Introduction

Mandarin pronunciation
Syllables can be divided into initials (consonants) and finals (vowels or vowels followed by
-n or -ng). Below is a full list of initials and finals, with some guidance on pronunciation. Where
possible, the closest equivalents in English pronunciation have been given, but care should be
taken with these and conformation sought, if necessary, from a native Chinese speaker.

INITIALS
f, l, m, n, s, (w) and (y) – similar to English
p, t and k – pronounced with a slight puff of air, like the initials in pop,
top and cop
h – like ch in the Scottish loch, with a little friction in the throat
b, d and g – not voiced as in English, but closer to p in spout, t in stout,
and c in scout, than to b in bout, d in doubt and g in gout

j – like j in jeep
q – like ch in cheap
x – like sh in sheep
*The three above are pronounced with the lips spread as in a smile.

ch – like ch in church
sh – like sh in shirt
zh – like j in judge
r – like r in rung
*The four above are pronounced with the tip of the tongue curled back.

c – like ts in bits
z – like ds in bids (but not voiced)

FINALS
a – as in father
ai – as in aisle
an – as in ran
ang – as in rang, with the a slightly lengthened as in ah
ao – like ou in out
e – as in her, the
ei – as in eight
en – as in open
eng – like en + g
er – like err, but with the tongue curled back and the sound coming from the back of the throat
i – with initials b, d, j, l, m, n, p, q, t and x, as in machine, or like ee in see (but pronounced
differently with other initials, see below)
ia – i followed by a, like ya in yard
ian – similar to yen
iang – i followed by ang
iao – i followed by ao, like yow in yowl
ie – like ye in yes
in – as in thin
ing – as in thing
iong – i merged with ong
iu – like yo in yoga
i – with initials c, r, s, z, ch, sh and zh, somewhat like i in sir, bird (but pronounced differently
with other initials, see above)
o – as in more
ou – as in dough, or like oa in boat
ong – like ung in lung, but with lips rounded
u – as in rule, or like oo in boot
ua – u followed by a
uai – u followed by ai, like wi in wild
uan – u followed by an
uang – u followed by ang, like wang in twang
ueng – u followed by eng, which exists only with zero initial as weng
ui – u followed by ei, similar to way
un – u followed by en, like uan in truant
uo – u followed by o, similar to war
u/ü – with initials j, q and x (as u) and with initials l and n (as ü) like
i in machine, pronounced with rounded lips, and similar to u in French
une or u in German über
uan – u/ü followed by an, only with initials j, q and x
ue or üe – with initials j, q and x (as ue) and with initials l and n (as ue), u/ü followed by e as
above
un – u/ü with n, like French une, only with initials j, q and x

Most finals can be used without an initial (zero initial), and finals beginning with i (as in
machine) and u/ü (like the French une) are written in the pinyin romanization with y as the
first letter, and those beginning with u (as in rule) with w as the first letter:
-i > yi -ie > ye
-ia > ya -in > yin
-ian > yan -ing > ying
-iang > yang -iong > yong
-iao > yao -iu > you
-u/u > yu -ue/ue > yue
-uan > yuan -un > yun
-u > wu -uang > wang
-ua > wa -ui > wei
-uai > wai -un > wen
-uan > wan -uo > wo
Note the vowel changes with -iu (> you), -ui (> wei) and -un (> wen).

Note: Strictly speaking, in the pinyin system the hand-written form ‘a’ is used instead of the
printed version ‘a’, but this book has adopted ‘a’ throughout.

Tones
In Chinese each syllable (or character) has a tone, and in Mandarin there are four tones. In

the pinyin romanisation, the mark above a syllable indicates its tone: ¯ first tone, ’ second

tone, ˇ third tone and ` fourth tone. Some words have unstressed syllables which are toneless
and therefore are not given tone marks. Structural words like particles are also often
unstressed and are similarly unmarked.

First tone - high, level pitch; constant volume

Second tone - rising quite quickly from middle register and increasing in volume
Third tone - starting low and falling lower before rising again; louder at the
beginning
and end than in the middle
Fourth tone - starting high, falling rapidly in pitch and decreasing in volume

In speech, when a third tone precedes another third tone it changes to a second tone. Also,
the pronunciation of 一 yi ‘one’ and 不 bu ‘not’ varies according to their context. 一 ‘one’ is
first tone in counting but otherwise is fourth tone yi, except if followed by a fourth tone when
it changes to second tone yi. Similarly, bu ‘not’ is fourth tone but changes to second tone bu
when it comes before a fourth tone. However, since these tonal adjustments are all rule-
governed, they will not be indicated in our example sentences. That is to say, yi will always be
shown as first tone and bu as fourth tone.
Syllables whose isolation tone is the third tone change their contour in certain contexts as
follows.
When a third tone occurs before another third tone, it is pronounced as a rising
(second) tone.

3+3→2+3
hen hao → hen hao 很好 very good

Tone is an inherent part of the Mandarin syllable, and Mandarin uses tones to distinguish
meaning in the same way that the choice of a consonant or a vowel distinguishes meaning.
Notice how tone determines the meaning of the following syllable.

Tone
1 ma (ma1) 媽 mother
2 ma (ma2) 麻 numb
3 ma (ma3) 馬 horse
4 ma (ma4) 罵 scold
neutral ma (ma5) 嗎 question particle

Placement of tone mark in Pinyin

If a final includes three vowels, or two vowels and a final consonant, the tone mark is written
over the second vowel:

kuai huan bian qiong

If a final includes two vowels and no final consonant, the tone mark is placed over the first
vowel, unless the first vowel is i or u:

ai ao ei ou
ia ia iu
ua ue ui uo