flat and curled tongue of mandarin “包子” (bāozi) means “bun” or “steamed dumpling.” It is pronounced with a first tone for both syllables. The initial “b” is unaspirated, and the “ao” sound is similar to “ow” in “cow.” The “zi” has a neutral tone and is pronounced with a “ts” sound at the end. “报纸” (bào zhǐ) means “newspaper.” It is pronounced with a fourth tone for “bào” and a third tone for “zhǐ.” The “zhǐ” starts with a retroflex “zh” sound (similar to “j” in “measure”) and ends with a third t