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This sound does not exist in English.

Sounds kind of like "ds" in "bids", but voiceless.

The "i" vowel in "zi" does not sound like "ee". It is pronounced by voicing a vowel with the mouth in the same position as "z".

oneself

自己

goodbye

再见

IPA: [t͡s]

Sounds kind of like "ts" in "cats".

The "i" vowel in "ci" does not sound like "ee". It is pronounced by voicing a vowel with the mouth in the same position as "c".

word

词

bathroom

厕所

IPA: [t͡sʰ]

Sounds like "s" in "sick".

The "i" vowel in "si" does not sound like "ee". It is pronounced by voicing a vowel with the mouth in the same position as "s".

four

四

three

三

IPA: [s]

Single-syllable audio courtesy of the AllSet Learning Chinese Pronunciation Wiki, used with permission.

HSK word audio courtesy of Audio-cmn. (CC BY-SA 3.0)