Hanyu Pinyin, the Mandarin Chinese Romanization System: A Pronunciation Guide.
Hanyu Pinyin, commonly just called Pinyin, is the most important tool to learn correct Mandarin Chinese pronunciation. It is even easy to learn, unlike Chinese characters; so spend about 20 minutes here and we will have you learning Mandarin Chinese in no time.
First, Mandarin Chinese is not based on the individual letter, as is English, but rather on the syllable; each Chinese character represents one syllable. There are three components in each Chinese syllable, understanding what these are will help us understand the pinyin system. The three components are the initial, the final and the tone. These names are pretty self-explanatory, the initial is the sound at the beginning of the word, the final is the ending sound, and the tone is just that, the rising or falling tone of voice used when pronouncing that syllable.
As an example let’s look at the word "学"/"xué", which in Mandarin Chinese means "learn". In this syllable "x" is the initial, “ue” is the final and mark above the e, “é” shows the tone. Generally every syllable will have all three of these components, although some syllables don’t require an initial.
Below you will find pronunciation charts for the Initials and Finals. These two charts are the most basic pronunciation skills, and the most important for absolute beginners. If you already know all the sounds then please look at the Tone chart. If you are fairly comfortable with producing the tones then please go on to the final Tone Sandhi chart.
Initials Finals Tones Tone Sandhi| Initials | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initials are always consonants and most of them are fairly similar to their English equivalents. | ||||
| Pinyin Initial | IPA | English Equivalent | Examples | Approximate Pronunciation |
| b, d, f, g, k, l, m, n, p, s, t, w, y, ch, sh |
b, d, f, g, k, l, m, n, p, s, t, w, j, tʃ, ʃ |
About the same as English | gou bing nei |
goh bing nay |
| c | /tsʰ/ | "ts" like in "cats" | ca, cang | tsah, tsahng |
| j | /tɕ/ | like the "j" in "jar", but the blade of the tongue replaces the tip against the mouth roof and the tongue tip is placed against the back of the lower teeth. |
ji, jun | jee, jwin |
| q | /tɕʰ/ | like "ch" in "cheese", but the blade of the tongue replaces the tip against the mouth roof and the tongue tip is placed against the back of the lower teeth. |
qi, qiao | chee, chee-yow |
| r | /ʐ/ | No English equivalent. Like a "j" and "r" together, as in "pleasure". A retroflex sound; the tongue is similar to the normal "r" but is curled further back in the mouth |
ren, run | jrun, jrwun |
| x | /ɕ/ | "sh" as in "she", but the blade of the tongue replaces the tip against the mouth roof and the tongue tip is placed against the back of the lower teeth. |
xin, xing | sheen, shing |
| z | /ts/ | like the "dz" sound in "lids" | zou, zao | dzoh, dzow |
| zh | /tʂ/ | similar to the "g" in "merger" | zhou, zhao | joh, jow |
| Finals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| These endings always begin with a vowel but may finish with vowels, consonants or diphthongs. | ||||
| Pinyin Final | IPA | English Equivalent | Examples | Approximate Pronunciation |
| a | /a/ | "ah" as in "law" | ma, fa | mah, fah |
| ai | /ai/ | "y" as in "my" | tai, bai | tie, by |
| an | /an/ | "ahn" | man, kan | mahn, kahn |
| ang | /aŋ/ | "ahng" as in "ping pong" | rang, tang | rahng, tahng |
| ao | /au/ | "ow" like in "how" | nao, chao | now, chow |
| e | /ə/ | like the "u" sound in "bush" | de, ne | duh, nuh |
| ei | /ei/ | "ay" as in "pay" | nei, bei | neigh, bay |
| en | /ən/ | "en" as in "taken" | hen, pen | hen, pen |
| eng | /əŋ/ | "ung" | reng, heng | rung, hung |
| er | /ɑɹ/ | same as "are" | er | are |
| i | /i/ | "ee" as in "bee" when after b, d, j, l, m, n, p, q, t, x |
pi, ti, ni | pee, tee, nee |
| z | like a "zz" after z, c and s | ci, zi | tsz, dz | |
| /ɝ/ | like an "r" after ch, sh, zh and r | chi, zhi | chr, jr | |
| ia | /ia/ | "ee-ah" like in "Mia", but said in one syllable |
xia, jia | shee-ah, jee-ah |
| ian | /ian/ | "ee-en" (1syllable) | tian, pian | tee-en, pee-en |
| iang | /iaŋ/ | "ee-ang" (1 syllable) | xiang | shee-ang |
| iao | /iau/ | "ee-yow", as in the cat’s "meow" (1 syllable) |
piao | pee-yow |
| ie | /iɛ/ | "ee-yeh" (1 syllable) | bie | bee-yeh |
| in | /in/ | "een" | qin, xin | cheen, sheen |
| ing | /iŋ/ | "ing" as in "ring" | ting, ping | ting, ping |
| iong | /uŋ/ | "ee-ong" (1 syllable) | xiong | shee-ong |
| iu | /iə/ | "eo" as in "Leo" | liu, niu | leo, neo |
| o | /uə/ | identical to the pinyin syllable "uo" pronounced like w as in "wet"; followed by a sound pronounced somewhat like o as in "hot", but with the mouth not as open. |
wo, fo | wo, fwo |
| ong | /uŋ/ | No English equivalent. like "own" but with a "ng" sound replacing the "n". |
tong, nong | tohng, nohng |
| ou | /əu/ | "oh" | tou, lou | toh, loh |
| u | /u/ | like "oo" in "moo" after most letters | tu, mu | too, moo |
| /y/ | after j, q, x and y it is pronounced as "ü" (see below) |
yu, xu, ju | yü, xü, jü | |
| ü | /y/ | No English equivalent. Like the French "eu". Used only after n and l. |
lü, nü | lü, nü |
| ua | /ua/ | "wah" sound, as in "wash" | gua, shua | gwah, shwah |
| uai | /uai/ | same as "why" | guai, huai | gwhy, hwhy |
| uan | /uan/ | "wahn" after most letters | nuan, huan | nwahn, hwahn |
| /yan/ | "wen" as in went after j, q, x, y | quan, yuan | qwen, ywen | |
| uang | /uaŋ/ | "wahng" | guang | gwahng |
| ue or üe | /yɛ/ | "oo-weh" (1 syllable) Written üe after n and l |
xue, nüe | shoo-eh, noo-eh |
| ui | /uei/ | same as "way" | hui, dui | hway, dway |
| un | /uen/ | "one" is the closest sound in English, but the vowel sound is closer to the "oo" in "book". |
dun, zun | dwun, dzwun |
| /yn/ | After j,q and x pronounced like "win" | jun, xun | xwin, jwin | |
| uo | /uə/ | identical to the pinyin syllable "o" pronounced like w as in "wet"; followed by a sound pronounced somewhat like o as in "hot", but with the mouth not as open. |
nuo, cuo | nwo, tswo |
| Pinyin Tones |  |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Tone | ā ē ī ō ū ǖ | high pitch, remaining even throughout the syllable At the top of one's pitch and held for a moment, being sung instead of spoken. |
|
| 2nd Tone | á é í ó ú ǘ | rising pitch, starting low and rising throughout the syllable As in asking a question, "Can you swim?". |
|
| 3rd Tone | ǎ ě ǐ ǒ ǔ ǚ | falling pitch, starting at about mid-range, dropping, then rising sharply. Like the English tone used in emphasizing or scolding sentences. |
|
| 4th Tone | à è ì ò ù ǜ | sharply falling pitch, from high to low. Similar to the tone used in English imperatives like "GO!"" or "Stop!". |
|
| 5th Tone | a e i o u ü | A neutral tone on a short, unstressed syllable that takes its even pitch from the endpoint of the previous syllable. |
|
| Tone Sandhi | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tones of a syllable will sometimes change depending on surrounding tones. Although the tone indicators do not change, the spoken tones do. | ||||
| A) | If two 3rd tones are in a row, the first is pronounced as a 2nd. This applies to any length
string of 3rd tone syllables. xiǎng mǎi hǎo mǎ => xiáng mái háo mǎ |
|||
| B) | When a third tone syllable is followed by a tone other than third tone, it
changes to a low rising tone that is actually the first half of the 3rd tone and is fittingly called the "1/2 third tone".
hǎo shū => hao1/2 of 3 shū |
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| C) | In a 3 syllable string, when a tone 2 syllable is preceded by a tone 1 or 2 and followed by
any tone other than neutral tone, the 2nd syllable changes to tone 1. sān nián jí => sān niān jí |
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| D) | 一/yī and 不/bù, in connected speech, become a 2nd tone before a 4th tone; and a 4th tone
before all other tones. A) yī wàn => yí wàn............bù duì => bú duì B)yī tiān => yì tiān |
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