Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced gen
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced gen, including 根 gēn, 跟 gēn. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words, and example sentences.
How to Pronounce This Syllable
Build gen by sliding from g straight into en; the tone rides over the joined sound, so treat it as one unit.
Initial g
Start the syllable on the initial g, then run straight into the final en — keep them joined instead of sounding out separate English letters.
Final en
Keep the ending light and nasal.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (根 gēn, 跟 gēn) and lock in their tones. 2 common characters share the sound gen, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
gen turns up here with 1 different tone; a change of tone usually means a different character, so the groups below are split by tone.
1st tone
Taking the 1st tone here: 根, 跟 (2 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing gen inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
2 common characters in this group.