# Pronunciation: 芯



## yuechu

大家好！

I was wondering, how do you pronounce 芯 in the word 锁芯? I notice that the character 芯 has more than one pronunciation. (Also, what does it mean? I couldn't find it in the dictionary)
Thanks!


----------



## hx1997

Xīn (what other pronunciation could it have?  )

To be honest, I don't know its exact meaning as a standalone character. I've always come across it as a part of other words and I learned those words as a whole. (Well maybe that's one reason why it isn't in your dictionary. )


----------



## yuechu

Hello, hx1997!



hx1997 said:


> Xīn (what other pronunciation could it have? )


The dictionary also mentions the pronunciation xìn, but I'm guessing that xīn is the more common pronunciation, right?
Thanks!


----------



## hx1997

I had to check my dictionary at hand to make sure xìn actually exists--and it does. Well, I think you can safely pretend that pronunciation didn't exist (in mainland). It's so rare.


----------



## yong321

锁芯 (the inner mechanism of a lock) is supposed to be pronounced as suo3xin4. But I bet most Chinese don't know much about the xin4 sound except in words like 引芯 (the lead for something explosive, mine, firecracker, etc.), 芯子 (tongue of a snake or some other animals). See the description at “芯”字的解释 | 汉典


----------



## hx1997

I don't know where 汉典 extracted their definitions from, but according to 《现代汉语词典》 and 《新华字典》, both reflecting the standard in mainland China, 芯 is pronounced xīn when it means 某些物体的中心部分 (the central part of some specific objects), as is the case with 锁芯. Xìn is used only for the meaning 装在器物中心的*捻子*之类的东西 (a spill, a wick, or something similar, that is fixed in the center of some objects) or 蛇的舌头 (the tongue of a snake), either of which 锁芯 is not. Note that even for these two meanings, the pronunciation xìn for 芯 is rare, because we usually have alternative expressions, e.g. 引信 for 引芯, (蛇的)舌头 for 芯子.

I see from the 《国语词典》 definitions that the case is a little bit different in Taiwan, where xìn is used to mean the central part of objects. Perhaps members from across the strait can lend us some insights.


----------



## yong321

I have《新华字典》7th ed., 1990. The xīn reading is for "去皮的灯心草", and xìn for (1) "装在器物中心的捻子或消息儿，如蜡烛的捻子、爆竹的引线等"; (2) "蛇的舌头". I don't have a newer edition of this dictionary. I don't have《现代汉语词典》either.


----------



## hx1997

Oh, that's an interesting nuance! I have the 11th edition, and the definitions are as I said. It seems the dictionary has been revised to reflect changes in usage.


----------



## Skatinginbc

我的習慣 (跟字典說法不盡相同)：

(1) 通「心」的「芯」讀 xin1，指物內的中心部位 (core)。 譬如，燈芯草 = 燈心草；礦芯 = 礦心; 岩芯 = 岩心。 草 (especially the rush grass 燈心草) 的中心髓質 (pith) 就是 「芯」(xin1), 也就是字典所說的「去皮的燈心草」(意思就是 pith of the rush grass)。

(2) 通「信」的「芯」讀 xin4, 指冒出於物體以通內外的長條物。 譬如，引芯 = 引信 (從炸彈冒出來)，蛇芯 = 蛇信 (從蛇嘴冒出來)。 蠟燭中間的線叫燭心(xin1)。 突出在外, 以便引燃的燭線叫「燭芯xin4」。突出在外，以便固定蠟燭的簽子叫「燭信xin4」。 「信」跟「芯xin4 」都是突出在外的東西。

是故「鎖芯」(鎖的中空部位，如草心的中空輸水管, 非突出在外) 的「芯」，我的習慣是讀 xin1。 我剛看了一個台灣節目 (民視：世界首創無鎖芯方向盤鎖，Youtube 2008年8月15日)，主持人及兩位來賓均讀「鎖芯xin1」。


----------



## brofeelgood

For me,

「芯」xin1: core
「芯/信」xin4: lead, fuse, wick, tongue etc.

「鎖芯xin1」: lock cylinder/barrel


----------



## yuechu

I heard the word 芯 again used on a TV show recently.

Does anyone know what a 针芯 is? (A doctor is talking about a procedure to help people who have spinal problems)
The doctor pronounces it with 儿话音 (and with the first tone). Does that mean that in 北方话 "芯" (xinr) and “心" (xin) are usually pronounced differently?

Thanks!


----------



## Skatinginbc

yuechu said:


> what a 针芯 is?


针芯 xin1 = lumen,  the bore of a hollow needle


----------



## yuechu

Thanks, Skatinginbc!


----------



## SuperXW

yuechu said:


> The doctor pronounces it with 儿话音 (and with the first tone). Does that mean that in 北方话 "芯" (xinr) and “心" (xin) are usually pronounced differently?


In Beijing dialect, "core" (芯/心) can have 儿化音, while "heart" (心) cannot.


----------



## yuechu

I've noticed that 儿话音 is sometimes used to differentiate words which otherwise would have the same pronunciation.

Thanks, SuperXW!


----------



## SuperXW

yuechu said:


> I've noticed that 儿话音 is sometimes used to differentiate words which otherwise would have the same pronunciation.


It doesn't mean that the meaning "core" always use 儿化音. It depends on the speaker's habit.


----------



## SuperXW

Second thought, the usage of 儿化音 is actually more complicate than what I said.
E.g.
笔芯 笔芯儿
内心 内心儿
中心 中心儿
核心 核心儿
芯片 芯儿片 芯片儿


----------



## yuechu

It looks like  芯 can always be pronounced with 儿话音 if it is independent or the last element in a word. Would you say so?
谢谢！


----------



## SuperXW

yuechu said:


> It looks like  芯 can always be pronounced with 儿话音 if it is independent or the last element in a word. Would you say so?





SuperXW said:


> 芯片 芯儿片 芯片儿


No. See the above one.
When 芯 means "electronic chip", it seems 儿化音 is not applicable.
机芯  机芯儿

Anyway, I don't encourage you to go deep on the 儿化音 topic. There's no universal rule and is purely dialectical (same to Cantonese tones).


----------

