# 休息



## Ali Smith

你们好！

I know that 休息 is usually pronounced xiūxi in China. How do those who don't use the neutral tone pronounce 息 here? I know that in isolation it can be pronounced either xī or xí.

谢谢你们！


----------



## Techref

xī


----------



## albert_laosong

In 休息 I only heard it pronounced as xi, not  xī or xí.


----------



## Ali Smith

Would it be considered wrong to pronounce 休息 as xiūxī or xiūxí instead?


----------



## albert_laosong

it would be wrong in the north I think, but I'm not sure about certain parts of the south.


----------



## retrogradedwithwind

It's very hard to say right or wrong when it comes to the light tone. I think it heavily relies on personal habits and relates to regional differences. But the standard pronunciation is 休息xi5.


----------



## j29682896

In Taiwan, people pronounce   休息  as xiū xí 。
There are some differences in pronunciation between China and Taiwan. But I think it doesn't matter you pronounce 休息 as  xiū xi  or xiū xí 。 just stick to what you learn from your teacher. By the way, I can't think of any cases that we pronounce 息 as  xī  .


----------



## ovaltine888

j29682896 said:


> In Taiwan, people pronounce   休息  as xiū xí 。
> There are some differences in pronunciation between China and Taiwan. But I think it doesn't matter you pronounce 休息 as  xiū xi  or xiū xí 。 just stick to what you learn from your teacher. By the way, I can't think of any cases that we pronounce


息 as  xī
平息
息怒
息事宁人


----------



## j29682896

We pronounce those 息 as xí.  
I think there are regional differences. We always pronounce 息 as xí.


----------



## Ali Smith

I checked forvo.com. It seems that Taiwanese speakers always pronounce 休息 as xiūxí while speakers from elsewhere always pronounce it xiūxi. It seems no one says xiūxī in any country.


----------



## SimonTsai

I have just realised that I sometimes pronounce it with the neutral tone, too. But the second is still commoner.


SuperXW said:


> As far as I know, *xiūxí is mainly Taiwanese pronunciation*.


Do you mean that people in the south of the mainland, e.g., 福建, pronounce it (xiu 1, xi 0)?


----------



## Ali Smith

Yes, I think people in the south of China pronounce it xiūxi too. I have never met a person from China who says xiūxí or xiūxī.


----------



## Shazhudao945

As long as you are not going to take the HSK, you don't need to waste your time on it. There are really few people who speak good Putonghua. Most of us speak with more or less accent.
For native speakers we have the PSC 普通话水平测试. Most of the people, even after preparation, access 二级甲/乙：

二级（比较标准的普通话）
二级甲等（测试得分：87分－91.99分之间） 朗读和自由交谈时，声韵调发音基本标准，语调自然，表达流畅。少数难点音有时出现失误。词语、语法极少有误。
二级乙等（测试得分：80分－86.99分之间） 朗读和自由交谈时，个别调值不准，声韵母发音有不到位现象。难点音失误较多。方言语调不明显。有使用方言词、方言语法的情况。


----------

