PinyinPinyin

Pinyin Start by reading through the following two tables of initital and final sounds. Then watch the video and pronounce along. There is a lot to absorb here, so it may be better to do one section per day or, if you want to do more, take a break between each section. THese are divided up in teh same way the Chinese divide them, based on the sounds your mouth makes.

You should spend a fair amount of time here and with the links below. Good pronunciation makes a world of difference when speaking with Chinese people.

Consonants/Initials - 23
//b//: unaspirated "p", like the English "b" but with a bit more pressure // p // : as in English // m // : as in English // f // : as in English

// d // : unaspirated "t", like the English "d" but with a bit more pressure // t // : as in English // n // : as in English // l // : as in English

// g // : unaspirated "k", like the English "g" but with a bit more pressure // k // : as in English // h // : like the English "h" if followed by "a"; otherwise it is pronounced more roughly/guttural (not unlike the Scottish "ch")

// z // : like the // ds // in “re ** ds ** ” but with more pressure (unaspirated counterpart of // c above //// ) // // c // : like "ts" in ca ** ts ** // s // : as in " ** s ** un"

// zh // : as in English " ** j ** ungle", but with more pressure (unaspirated counterpart of // ch above // ) //ch//: as in "**ch**ant" // sh // : as in " ** sh ** in"

// r // : similar to the English "r" in " ** r ** ank" with a bit of the initial sound in French " ** j ** ournal" in it // j // : like // zh //, but not as "full", about halfway between // zh // and // z // , always followed by a y sound // q // : like // ch //, but not as "full", about halfway between // ch // and // c // , always followed by a y sound // x // : think of hs or sy. Like // sh //, but not as "full", about halfway between // sh // and // s // // w // : as in English // y // : as in English; not pronounced at all if followed by // i //

Vowels/Finals - 32
//a//: as in "f**a**ther" //ai//: like English "**eye**" or “Th**ai**” or “m**y**”, but a bit lighter //an//: following a ‘y’ or an ‘i’ pronounced like the en in “**en**ter”; otherwise after other consonants like on in “up**on”** //ang: same as// //an, but with a ‘g’ sound at the end (even when following ‘i’ or ‘y’).// //ao//: approximately as in "c**ow**" but without the ending ‘w’ sound, or “**ou**ch”; the //a// is much more audible than the //o//

//e//: a little shorter than the oo in “c**oo**k”; when following ‘y’ or ‘i’ pronounced as “**ye**t” //ei//: as in "h**ey**" “w**ay**” or “**wei**gh” //en:// //sounds like an when you say quickly “an elephant” or “chicken”// //eng//: like the ung in “l**ung”**

//i//: like English "ee", except when preceded by "c", "s", "z"; "zh", “sh”, ch, and r. Here it is pronounced like “sh**ir**t” When preceded by c, s, or z, there is almost no sound of the vowel. //ia//: as ya in “**ya**cht” //ian//: like “**yen”** (see ‘an’ above) //iang//: like “**yahng”** (not yang) (see ‘ang’ above) //iao: “yow” (rhymes with cow)// (see ‘ao’ above), second part of “m**eow**” but as one syllable //ie//: the initial //i// sounds like English "ee", but is very short; //e//, like ye in “**ye**t” (see ‘e’ above) //in: “in” though slightly longer (approaching “seen”)// //ing:// as in “s**ing”** //iong:// a **y** sound followed by the ong in “l**ong**” //iu//: pronounced like **yo** (though without the attitude) or “O solo m**io**” but as one syllable

//o//: follows only m, p, b, and f, where it is the same as ‘uo’ below. //ong//: here, //o// is a sound somewhere in between English "o" as in "s**o**ng" and English "u" as in "b**u**sh" //ou//: oe as in “d**oe”** (without a strong ‘w’ sound at the end) //u//: like English "oo", except when preceded by y//,// x//,// j //or// q//;// in this case it is pronounced like //ü, or yu, but with a tighter mouth. Pinch your mouth together and say ‘ee’.// //ü or uu//: as in German "**ü**ben" or French "l**u**ne." Use 'v' when you type this vowel. //ua//: wa as in “**wa**nt” or “**wa**sh” //uai: “why”// //uan: wan as in “want”; except when preceded by a j, q, x, or y, when it is pronounced “when”////, though with a rounding of the mouth and lips and without any airy ‘wh’ sound.// //uang: “wong” or the Korean “won” plus a g sound.// //üe//: //e// is pronounced like //ê//, the //ü// is short and light, as in “**we**t” //ui: “way”// //un: following j,q,x, or y, pronounced as “win” but with rounded lips// //uo//: the //u// is pronounced shorter and lighter than the //o//, like the wo in “s**wo**re”

media type="youtube" key="b9Ayvjy-Dgs" height="315" width="420"

__Differences with English__ Note the following letters and syllables are not used in the way they are in English, so can cause confusion if you are not cognizant of the difference. (Look back at the explanations above if you do not remember.)

c x  z  yan yuan i (depending on what consonant precedes it. ci, si, zi, chi, shi, zhi are different.) eng ui iu

Take few minutes now and go here @http://www.archchinese.com/chinese_pinyin.htmlor here http://www.quickmandarin.com/chinesepinyintable/ to practice. Look at any pinyin the table, think about how you would pronounce it, say it aloud, then click on it and choose one of the words that appears at the top of the table (the only difference is the tone) or in the popup to hear it.

Recommended Reading @http://web.mit.edu/%7Ejinzhang/www/pinyin/ @http://www.activechinese.com/school/pinyin.jsp @http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin_table

Recommended Listening @http://www.quickmandarin.com/chinesepinyintable/ @http://www.chinese-tools.com/learn/chinese/anexe-pinyin.html iPad @http://pinyintutor.com/

Recommended Software The following program will put a pinyin table, complete with pronunciations, on your computer. @http://www.chinesehour.com/tools/pinyin_chart/ @http://chinesepod.com/tools/pronunciation

back to the Pinyin Menu OR on to Conventions