Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced shi
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced shi, including 是 shì, 时 shí, 事 shì, 实 shí, 十 shí. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
shi is a whole syllable. Curl the tongue back and let air hiss over it for sh; the i is the dull buzz that sits behind it, so do not say it like English “she”.
Initial sh
Curl the tongue back for sh. English speakers often make it too flat.
Final i
After zh, ch, sh, r, z, c, s, this i is not the clear “ee” in see.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (是 shì, 时 shí, 事 shì, 实 shí, 十 shí) and lock in their tones. 38 common characters share the sound shi, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
shi turns up here with 5 different tones; a change of tone usually means a different character, so the groups below are split by tone.
1st tone
Taking the 1st tone here: 师, 失, 施… (7 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
2nd tone
Taking the 2nd tone here: 时, 实, 十… (8 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
3rd tone
Taking the 3rd tone here: 使, 始, 史… (4 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 是, 事, 世… (18 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
5
Taking the 5 here: 匙 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing shi inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
38 common characters in this group.