agree with her?
> 
> Thank you.


I strongly disagree. I find both pronunciations on 百度汉语 (Sorry, I don't have a dictionary now, but I think this website is reliable from my experience), and both are listed as correct pronunciations.
I have always been pronouncing it as "shéi", though I hear others pronounce it as "shuí" from time to time.
It is true that Google translation sometimes makes mistakes, but this one is not the case.


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