I sink zat dis ting is worf dinking about

“I sink zat dis ting is worf dinking about” - that “th” sound is really tricky! The question is, why is it so hard for Chinese speakers to get right?

There is a key difference between English and Chinese in terms of sound forming, in that in English there are two sounds that are formed by placing the tongue between the teeth (“interdental sounds”). On the other hand, there are no interdental sounds in Chinese at all.

This leads to two important questions.

The first of these is, does this matter? The answer is, absolutely. The “th” sounds are used a lot in English, so errors in these sounds are extremely obvious. This is especially true when you are taking an exam such as IELTS or LPAT and will be assessed on pronunciation.

Secondly, errors in these sounds will definitely affect how people understand you.

So, yes. I think that this thing is worth thinking about.