a better word for "province" than "sheng3 fen4"?

[HashiriKata]

yeah and it's a question (rising) so i doubt most speakers would actually pronounce that third tone as a dip/rise. I never knew it was a 3rd tone.

You're not deaf . More likely, you're simply confused na2li with nar3, putting the tone from na2li onto nar3 (resulting in nar2 in your post).

[Altair]

yeah and it's a question (rising) so i doubt most speakers would actually pronounce that third tone as a dip/rise. I never knew it was a 3rd tone.

One thing that some books do not make clear is that 3rd tones are pronounced as a dip only when pronounced in isolation or at the end of a sentence. Before most other tones, a 3rd tone is pronounced as a low fall, without the rise in pitch that occurs in isolation. This pronunciation also seems often to be optional when a third tone occurs at the end of a sentence.

Before another third tone, third tones generally change to second tones. Before multiple third tones or a neutral tone that was originally a third tone, things can get complicated.

[laohu489]

I hate this answer too: 我从我妈肚子里来。

That became my standard answer after hearing too many "I'm from China" responses.

Ha ha ha