Tutorial overviewLesson 1 of 3
Pinyin is the official system for writing Chinese sounds with Latin letters. It's not how Chinese is "really written" — that's what characters are for — but it's how every learner (and every Chinese child) first learns to pronounce the language.
The good news: pinyin has clear rules, and once you know them you can read the pronunciation of any Chinese word. Below is the complete sound chart, in the same order it is taught in a first class at a Chinese school. Tap the speaker to hear every sound in a real word.
Every Chinese syllable has up to three parts: an initial (the starting consonant), a final (the vowel part), and a tone (the little mark over a vowel). Here is the most famous greeting in the world, broken down:
Everything starts here. Five of them look like Spanish or English vowels, and one — ü — is new. Learn them in this order: a, o, e, i, u, ü.
| Pinyin | Sounds like | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | like “a” in “father”, mouth wide open | mā妈(mother) | |
| o | like “o” in “more”, lips rounded | wǒ我(I, me) | |
| e | an unrounded “uh”, like “her” without the r | hē喝(to drink) | |
| i | like “ee” in “see” | yī一(one) | |
| u | like “oo” in “food”, lips tightly rounded | wǔ五(five) | |
| ü | say “ee” and round your lips as for “oo” — like French “u” or German “ü” | yú鱼(fish) |
In school order, in seven groups. Each group shares a position of the tongue, so learn them group by group: b p m f · d t n l · g k h · j q x · zh ch sh r · z c s · y w.
| Pinyin | Sounds like | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| b | like “p” in “spin” — soft, no puff of air | bā八(eight) | |
| p | like “p” in “pot”, with a strong puff of air | pǎo跑(to run) | |
| m | like “m” in “mother” | mā妈(mother) | |
| f | like “f” in “food” | fàn饭(meal, cooked rice) | |
| d | like “t” in “stop” — soft, no puff of air | dà大(big) | |
| t | like “t” in “top”, with a strong puff of air | tiān天(sky, day) | |
| n | like “n” in “no” | nǐ你(you) | |
| l | like “l” in “love” | lái来(to come) | |
| g | like “k” in “skin” — soft, no puff of air | gǒu狗(dog) | |
| k | like “k” in “kite”, with a strong puff of air | kàn看(to look, to watch) | |
| h | like “h” in “hot”, slightly rougher | hē喝(to drink) | |
| j | like “j” in “jeep”, lips spread as if smiling — no puff of air | jiā家(home, family) | |
| q | like “ch” in “cheese”, lips spread as if smiling — with a puff of air | qī七(seven) | |
| x | like a light “sh” in “sheep”, lips spread as if smiling | xiǎo小(small) | |
| zh | like “j” in “judge”, tongue curled back — no puff of air | zhōng中(middle, centre) | |
| ch | like “ch” in “church”, tongue curled back — with a puff of air | chī吃(to eat) | |
| sh | like “sh” in “ship”, tongue curled back | shū书(book) | |
| r | between “r” in “red” and “s” in “measure”, tongue curled back — never rolled | rén人(person) | |
| z | like “ds” in “kids” — no puff of air | zì字(character, word) | |
| c | like “ts” in “cats” — with a puff of air | cài菜(vegetable, dish) | |
| s | like “s” in “see” | sān三(three) | |
| y | like “y” in “yes” — it is how “i” is written at the start of a syllable | yī一(one) | |
| w | like “w” in “we” — it is how “u” is written at the start of a syllable | wǒ我(I, me) |
Two vowels glued into one smooth sound. The first vowel slides into the second, without a break.
| Pinyin | Sounds like | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ai | like “i” in “high” | ài爱(to love) | |
| ei | like “ay” in “day” | běi北(north) | |
| ui | like “way” — it is really “u-ei” | shuǐ水(water) | |
| ao | like “ow” in “cow” | hǎo好(good) | |
| ou | like “o” in “go” | gǒu狗(dog) | |
| iu | like “yo” in “yoga” said quickly — it is really “i-ou” | liù六(six) | |
| ie | like “ye” in “yes” | xiè谢(to thank (谢谢)) | |
| üe | “ü” gliding into “e”: “ü-eh” | yuè月(moon, month) |
A vowel followed by a nasal sound. Five end in -n (the tip of the tongue touches behind the teeth) and four end in -ng (the sound is made further back, in the throat, like the English “sing”).
| Pinyin | Sounds like | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| an | like “an” in “can” | sān三(three) | |
| en | like “un” in “fun” | rén人(person) | |
| in | like “een” in “seen” | xīn新(new) | |
| un | like “won” — it is really “u-en” | chūn春(spring (season)) | |
| ün | “ü” + n, lips rounded | yún云(cloud) | |
| ang | “a” of “father” + “ng” of “song” | máng忙(busy) | |
| eng | like “ung” in “hung” | lěng冷(cold) | |
| ing | like “ing” in “sing” | tīng听(to listen) | |
| ong | “oo” of “food” + “ng” of “song” | zhōng中(middle, centre) |
When a syllable has no consonant, i is written yi, u is written wu and ü is written yu. That is why y and w appear in the consonant chart.
yī 一 · wǔ 五 · yú 鱼
After j, q, x and y the two dots are dropped: ju, qu, xu, yu are written with a plain u but are still pronounced with ü.
yú 鱼 · yuè 月 · qù 去
Six consonants come in pairs made with the same tongue position: the first is soft, the second has a strong puff of air. Hold your hand in front of your mouth to feel the difference.
b–p · d–t · g–k · j–q · zh–ch · z–c
You may have noticed the little marks over the vowels (ǐ, ǎo). Those are tones — and they completely change a word's meaning.