brief Chinese Pinyin Course made by Ms. Wang that you could do self-study or have a quick review of the lesson we go through together.
Section 0 Introduction of Chinese Language
Section 1 Finals 1st and Four Tones (a o e i u ü)
Section 2 Finals 2nd and Four Tones (a ai ao an ang)
Section 3 Initials 1st and Combination (b p m f)
Section 4 Finals 3rd and Four Tones (o ou ong)
Section 5 Initials 2nd and Combination (d t n l)
Section 6 Finals 4th and Four Tones (e ei en eng er)
Section 7 Initials 3rd and Combination (g k h)
Section 8 Finals 5th and Four Tones (i ia iao ie iu ian iang in ing iong)
Section 9 Initials 4th and Combination (j q x)
Section 10 Finals 6th and Four Tones (u ui un)
Section 11 Initials 5th and Combination (z c s)
Section 12 Finals 7th and Four Tones (ü üe üan ün)
Section 13 Initials 6th and Combination (zh ch sh r)
Section 14 Initials 7th and Combination (y w r)
Here are more academic detailed information about Chinese Pinyin System.
I. Pinyin:
Pinyin is a spelling system, which use the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet to transcribe
the sounds of Mandarin Chinese.
II. Chinese syllables:
A Chinese syllable consists of 3 elements: initial, the final and the tone.
II. (I). Finals:
There are three kinds of finals in Mandarin Chinese: simple finals, which are
also known as simple vowels; compound finals or compound vowels, and finals
with a nasal ending , also known as vowels with a nasal ending.
1. Simple finals:
There are six simple finals: A, O, E, I, U, U
A a: To form this final, open the mouth wide and lift the middle back part
of the tongue slightly toward the roof of the mouth, as in English
"f a ther". Aa-Aa-Aa-Aa
O o: To form this final, open the mouth just a bit and round the lip into
"O"; shape; draw the tongue toward the back of the mouth and raise the
middle back part of the tongue slightly, as in English "m o re". Oo-Oo-Oo-Oo-Oo
E e: To form this final, keep the moth open medium-wide, with the upper and
lower front teeth slightly apart. The corners of the mouth should be
spread as when saying "ee". The tongue should be toward the back of
the mouth, and its middle back section slightly raised. There is no
correspondent to this sound in English, but it sounds very similar to
the "U" in English "b u d". Students should make an effort to imitate. Ee-Ee-Ee-Ee-Ee
I i: To form this vowel, raise the front middle part of the tongue so that
it nearly touches the roof of the mouth. Spread the lips flat, very much
as in English "t ea". Ii-Ii-Ii-Ii-Ii
U u: Draw the tongue toward the back of the mouth and raise the back slightly.
Round the lips as much as possible . It is the same as English "oo ze". Uu-Uu-Uu-Uu-Uu
U u: Keep the tongue forward in the mouth and raise the front middle section of
it, as if preparing to form the final "i". At the same time, round the
lips as if you want to pronounce "u". It is like the French"t u". Uu-Uu-Uu-Uu-Uu
Here again six simple finals: A, O, E, I, U, U
2. Compound finals:
AI EI AO OU
IA IAO IE IOU
UA UO UAI UEI
UE
In Chinese, compound finals are comprised of a main vowel and a secondary
vowel. When the initial vowel are A, E, and O, they are stressed, that is,
prolonged. The vowels following are soft and brief. For example, "AI',
you begin with the mouth open, in position to form the simple vowel "A",
then, gradually close the mouth up into the position for "I":
AI ai-AI ai-AI ai-AI ai-AI ai , as in English "eye".
EI ei-EI ei-EI ei-EI ei-EI ei-EI ei, as in English "d ay".
AO ao-AO ao-AO ao-AO ao-AO ao, as in English "c ow".
OU ou-OU ou-OU ou-OU ou-OU ou, as in English "g o", "l ow".
As for the compound finals which begin with the initial vowel I, U, or U,
the main vowels come after them. I, U, and U are transitional sounds. For
example "UA", to form this construction, simply form the vowel "U"
and then without stopping the air flow, add onto it the main vowel "A".
UA ua-UA ua-UA ua-UA ua-UA ua
UO uo-UO uo-UO uo-UO uo -UO uo
UAI uai-UAI uai-UAI uai-UAI uai-UAI uai
UEI uei-UEI uei-UEI uei-UEI uei-UEI uei
IA ia-IA ia-IA ia-IA ia-IA ia
IAO iao-IAO iao-IAO iao-IAO iao-IAO iao
IE ie-IE ie-IE ie-IE ie-IE ie
*Note that the main vowel "E" in "IE"is not fully actualized. It pronounced
as "e" in English word "b e t". The compound final"EI"sounds like English
word "ye s". Again:
IE ie-IE ie-IE ie-IE ie-IE ie
IOU iou-IOU iou-IOUiou-IOU iou-IOU iou
UE ue-UE ue-UE ue-UE ue-UE ue
*Note that "E" in "UE" is carried out the same as "E" in "IE".
Here again the compound finals:
AI EI AO OU
IA IAO IE IOU
UA UO UAI UEI
UE
2. Nasal finals:
In Mandarin Chinese, finals can be followed not only by other finals (as
they are in compound finals), but also by the nasal ending "N" and
"NG". Finals with "N" ending are known as front nasals, and finals
with "NG" ending are known as back nasals.
(1) front nasal:
AN EN
IAN IN
UAN UEN
UAN UN
To pronounce a front nasal, first you form the final, no matter it is
"A" or "UA", then, without stopping the air flow, form "N". To
form "N", place the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge, then
leaving the mouth half-open, let the air flow pass through the nasal
cavity rather than though the mouth, as in English "i n", "noo n" .
Now let's hear the Chinese front nasal:
AN an-AN an-AN an-AN an-AN an
EN en-EN en-EN en-EN en-EN en
IAN ian-IAN ian-IAN ian-IAN ian-IAN ian-IAN ian
IN in-IN in-IN-IN in-IN in-IN in
UAN uan-UAN uan-UAN uan-UAN uan-UAN uan
UEN uen-UEN uen-UEN uen-UEN uen-UEN uen
UAN uan-UAN uan-UAN uan-UAN uan-UAN uan
UN un-UN un-UN un-UN un-UN un
Again all the front nasals:
AN EN
IAN IN
UAN UEN
UAN UN
(2) Back nasals:
ANG ENG ONG
IANG ING IONG
UANG UENG
To pronounce a back nasal, first form the final, whether is "O" or
"IA", and then without stopping the air flow, follow it with nasal
"NG". To form a "NG", keep the tongue against the soft palate and,
with the mouth slightly open, let the air flow out through the nasal
cavity rather than the mouth. As "NG" is a voiced consonant, the
vocal chords should vibrate while it is being formed. Now let's hear
the back nasals one by one:
ANG ang-ANG ang -ANG ang-ANG ang -ANG ang
ENG eng-ENG eng- ENG eng-ENG eng-ENG eng
ONG ong-ONG ong-ONG ong-ONG ong-ONG ong
IANG iang-IANG iang-IANG iang-IANG iang-IANG iang
ING ing-ING ing-ING ing-ING ing-ING ing
IONG iong-IONG iong-IONG iong-IONG iong-IONG iong
UANG uang-UANG uang-UANG uang-UANG uang-UANG uang
UENG ueng-UENG ueng-UENG ueng-UENG ueng-UENG ueng
Here again are the back nasals:
ANG ENG ONG
IANG ING IONG
UANG UENG
The following are the 35 finals in three categories:
| 6 simple finals | a, o, e, i, u, u |
| 13 compound finals | ai, ei, ao, ou ia, iao, ie, iou ua, uo, uai, uei ue |
| 16 nasal finals | an, en, ang, eng, ong ian, in, iang, ing, iong uan, un, uang, ueng uan, un |
II. (II): Initials:
In Mandarin Chinese, there are 21 initials, which can be categorized into 6
groups: labials, velars, palatals, alveolars, dental sibilants, and retroflexes:
1. Labials:
B P M F
B b Begin with the lips pressed together, than open them suddenly to release
the air flow. It is similar to the "B" in English, but Chinese "B" is
not voiced. Please pronounce the following combinations:
ba bo bai bei bao ban bang ben beng
bu bi bie biao bian bin bing
P p This consonant is form like Chinese "B", but with an aspiration, that
is, there is a strong puff of breath when the sound is made:
pa po pai pei pao po pan pang pen peng
pu pi pie piao pian pin ping
M m To form "M", keep the lip closed and let the air flow pass through the
nasal cavity instead of the mouth. It is identical of "M"in English
"m e".
Ma mo me mai mei mao mou man mang men meng
Mu mi mie miao miou mian min ming
F f Let the upper front teeth rest on the lower lip. The air flow should
be forced out between the teeth and the lip. It is the same as "F"
in English "f all".
Fa fo fei fou fan fang fen feng fu
Again, the labials: B P M F
2. Alveolars:
D T N L
D d Place the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge (the bony ridge
just behind the upper front teeth, then release the tongue to let the
air flow. It is close to the "T" in English "s t ar".
Da de dai dei dao dou dan dang den deng
Dong du duo duei duan duen di dia die diao diou dian ding
T t This sound is form in the same way as "d" above. The difference between
Chinese "D" and 'T"is that "D" is unaspirated, while "T" is. Chinese
"T" is like "T" in English word "t ake".
Ta te tai tei tao tou tan tang teng tong tu tuo
Tuei tuan tuen ti tie tiao tian ting
N n Place the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge, then leaving the
mouth half-open, let the air flow pass through the nasal cavity rather than
through the mouth. It is the same sound as the "N"in English "n> o".
Na ne nai nei nao nou nan nang nen neng
Nong nu nuo nuan nuen ni nie niao niou nian niang nin ning nu nue
L l Place the tongue tip against the alveolar ridge and let the air flow pass
around this obstruction and out of the mouth. It is the same as "L" in
English "l ook".
La le lai lei lao lou lan lang leng long lu luo
Luan luen li lia lie liao liou lian liang lin ling lu lue
Again, the Alveolars: D T N L
3. Velars:
G K H
G g Press the back of the tongue against the soft palate at the back of
the roof of the mouth, then release it to allow the air to follow out.
A close approximation to Chinese "G" is the unaspirated "K" in English
word "s k ill".
Ga ge gai gei gao gou gan gang gen geng gong
Gu gua guo guai guei guan guang guen
K k It is formed as "G" above. The only difference is that "G" is unaspirated
while "K" is. Chinese "K" is very much like "K" in English "k ey".
Ka ke kai kei kao kou kan kang ken keng kong
Kong ku kua kuo kuai kui kuan kuang kuen
H h Let the back of the tongue approach the soft palate without quiet touching it.
The air should flow out through the thin fissure between the tongue and the
palate. It is the friction of the air passing through the constricted space
that makes the sound.
Ha he hai hei hao hou han hang hen heng hong
Hu hua huo huai huei huan huang huen
Again, the velars: G K H
4. Palatals:
J Q X
J j Press the front of the tongue against the front of the hard palate,
then release it to let the air flow pass through the small space
between tongue and the palate. It sounds somewhat like the "G" in
English "g esture" or the "J" in "j eep.
Ji jia jie jiao jiou jian jiang jin jing jiong ju jue juan jun
Q q It is formed like "J" above, but "J" is unaspirated while "Q"
is. It is close to "CH" in English "ch eep.
Qi qia qie qiao qiou qian qiang qin qing qiong qu que quan qun
X x Let the front of the tongue approach without touching the front of
the hard palate, leaving a narrow fissure between the two surface, and
let the air flow pass out through fissure. It sound somewhat like the
"SH" in English "sh eep".
Xi xia xiao xiou xian xiang xin xing xiong xu xue xuan xun
Here again the Palatals: J Q X
5. Dental sibilants:
Z C S
Z z Extend the tip of the tongue forward to touch the back of the upper
row of front teeth, then release it just slightly and let the air flow
through the narrow fissure between tongue and teeth.
Za ze zai zei zao zou zan zang zen zeng zong
Zu zuo zuei zuan zuen zi*
*Note that "I" in "zi" is pronounced as continuation of the
"z", like the "ds" in English "la ds".
C c It is formed in the same way as "Z" above. But "C' is aspirated
while "Z" is not.
Ca ce cai cao cou can cang cen ceng cong
cu cuo cuei cuan cuen ci*
*Note that "I" in "ci" is a continuation of a "z" sound, like
the "ts" in English "ca ts".
S s Allow the tip of the tongue to approach the back of the upper teeth
without touch them. Let the air flow pass through the small fissure
remaining between the tongue and the teeth. It is very similar "S"
in English "s un".
Sa se sai sao sou san sang sen seng song
Su suo suei sui suan suen si*.
*Note that "I" in "si" is a continuation of a "z" sound.
Again the Dental sibilants: Z C S
6. Retroflexes:
ZH CH SH R
ZH zh Raise the tip of the tongue to touch the front of the hard palate
(just behind the alveolar ridge), then release the tongue just enough
for the air to flow through with some friction.
Zha zhe zhai zhei zhao zhou zhan zhang zhen zheng zhong
Zhu zhua zhuo zhuai zhuei zhuan zhuang zhuen zhi*
*Note that "i" in "zhi" is very short, like the "J" in "j erk"
and the "G" in "g erm".
CH ch "CH" is a pair to "ZH". But "ZH" is not aspirate and "CH" is.
Cha che chai chao chou chan chang chen cheng chong
Chu chua chuo chuai chuei chuan chuang chuen chi*
*Note that "i" in "chi" is very short, like the "CH" in "ch ip".
SH sh Let the tip of the tongue curl back to approach but not touch the
front of the hard palate, leaving a narrow fissure between the two.
Let the air flow pass through this fissure with some friction. It
is somewhat like "SH" in English "sh oe".
Sha she shai shei shao shou shan shang shen sheng
Shu shua shuo shuai shuei shuan shuang shuen shi*
*Note that "i" in "shi" is very short, like the "SH" in "sh irt".
R r "R" is form in the same way as "SH" above. The only difference
between them is that "SH" is unvoiced, while "R" is voiced, that
is, the vocal chord must vibrate as the sound is made. Also, "R"
is pronounced with the lips SPREAD NOT rounded like English "R".
Re rao rou ran rang ren reng rong
Ru rua ruo ruei ruan ruen ri*
*Note that "I" in "ri" is very short.
Here again are the Retroflexes: ZH CH SH R
The following are the 21 initials categorized in six groups:
| Unaspirated | Aspirated | Nasal | Frictive | Voiced | |
| Labial | Bb | Pp | Mm | Ff |
|
| Aleolar | Dd | Tt | Nn | | Ll |
| Velar | Gg | Kk | | Hh | |
| Palatal | Jj | | Xx | | |
| Dental silbilant | Zz | Cc | | Ss | |
| Retroflex | Zhzh | CHch | SHsh | | Rr |
II. (III) Tones and tone marks: Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language, in which a syllable is characterized by a fixed pitch quality known as tone. There are four tones in Mandarin Chinese, one level tone and three contour tones. One way of marking and describing tones is by the “five degree” notation. This system divides the range of pitches into five degrees, marked from lowest (1) to highest (5). For ease comparison, the four tone of Mandarin Chinese are presented graphically below.
| | First tone | Second tone | Third tone | Fourth tone |
| Five degree notation |
|
|
|
|
| Description | High and level | Rising from middle to high | First falling, then Rising | Falling from high To low |
| Tone marker |
|
|
|
|
Tones are very important in Chinese. The same syllable with different tones can have different meanings. Tone marks are written above the main vowel of a syllable. In the list below, the four tones are combined with the six simple finals. Listen and practice: 1st tone 2nd tone 3rd tone 4th tone a a a a o o o o e e e e i i i i u u u u U U U U In addition to the four tones, there also exists a neutral tone in Mandarin Chinese. A neutral tone syllable is pronounced briefly and softly, and its pitch value is determined by the stressed syllable immediately before it. Absence of a tone mark above a syllable indicates a neutral tone. III. Spelling Conventions: 1. While the simple finals “I”, “U” and “u” form syllables by themselves, additional letters are used: “I’ and “u’ are always preceded by the letter “y”, and “U” by the letter “w”. 2. While the compound finals which begin with simple final “I” as complete syllables, “y” replaces “I” at the beginning of syllables. For example: “IAO” changes to “Yao” and “IE” to “Ye”, etc. 3. While the compound finals which begin with simple final “U” as complete syllables, “w” replaces “U” at the beginning of syllables. For example: “UEI” changes to “Wei”, and “UANG” to “Wang”, etc. 4. While the compound finals which begin wit h simple final “u” as complete syllables, add “y” at the beginning of syllables. For example: :UE” changes to “Yue”, and “UN” to “Yun”, etc. 5. While the final “UEI” has an initial, it should be spelt as “ui”. For example: Instead of “duei”, it is written as “dui”, etc. 6. While the final “IOU” has an initial, it should be spelt as “iu”. For example: “Liou” becomes ‘liu”, etc. 7. While the final “UEN” has an initial, it should be spelt as “un”. For example: “Suen” becomes “sun”, etc. 8. While the compound finals which begin with simple final “u” have “J, Q, X” as initials, they should be spelt without the two dots above “u”. For example: Instead of “jüe”, it is written as “jue”, etc. 9. Tone marks are written above the main final of a syllable. The main final can be identified according to the following sequence: A-O-E-I-U-u. For example, in “AO”, the main final is “A”; in “IONG”, the main final is “O”. When “I” and “U” are combined into a syllable, the tone mark is written above the second final: “liu”, “shui”.
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