Pinyin
Initials, finals, and the letters that don't sound as in English.
Pinyin, 拼音 pīnyīn, spells each Mandarin syllable in Latin letters. A syllable has up to three parts: an initial, the consonant it starts with; a final, the rest; and a tone, its pitch, marked over the vowel. 妈 mā is the initial m, the final a, and the first tone. Some syllables have no initial: 爱 ài "love".
Mandarin has only about 400 syllables, before tones, so many words share a sound and are told apart by their tone or by the words around them.
Initials
The 21 initials are learned in rows, each said in one place in the mouth.
| Initials | Said with | Close to |
|---|---|---|
| b p m f | the lips | boy, pie, my, fun |
| d t n l | the tongue tip behind the top teeth | do, tie, no, low |
| g k h | the back of the tongue | go, kite, a rough h |
| j q x | the tongue flat on the palate, lips spread | jeep, cheap, sheep |
| zh ch sh r | the tongue tip curled back | judge, church, shirt, run |
| z c s | the tongue tip at the teeth | kids, cats, see |
Puff or no puff
Six pairs of initials differ only in a puff of air: b and p, d and t, g and k, j and q, zh and ch, z and c. The second of each pair has a strong puff, stronger than English p in pie; the first has none. Neither is voiced as English b is in "about", so to English ears b sounds like a b and p like a strong p.
| No puff | Puff |
|---|---|
| 爸 bà dad | 怕 pà afraid |
| 大 dà big | 他 tā he |
| 哥 gē older brother | 可 kě can |
| 鸡 jī chicken | 七 qī seven |
| 知 zhī know | 吃 chī eat |
| 在 zài at | 菜 cài dish |
Finals
The finals are the vowel and what follows it. Six simple vowels combine into the rest.
| Group | Finals |
|---|---|
| Simple | a, o, e, i, u, ü |
| Vowel pairs | ai, ei, ao, ou, and er |
| With n or ng | an, en, ang, eng, ong |
| Starting with i | ia, ie, iao, iu, ian, in, iang, ing, iong |
| Starting with u | ua, uo, uai, ui, uan, un, uang, ueng |
| Starting with ü | üe, üan, ün |
Letters that don't sound as in English
| Pinyin | Sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| q | ch in cheap | 七 qī seven |
| x | sh in sheep | 谢谢 xièxie thank you |
| c | ts in cats | 菜 cài dish |
| z | ds in kids | 在 zài at |
| zh | j in judge | 中国 Zhōngguó China |
| e | uh | 饿 è hungry |
| ian | yen | 天 tiān sky |
| ui | way | 对 duì right |
| iu | yo | 六 liù six |
| ong | oong | 东 dōng east |
The Spelling rules explain y, w, the dots on ü, and the shortened finals, and Hard sounds the sounds English lacks.
- Wǒ jiào Wáng Xiǎomíng.My name is Wang Xiaoming.
- Tā qù Zhōngguó xuéxí Hànyǔ.He's going to China to study Chinese.
Cards from this guide
8 cardsEach card asks about one thing this guide teaches, and its back gives the answer with why and an example. They're reviewed with the rest of the Getting started cards.
How is pinyin q said?
Like ch in cheap.
How is pinyin x said?
Like sh in sheep, with the tongue flat and the lips spread.
How is pinyin c said?
Like ts in cats.
What tells b from p in Mandarin?
A strong puff of air: p has one, b has none.
How is ian in 天 (tiān) said?
Like yen: tiān sounds like "tyen".
What are the three parts of the syllable mā?
The initial m, the final a, and the first tone.
How is pinyin zh said?
Like j in judge, with the tongue tip curled back.
How is pinyin e, as in 饿 (è), said?
Like uh, from the back of the mouth with the lips spread.