Breakdown of zhè gè yǔyīn liànxí hěn zhòngyào.
Used when counting nouns or when specifying a specific instance of a noun.
There are also classifiers for people, for bound items such as books and magazines, for cups/glasses, etc.
The classifier 个 is a general one that can be used for any of these.
Questions & Answers about zhè gè yǔyīn liànxí hěn zhòngyào.
In modern spoken Chinese, when an adjective is used as a predicate (like “important” in “is important”), it almost always needs some kind of adverb in front of it. 很 (hěn) is the most common one.
- 这个语音练习很重要。
Literally: “This pronunciation exercise very important.”
In many contexts, 很 here does not strongly mean “very”; it often just makes the sentence sound natural and functions a bit like the English “is” in this structure.
Without 很 (or something similar), 这个语音练习重要 feels abrupt or like you’re contrasting it with something else (e.g. “This exercise is important (unlike others)”), and in everyday speech it sounds odd.
So:
- Natural, neutral: 这个语音练习很重要。
- Unnatural/marked in spoken Chinese: 这个语音练习重要。 (sounds incomplete or strongly contrastive)
In Chinese, when the predicate is an adjective, you usually don’t use 是 directly before it.
- Correct, natural: 这个语音练习很重要。
- Unnatural / rarely used: 这个语音练习是很重要。
是 is generally used:
- Between two nouns / noun phrases
- 他是老师。= He is a teacher.
- 这是语音练习。= This is a pronunciation exercise.
With adjectives as predicates, the normal pattern is:
- Subject + (degree adverb) + adjective
e.g. 他很忙。= He’s busy.
天气非常好。= The weather is extremely good.
You can say 是很重要的 in some special emphatic or written contexts:
- 这个语音练习是很重要的。
This sounds more formal/emphatic, like “This pronunciation exercise indeed is very important.”
个 (gè) is a measure word / classifier. In Chinese, when you point to or count a noun with 这 (this), 那 (that), or numbers, you almost always need a measure word.
Pattern:
- 这 + 个 + [noun] = “this [noun]”
- 那 + 个 + [noun] = “that [noun]”
- 一 + 个 + [noun] = “one [noun]”
So:
- 这个语音练习 = this pronunciation exercise
- 那个语音练习 = that pronunciation exercise
- 一个语音练习 = one pronunciation exercise
这语音练习 without 个 is technically possible in some literary or very formal written styles, but in everyday speech and standard usage, 这个语音练习 is what you should use.
For this specific phrase, in standard modern spoken Mandarin, you should keep 个:
- Natural: 这个语音练习很重要。
- Normally unnatural in speech: 这语音练习很重要。
Omitting the measure word is:
- Common only with a small set of nouns or in set phrases (e.g. 这时候, 那年), or
- In formal / literary texts.
For counting or pointing to 练习 (“exercise”), use 个 in regular speech:
- 下一个练习 = the next exercise
- 这个练习 = this exercise
They all relate to “sound,” but they aren’t the same:
语音
- Literally: “speech sound”
- Often used in more technical / linguistic contexts: phonetics, phonology, the sound system of a language.
- A 语音练习 could be “speech-sound / phonetic exercise,” sometimes used in teaching pronunciation or phonetics.
发音
- Literally: “to emit sound,” “pronunciation”
- Everyday word for how you pronounce words.
- 发音练习 = pronunciation practice / exercise.
- For a learner-focused sentence, 发音练习 is more common and natural than 语音练习.
声音
- General “sound, voice, noise”
- E.g. 你的声音很好听。= Your voice sounds nice.
- Not normally used for “pronunciation exercise.”
So a very natural version for learners would be:
- 这个发音练习很重要。 = This pronunciation exercise is very important.
练习 can be both a verb and a noun, depending on context.
In your sentence:
- 这个语音练习很重要。
练习 is part of the noun phrase 语音练习 = “pronunciation exercise”.
As a verb:
- 我每天练习汉语。= I practice Chinese every day.
- 你应该多练习发音。= You should practice pronunciation more.
As a noun:
- 做这个练习。= Do this exercise.
- 语音练习 / 口语练习 / 写作练习 = pronunciation / speaking / writing exercise.
Here it’s clearly a noun because it’s modified by 这(个) and followed by 很重要 as a description.
The strength of 很 depends on context:
“Weak 很” (very common)
- When it’s just there to make an adjective predicate natural, it may not really mean “very”; it’s more like an unstressed “is”.
- 这个语音练习很重要。
→ In many contexts, this is just “This pronunciation exercise is important.”
“Strong 很” (actually “very”)
- If you want to emphasize, you can stress 很, or use it in contrast.
- 这个语音练习很重要，别忘了做。
→ “This pronunciation exercise is very important; don’t forget to do it.”
If you want clearly stronger emphasis, you can use:
- 非常重要 = extremely/very important
- 特别重要 = especially important
So:
- Neutral: 很重要
- Stronger: 非常重要, 特别重要
Yes.
这个语音练习很重要。
- Natural, could be neutral “is important” or mildly “is very important” depending on stress.
这个语音练习非常重要。
- Stronger; clearly means “This pronunciation exercise is very / extremely important.”
非常 is a more clearly emphatic degree adverb than the default 很.
You need to pluralize “this” to “these” using 这些 (zhèxiē):
- 这些语音练习很重要。
= These pronunciation exercises are very important.
Notes:
- 些 (xiē) is a measure word meaning “some / several / a group of.”
- 这些 + noun naturally makes it plural:
- 这些书 = these books
- 这些练习 = these exercises
重要:
- Characters:
- 重: heavy, serious, important
- 要: to want, essential, important
- Combined: 重要 → “important, significant”
Grammatically:
It’s an adjective, often used as a predicate:
- 这个语音练习很重要。= This pronunciation exercise is important.
- 家人对我来说很重要。= Family is very important to me.
It can also modify nouns:
- 重要的事情 = important matter
- 重要的考试 = important exam
So in your sentence it is the predicate adjective after 很.
Chinese basic word order here is:
Subject + (degree adverb) + adjective
- 这个语音练习 (subject)
- 很 (degree adverb)
- 重要 (adjective predicate)
Chinese does not always use an explicit “be” verb like English. With adjectives, the typical pattern is:
- 我很累。= I (very) tired. → I’m tired.
- 天气很冷。= The weather (very) cold. → The weather is cold.
- 这个语音练习很重要。= This pronunciation exercise (very) important.
So the “is” idea is built into the structure [subject + 很 + adjective], rather than using a separate verb like English “is”.
In isolation, the tones are:
- 这 = zhè (4th tone)
- 个 = gè (4th tone)
But in natural connected speech, 个 is very often pronounced with a neutral tone:
- zhè·ge → 这个
So:
- Dictionary form: zhè gè
- Natural spoken form: zhè·ge (second syllable light/short)
Both are considered the same word; just aim for a strong fourth tone on 这, and a lighter, shorter ge for 个 in normal speech.
For typical language learners:
- 发音练习 (“pronunciation practice / exercise”) is more common and natural.
- 语音练习 can sound more technical or coursebook-style, often related to phonetics or speech sounds in a more academic sense.
So, in a typical classroom context teaching pronunciation, teachers are very likely to say:
- 这个发音练习很重要。
Your original sentence with 语音练习 is grammatically correct, but if you’re thinking of normal “pronunciation drills” as a learner, 发音练习 is what you’ll hear more.