* Chu starts with the aspirated voiceless palatal affricate ch, which is similar to the "ch" in "church" or "chair".
* Qu starts with the voiceless palatal fricative q, which is similar to the "ch" in "child" or "christmas" but with a slight hissing sound.
Here's a breakdown:
Chu:
* Place of articulation: Palatal (tongue touches the hard palate)
* Manner of articulation: Affricate (stop followed by a fricative)
* Voicing: Voiceless (no vibration of vocal cords)
* Aspirated: Yes (a puff of air released after the sound)
Qu:
* Place of articulation: Palatal (tongue touches the hard palate)
* Manner of articulation: Fricative (air is forced through a narrow opening)
* Voicing: Voiceless (no vibration of vocal cords)
* Aspirated: No (no puff of air released after the sound)
Examples:
* Chu: chū (出, to go out), chūshēng (出生, birth)
* Qu: qù (去, to go), qū (曲, bend)
To differentiate:
* Focus on the "h" sound: The "ch" in "chu" has a clear "h" sound after it.
* Listen for the hissing: The "q" in "qu" has a slight hissing sound.
Practice saying the two sounds and you'll soon be able to differentiate them easily.