Learn to read the chart
The chart holds every sound in Mandarin. Here is how to read it. Anything in teal plays when you tap it.
About 25 minutes.
Off: hover over or tap the Chinese to see its pinyin. The pinyin you're learning stays.
How a syllable is spelled 音节 yīnjié
- ch
- the initial, the first sound: the chart's rows
- a
- the final, the rest: the columns
- ˊ
- the tone mark, over the vowel
茶 means tea. Every syllable on the chart is one row plus one column, said in one of four tones. Some have no initial and start straight on the vowel.
- 爸 dad
- 中 middle
- 爱 to love
Mandarin has about 400 syllables, or about 1,300 counting the tones. Each character is one syllable, and most syllables can be written with many different characters.
The four tones 声调 shēngdiào
Each line is the pitch of the recording, measured and drawn as you hear it. Almost every tone on the chart has its own line in the panel.
High and level. Hold one note.
Rising, like a surprised “huh?”
Low and dipping. In real speech it mostly stays low.
Falling fast, like a firm “no!”
Say it: , , , , and draw each line in the air with your hand as you go.
The neutral tone is light and short, with no mark. Hear it on 欢 and 吗 in this question:
Tā xǐhuan māo ma? Does he like cats?
Where the tone mark goes
If there is an a or an e, it takes the mark.
In ou, the o takes it.
Otherwise it goes on the last vowel.
Without marks, people write the tone as a number after the syllable: ma3 is mǎ, and ma5 (or plain ma) is the neutral tone.
Train your ear: tones
You hear a syllable. Pick its tone. After each answer you see the pitch line of what you heard, and of what you chose.
For more practice with feedback, lesson 1 of our free Chinese course has a longer tone trainer.
Initials 声母 shēngmǔ
The rows of the chart. Most sound close to English. What English speakers miss is the puff of air, and three rows that English hears as one.
A puff of air
p, t and k come with a strong puff of air. b, d and g have none, so they sound like the p in “spin”, the t in “stop” and the k in “skin”. Hold your hand in front of your mouth: you should feel pā, but not bā.
- or
- or
- or
The three rows everyone mixes up
j q x Tip of the tongue down behind your bottom teeth, the flat of it pressed up. Lips spread.
zh ch sh r Tip of the tongue raised to the roof of your mouth, just behind the ridge behind your top teeth. r is sh with your voice on.
z c s Tip of the tongue flat behind your top teeth: z like the ds in “kids”, c like the ts in “cats”.
Read across each row: three sounds English hears as one.
| j q x | zh ch sh r | z c s |
|---|---|---|
Say it: , , . Feel the tip of your tongue move from behind your bottom teeth, up to the roof of your mouth, then forward to your top teeth.
Train your ear: initials
Two spellings: pick the one you hear. One pair of sounds at a time, then a mixed round. After each answer you hear both.
Finals 韵母 yùnmǔ
The columns of the chart, grouped by their first vowel. There are only six vowels to learn:
- father
- a rounded “aw”
- duh, said further back
- see
- food
- “ee” with rounded lips
Most of the rest are these run together (ia is i + a, uai is u + ai), some with -n or -ng. The ones that break the pattern are under Spellings that surprise, and the sound guide below has every final.
-n or -ng
With -n the tip of your tongue ends up behind your top teeth. With -ng the back of your tongue closes, as at the end of “sing”, and the vowel before it sounds deeper. English speakers often hear them as the same.
- or
- or
- or
- or
- or
Say it: , then . For , keep the tip of your tongue down and close off at the back.
Train your ear: finals
Two spellings: pick the one you hear. One pair at a time, then a mixed round.
er
One final on its own, said with the tongue curled back. It is also the -r ending you'll hear in Beijing, as in 哪儿 nǎr, where.
- child
- ear
- two
Spellings that surprise 拼写 pīnxiě
These are the bold syllables on the chart, and a few spellings that stand for something longer.
i after z c s zh ch sh r This i is not “ee”. It is the buzz of the consonant, carried on. Compare jī, where it is “ee”.
ju, qu, xu, yu After j, q, x and y the u is always ü, so the dots are left off. l and n can take both u and ü, so they keep the dots: lù and lǜ are different words.
y and w They are spellings, not new sounds. Before another vowel, i becomes y (ia is written ya). When i is the only vowel, it gets a y in front (i is yi, in is yin). u works the same way with w (ua is wa, u is wu), and ü is written yu.
-ian and yan Both sound like “yen”, not “ee-ahn”.
-iu, -ui, -un Short spellings for iou, uei and uen: liù sounds like “lyo”, guì like “gway”, dūn like “dwun”.
e On its own e is the u of “duh”. In ei it is the ay of “day”, and in ie and üe it is the e of “yes”.
o after b p m f bō, pō, mō and fó sound like “bwo”, “pwo”, “mwo” and “fwo”.
Tone changes 变调 biàndiào
In real speech a few tones change, depending on the tone that follows. Dictionaries keep the original mark. Many textbooks write the new tone for 不 bù and 一 yī (bú shì, yí gè), but never for two third tones.
Two third tones in a row: the first one rises.
- written nǐ hǎosaid ní hǎohello
- written kěyǐsaid kéyǐcan; OK
不 becomes before a fourth tone.
- written bù shìsaid bú shìno, it isn't
- written bù duìsaid bú duìnot right
- written bù kěyǐsaid bù kéyǐno, you can't: 不 stays before a third tone, and 可以 changes as above
The tone of 一 changes with the tone after it.
- written yīsaid yīon its own and when counting
- written yī gèsaid yí gèI have a question: before a fourth tone
- written yī zhīsaid yì zhīI have a cat: before the other tones
Say it: as : the first syllable rises, the second dips.
Sound guide 发音 fāyīn
The closest sounds in American English, from the 2021 cheat sheet on this page. They're only a start: listen to each recording and copy it.
| Pinyin | Sounds like | Hear it |
|---|---|---|
| Initials | ||
| b | Like the p in “spin”: no puff of air. To English ears it sounds halfway to a b. | 八 eight |
| p | Like the p in “pin”, with a strong puff of air. | 怕 to be afraid |
| m | As in English. | 妈 mom |
| f | As in English. | 飞 to fly |
| d | Like the t in “stop”: no puff of air. | 大 big |
| t | Like the t in “top”, with a strong puff of air. | 他 he, him |
| n | As in English. | 你 you |
| l | As in English. | 来 to come |
| z | Like the ds in “kids”. | 字 character, word |
| c | Like the ts in “cats”, with a puff of air. | 菜 dish; vegetable |
| s | Like the s in “see”. | 四 four |
| zh | Tip of the tongue raised to the roof of your mouth, just behind the ridge behind your top teeth. Close to the j in “jerk”, with no puff of air. | 中 middle |
| ch | Tongue as for zh, with a puff of air. Close to the ch in “church”. | 吃 to eat |
| sh | Tongue as for zh. Close to the sh in “shirt”. | 是 to be; yes |
| r | Tongue as for sh, with your voice on: between the r in “run” and the s in “pleasure”. | 人 person |
| g | Like the k in “skin”: no puff of air. | 个 a measure word |
| k | Like the k in “kin”, with a strong puff of air. | 看 to look, to watch |
| h | Rougher than an English h, made at the back of the mouth, a little like the ch in Scottish “loch”. | 好 good |
| j | Tip of the tongue down behind your bottom teeth, the flat of it raised. Close to the j in “jeep”, with no puff. | 家 home, family |
| q | Tongue as for j, with a puff of air. Close to the ch in “cheese”. | 去 to go |
| x | Tongue as for j. Between the s in “see” and the sh in “she”. | 谢 to thank |
| w | A spelling for u at the start of a syllable (see Spellings that surprise). | 我 I, me |
| y | A spelling for i or ü at the start of a syllable (see Spellings that surprise). | 也 also |
| Finals | ||
| a | Like the a in “father”. | 妈 mom |
| ai | Like “eye”, as in Shanghai. | 爱 to love |
| ao | Like the ow in “cow”, as in Mao. | 好 good |
| an | Like “ahn”, ending with the tip of your tongue behind your top teeth. | 三 three |
| ang | Like “ahng”: the back of your tongue closes at the end, as in “song”. | 忙 busy |
| o | A rounded “aw”. After b, p, m and f it sounds like “wo”: bō is close to “bwo”. | 摸 to touch |
| ong | Like “oong”, with the oo of “book”. | 中 middle |
| ou | Like the o in “go”. | 都 all |
| e | Like the u in “duh”, said further back, with your lips spread. | 喝 to drink |
| ei | Like the ay in “day”, as in Beijing. | 没 not (have) |
| en | Like the un in “under”. | 门 door |
| eng | Like the ung in “lung”. | 灯 lamp, light |
| er | Like an American “are”, with your tongue curled back. | 二 two |
| i | Like the ee in “see”. After z c s zh ch sh r it is a different sound. | 米 rice; meter |
| ia | i + a: “yah”. | 家 home, family |
| iao | i + ao: “yow”, as in “meow”. | 小 small |
| ie | i + e, and this e is the e in “yes”: “yeh”. | 谢 to thank |
| iu | Short for iou: “yo”. liù sounds like “lyo”. | 六 six |
| ian | Sounds like “yen”, not “ee-ahn”. | 天 sky; day |
| iang | i + ang: “yahng”. | 两 two |
| in | Like the een in “seen”, kept short. | 心 heart |
| ing | Like the ing in “sing”. | 听 to listen |
| iong | i + ong: “yoong”. | 熊 bear |
| u | Like the oo in “food”, with rounded lips. | 不 not, no |
| ua | u + a: “wah”. | 花 flower; to spend |
| uo | u + o: “waw”. | 多 many, much |
| ui | Short for uei: “way”. guì sounds like “gway”. | 贵 expensive |
| uai | u + ai: like “why”. | 快 fast |
| uan | u + an: “wahn”. | 关 to close |
| un | Short for uen: “wun”. | 春 spring |
| uang | u + ang: “wahng”. | 黄 yellow |
| ü | Say “ee”, then round your lips without moving your tongue. | 绿 green |
| üe | ü + the e of “yes”. | 学 to study |
| üan | ü + an, said like “ü-en”. | 远 far |
| ün | Say “een” with rounded lips. | 军 army |
Questions about pinyin
Pinyin (拼音 pīnyīn) is the official way to write Mandarin in the Roman alphabet, adopted in mainland China in 1958. Learners use it to know how a character is said, and most people in China use it to type Chinese on their phones and computers. More in our article What is pinyin? and our guide to typing in Chinese.
It's not a good idea. One syllable in one tone can stand for many characters: is 是 to be, 事 a matter, 试 to try and 市 a city. Pinyin alone can't tell them apart, and everything in China is written in characters, so learn the two together. Our list of the 100 most common Chinese characters is a good place to start.
About 400. This chart has 405, each recorded in all four tones. Counting the tones, about 1,300 are used in words: not every syllable is used in every tone.
The panel shows an everyday character for each tone that has one. Where there's none, that tone is rare, or has no word a beginner needs yet. The recording is still there, so you can hear the pattern.
Type the syllables with a tone number after each one (ni3 hao3) into our Pinyin Converter and it adds the marks. For ü, type v: nv3 is . To type characters, use the Chinese (pinyin) keyboard on your phone or computer: type the letters without tones (nv for 女) and pick the character.
Yes. The PDF version has the same chart on one page and prints best on A3 or 11×17 paper. Printing this page prints the chart on its own, too.
说shuō
Say it to a teacher
A teacher can hear which sounds you're getting wrong and show you how to fix them. Book a free 30-minute online lesson with one of our teachers in Guilin: read a few syllables from the chart out loud, and your teacher will tell you what to work on next.
