Pinyin syllable

How to pronounce “reng” in Chinese

reng = r + eng,[ʐɤŋ].Used in 2 tones and 2 words from HSK 1–3.

Hear it, then say it

Tap play for each tone, then record yourself — your pitch curve is drawn on top of the model.

扔rēng

This tone exists, but no HSK 1–3 word uses it yet — practise the sound on its own.

Hold one steady high note, like a doctor’s “aaah”. English has no flat pitch, so it will feel unnaturally robotic — that is correct.

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仍réng — still; yet

仍然réng rán — still; as before; yet

Rise from the middle to the top, like the English question “huh?”. The rise must reach the top, not stall halfway.

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The initial: r

[ʐ]

What the mouth does: Tongue in the same curled-back position as sh, but with the voice on and a buzz added.
Closest English sound: Halfway between the r in “red” and the s in “measure” — English r with friction.
Where learners slip: Using a plain English r with no buzz, or worse, a rolled r from another language.
Drill that fixes it: Say the s of “measure”, then curl the tip back until it buzzes. Never trill it.

The final: -eng

[ɤŋ]

What the mouth does: The e vowel plus a back nasal — tongue body up, tip down.
Closest English sound: The ung in “sung”, with a less rounded vowel.
Where learners slip: Rounding it into ong.
Drill that fixes it: Unround the lips completely. Round lips = ong, flat lips = eng.

“reng” in real words

Every word below comes from the HSK 1–3 vocabulary, so you can practise on words you will actually meet.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning	HSK
	réng	still; yet	3
	réng rán	still; as before; yet	3

Syllables you might confuse with this one

One sound apart from this syllable — the pairs that make natives mishear you.

reng → lengdifferent initial: l冷 lěng — cold reng → shengdifferent initial: sh先生 xiān sheng — teacher reng → rendifferent final: en别人 bié ren — other people; others; other person reng → rangdifferent final: ang让 ràng — to yield reng → rongdifferent final: ong容易 róng yì — easy; straightforward

Questions people ask about this syllable

How do you pronounce “reng” in Chinese?

“reng” is the initial r plus the final eng, pronounced [ʐɤŋ]. Tongue in the same curled-back position as sh, but with the voice on and a buzz added. The e vowel plus a back nasal — tongue body up, tip down. It occurs in 2 tones, and the tone changes the word completely.

Which mistake do English speakers make on “reng”?

Using a plain English r with no buzz, or worse, a rolled r from another language. Rounding it into ong. Fix it like this: Say the s of “measure”, then curl the tip back until it buzzes. Never trill it.

Hearing it right is half the job

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