Is this addition of 儿化音 natural?

[grawrt]

My classmates keep adding er to the word 字, but it doesn't feel natural or right. Yesterday I realized it's because I've never heard it added by a native speaker. Then again, it's not common for native chinese speakers to ask what a character means.

 

I don't like to discredit things right away but hearing 'zir' is like nails to a chalkboard., I'm just curious if my intuition is off.

 

Thanks!

[OneEye]

It's certainly used. Even some of my palaeography professors in Taiwan would say it, and 兒化音 is pretty rare there.

[ChTTay]

I'm fairly sure we were told in class not to do that way back when but can't remember for sure. I don't hear it at work either - half Chinese workforce.

[MarsBlackman]

I occasionally reference this blogger's comprehensive "128 Common Erhuayin Words in Mandarin" post. It's a big help for the monosyllabic erhua that your ear might not catch. Living in Dongbei, it has helped with my passive knowledge of erhua so that I'm less intimidated by somebody who speaks with a heavy erhua accent.

 

http://carlgene.com/blog/2013/02/128-common-erhuayin-words-in-mandarin/#more-964 

[tooironic]

*cough* I wrote that list. Glad some readers found it useful.
 

My classmates keep adding er to the word 字, but it doesn't feel natural or right. Yesterday I realized it's because I've never heard it added by a native speaker.

What "feels natural" is subjective. Some Southern Chinese can't stand erhuayin; by the same token, some Northern Chinese can't stand the "lazy" Southern accent. Just because you don't like the way something sounds doesn't mean no one says it that way.
 

Then again, it's not common for native chinese speakers to ask what a character means.

And a native speaker of English never asks what a word means in English? Again, it depends on the person, and the situation.

The key thing to remember with erhuayin is it is up to the learner to use it or not as they so desire. As long as you can understand when other people use it, it doesn't make much difference in the long run, since almost all words with erhuayin can be pronounced without it and people will still understand you.

 

 

[grawrt]

Thanks! I've been living in the north for a year now so I'm quite used to most erhuayin, and don't have anything against it. Just zir was the thing I wasn't completely sure about because I've only heard non-native speakers use it.

[tooironic]

字兒 and 詞兒 are among the common ones.

[MarsBlackman]

@tooironic ha! I just realized I posted your blog link. I never put two and two together.

[Demonic_Duck]

“字儿” is pretty common in Beijing, but my previous girlfriend (a 东北人) said it (along with “词儿”) sounds a bit 土. Actually, now I think about it, she might have been referring to “词儿” more than “字儿”. I've certainly heard plenty of well-educated people say “字儿”.

[陳德聰]

My personal preference is zero 兒化音. Some Chinese people say 字兒 sometimes. It's a thing people do, but I don't and you don't have to but like many have said above, you should at least be clear that it exists.

[Messidor]

Northerners add -儿 more often than southerners. Actually southerners rarely use it, except for several words such as 饺子馅儿、哪儿、玩意儿。Only when the presence of -儿 brings difference of meaning can the suffix be fixed. For example, 眼 means eye or a small hole, but 眼儿 means only a small hole---- so when one refers to a small hole it may be better to add an -儿. In other cases -儿 is optional.