i'm having a little debate with a co-worker on how to pronounce "chow mein" (chinese pronunciation). he says it sounds like "chow main" but i've heard chinese people say it and it sounds like "chow mean". which is it?

 

i asked my friend. she said "tsao me-ehn"

 

its tsao mein

 

does that sound like "mean" or "main"?

 

main

 

damn, i must have heard wrong then. humble pie time.

 

just say.. Tsao Me-in

 

is the "ts" in "tsao" pronounced similarly to the "tsu" in japanese?

 

I beleive so.... so it would be like "Ts-OW Me-in"

 

it's hard to spell chinese using alphabet. because we have 4 tone in each word.

so it's like tsu ao me an

 

cool, thanks. that concludes todays chinese lesson.

 

i'll use japanese phonetics: tsu ao me in

correct?

 

Yeah but you'd actually have to hear someone say it in order to know what that sounds like. Thats why I spelled it "Ts(since he already knows how to pronounce that) then OW, so Ts-ow Me-In. cause "Tsu" would sound like "Tsooooo" wouldn't it? Me An would just sound like someones name "Ann" in english... Ah hell... Just call eddie up on his cell and he will explain it to you lol...

 

haha, i think i get it now. i'll still ask him at the meet.

 

it depends if you are saying it in mandarin or cantonese.

in cantonese it would be pronounced "chow mean".