The pinyin chart
Pinyin is how Chinese sounds are written with our alphabet. Master these building blocks and you can pronounce any Chinese word. Tap any example to hear it.
The four tones
Mandarin is tonal: the same syllable said with a different pitch means something completely different. Here's the classic example — ma.
mā
1st — high & flat
Steady and high, like holding a note.
妈mother🔊
má
2nd — rising
Rises up, like asking "huh?"
麻hemp🔊
mǎ
3rd — dip then rise
Dips down low, then comes back up.
马horse🔊
mà
4th — sharp falling
Falls sharply, like a firm "No!"
骂to scold🔊
ma
neutral — light
Short and toneless, said quickly.
吗(question)🔊
Initials 声母 · the starting sound
These consonant sounds begin a syllable. Tap an example character to hear the sound in action.
b
爸 bà
dad
p
怕 pà
to fear
m
妈 mā
mom
f
飞 fēi
to fly
d
大 dà
big
t
他 tā
he
n
你 nǐ
you
l
来 lái
to come
g
高 gāo
tall
k
看 kàn
to look
h
好 hǎo
good
j
家 jiā
home
q
七 qī
seven
x
西 xī
west
zh
中 zhōng
middle
ch
吃 chī
to eat
sh
是 shì
to be
r
人 rén
person
z
字 zì
character
c
从 cóng
from
s
三 sān
three
Finals 韵母 · the ending sound
These are the vowel sounds that finish a syllable.
a
啊 ā
(ah!)
o
哦 ó
(oh)
e
饿 è
hungry
i
一 yī
one
u
五 wǔ
five
ü
绿 lǜ
green
ai
爱 ài
love
ei
杯 bēi
cup
ao
好 hǎo
good
ou
六 liù
six
an
安 ān
peace
en
很 hěn
very
ang
忙 máng
busy
eng
冷 lěng
cold
ong
红 hóng
red
er
二 èr
two
ie
谢 xiè
thanks
in
新 xīn
new
ing
名 míng
name
uo
多 duō
many