Line 11 in Detail
Line 11: To, sai gobe (Tô, sai gṑbe)
Well, until tomorrow.
| tô | well, so, OK |
| sai | until; only |
| gṑbe | tomorrow |
Note: This pronunciation guide uses “sei” rather than “sai” (as the word is written) because that's the way it sounds! It is not uncommon for the 'ai' combination to be pronounced more like 'ei', and short 'a' can be pronounced more like short 'e' in some other conditions.
For the really curious: why does the tone stay the same on “gṑbe,” though the first syllable is marked as low and the second as high? Remember that the sentence intonation combines with the tones of each word. The normal intonation of a plain statement (not a question, exclamation, and so on) is downward. At the end of a sentence, it's as if the falling pattern of the sentence and the rising pattern of the word cancel each other. (Any better but still simple explanation? Please leave a comment!)
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