Lesson 1: The Chinese Phonetic Alphabet

---

The Chinese phonetic alphabet is called “Hanyu Pinyin” in Mandarin Chinese.

The Chinese syllable is usually composed of an initial and a final, and each syllable has four different tones.

The initial is a consonant that begins the syllable and the final is the rest of the syllable, for example, “bang” in which “b” is an initial and “ang” is a final.

There are 23 initials in Chinese:

1. b; 2. c; 3. ch; 4. d; 5. f; 6. g; 7. h; 8. j; 9. k; 10. l;

11. m; 12. n; 13. p; 14. q; 15. r; 16. s; 17. sh; 18. t; 19. w; 20. x;

21. y; 22. z; 23. zh

Please bear this in mind: The Chinese initials are not syllabic sounds. No word in Chinese consists of only an initial.

There are 35 finals in Chinese:

1. a; 2. ai; 3. an; 4. ang; 5. ao; 6. e; 7. ei; 8. en; 9. eng; 10. er

11. i; 12. ia; 13. ian; 14. iang; 15. iao; 16. ie; 17. in; 18. ing; 19. iong; 20. iu;

21. o; 22. ong; 23. ou; 24. u; 25. ua; 26. uai; 27. uan; 28. uang; 29. ui; 30. un;

31. uo; 32. ü; 33. üan; 34. üe; 35. ün

You may have noticed that most of the finals in the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet are combinations of more than one vowel sound instead of a single vowel sound.

A final in Chinese is a vowel, which may be a simple vowel (simple final) or a compound vowel (compound final), or a vowel plus a nasal consonant (nasal final). Some syllables may be without an initial, for example, “a” (a modal particle), but no syllable can do without a final.

Lesson 2: Basic Syllables

---

Some people say Chinese is a difficult language, but it is not quite so difficult as they think.

There are 408 basic syllables in Chinese. We have worked out a “List of Chinese Basic Syllables” that gives you a bird’s-eye view of all the 408 syllables.

Please note that the pronunciation of each syllable in the following list is only available to enrolled students. To find out how to enrol, please go to the Course Guideline Page.

---

A LIST OF CHINESE BASIC SYLLABLES

---

A
1. a; 2. ai; 3. an; 4. ang; 5. ao

B
6. ba; 7. bai; 8. ban; 9. bang; 10. bao; 11. bei; 12. ben; 13. beng; 14. bi; 15. bian; 16. biao; 17. bie; 18. bin; 19. bing; 20. bo; 21. bu

C
22. ca; 23. cai; 24. can; 25. cang; 26. cao; 27. ce; 28. cen; 29. ceng; 30. cha; 31. chai; 32. chan; 33. chang; 34. chao; 35. che; 36. chen; 37. cheng; 38. chi; 39. chong; 40. chou; 41. chu; 42. chua; 43. chuai; 44. chuan; 45. chuang; 46. chui; 47. chun; 48. chuo; 49. ci; 50. cong; 51. cou; 52. cu; 53. cuan; 54. cui; 55. cun; 56. cuo;

D
57. da; 58. dai; 59. dan; 60. dang; 61. dao; 62. de; 63. dei; 64. den; 65. deng; 66. di; 67. dian; 68. diao; 69. die; 70. ding; 71. diu; 72. dong; 73. dou; 74. du; 75. duan; 76. dui; 77. dun; 78. duo;

E
79. e; 80. ei; 81. en; 82. er;

F
83. fa; 84. fan; 85. fang; 86. fei; 87. fen; 88. feng; 89. fo; 90. fou; 91. fu;

G
92. ga; 93. gai; 94. gan; 95. gang; 96. gao; 97. ge; 98. gei; 99. gen; 100. geng; 101. gong; 102. gou; 103. gu; 104. gua; 105. guai; 106. guan; 107. guang; 108. gui; 109. gun; 110. guo;

H
111. ha; 112. hai; 113. han; 114. hang; 115. hao; 116. he; 117. hei; 118. hen; 119. heng; 120. hng; 121. hong; 122. hou; 123. hu; 124. hua; 125. huai; 126. huan; 127. huang; 128. hui; 129. hun; 130. huo

J
131. ji; 132. jia; 133. jian; 134. jiang; 135. jiao; 136. jie; 137. jin; 138. jing; 139. jiong; 140. jiu; 141. ju; 142. juan; 143. jue; 144. jun

K
145. ka; 146. kai; 147. kan; 148. kang; 149. kao; 150. ke; 151. kei; 152. ken; 153. keng; 154. kong; 155. kou; 156. ku; 157. kua; 158. kuai; 159. kuan; 160. kuang; 161. kui; 162. kun; 163. kuo

L
164. la; 165. lai; 166. lan; 167. lang; 168. lao; 169. le; 170. lei; 171. leng; 172. li; 173. lia; 174. lian; 175. liang; 176. liao; 177. lie; 178. lin; 179. ling; 180. liu; 181. lo; 182. long; 183. lou; 184. lu; 185. luan; 186. lve; 187. lun; 188. luo

M
189. ma; 190. mai; 191. man; 192. mang; 193. mao; 194. me; 195. mei; 196. men; 197. meng; 198. mi; 199. mian; 200. miao; 201. mie; 202. min; 203. ming; 204. miu; 205. mo; 206. mou; 207. mu

N
208. na; 209. nai; 210. nan; 211. nang; 212. nao; 213. ne; 214. nei; 215. nen; 216. neng; 217. ng; 218. ni; 219. nian; 220. niang; 221. niao; 222. nie; 223. nin; 224. ning; 225. niu; 226. nong; 227. nou; 228. nu; 229. nuan; 230. nve; 231. nuo

O
232. o; 233. ou;

P
234. pa; 235. pai; 236. pan; 237. pang; 238. pao; 239. pei; 240. pen; 241. peng; 242. pi; 243. pian; 244. piao; 245. pie; 246. pin; 247. ping; 248. po; 249. pou; 250. pu

Q
251. qi; 252. qia; 253. qian; 254. qiang; 255. qiao; 256. qie; 257. qin; 258. qing; 259. qiong; 260. qiu; 261. qu; 262. quan; 263. que; 264. qun

R
265. ran; 266. rang; 267. rao; 268. re; 269. ren; 270. reng; 271. ri; 272. rong; 273. rou; 274. ru; 275. ruan; 276. rui; 277. run; 278. ruo

S
279. sa; 280. sai; 281. san; 282. sang; 283. sao; 284. se; 285. sen; 286. seng; 287. sha; 288. shai; 289. shan; 290. shang; 291. shao; 292. she; 293. shei; 294. shen; 295. sheng 296. shi; 297. shou; 298. shu; 299. shua; 300. shuai; 301. shuan; 302. shuang; 303. shui; 304. shun; 305. shuo; 306. si; 307. song; 308. soul 309. sul 310. suan; 311. sui; 312. sun; 313. suo;

T
314. ta; 315. tai; 316. tan; 317. tang; 317. tao; 319. te; 320. tei; 321. teng; 322. ti; 323. tian; 324. tiao; 325. tie; 326. ting; 327. tong; 328. tou; 329. tu; 330. tuan; 331. tui; 332. tun; 333. tuo

W
334. wa; 335. wai; 336. wan; 337. wang; 338. wei; 339. wen 340. weng; 341. wo; 342. wu

X
343. xi; 344. xia; 345. xian; 346. xiang; 347. xiao; 348. xie; 349. xin; 350. xing; 351. xiong; 352. xiu; 353 xu; 354. xuan; 355. xue; 356. xun

Y
357. ya; 358. yan; 359. yang; 360. yao; 361. ye; 362. yi; 363. yin; 364. ying; 365. yo; 366. yong; 367. you; 368. yu; 369. yuan; 370. yue; 371 yun

Z
372. za; 373. zai; 374. zan; 375. zang; 376. zao; 377. ze; 378. zei; 379. zen; 380. zeng; 381. zha; 382. zhai; 383. zhan; 384. zhang; 385. zhao; 386. zhe; 387. zhei; 388. zhen; 389. zheng; 390. zhi; 391. zhong; 392. zhou; 393. zhu; 394. zhua; 395. zhuai; 396. zhuan; 397. zhuang; 398. zhui; 399. zhun; 400. zhuo; 401. zi; 402. zong; 403. zou; 404. zu; 405. zuan; 406. zui; 407. zun; 408. zuo

---

Lesson 3: Tones

---

When a syllable of Chinese is pronounced in different tones, it has different meanings, for example, da1 (to put up), da2 (to answer), da3 (to beat), da4 (big).

The most difficult part for a foreigner learning Chinese is, perhaps, its tones. Yet it need not be so difficult to learn them, since there are only four basic tones in Chinese.

Now listen to this:

a1 – a2 – a3 – a4

e1 – e2 – e3 – e4

you1 – you2 – you3 – you4

wang1 – wang2 – wang3 – wang4

yuan1 – yuan2 – yuan3 – yuan4

Now you probably have some idea of what the four tones in Chinese are like. However, there is something more you should know: in addition to the four basic tones, there is one special and important change of tone called the neutral tone. The neutral tone is not an independent element that stands by itself; it occurs only in connection with and related to the tone preceding it. But that does not necessarily mean that this neutral tone is less important than the other four tones, since you will never be able to speak Chinese accurately and with a natural flow if you don’t know where to use a neutral tone in your speech.

Now please listen to this – A neutral tone following a first, second, third or fourth tone sounds like this:

ma1ma (mother); bo1li (glass); ta1 ne (how about him);

ye2ye (grandfather); bie2de (else); lai2 le (coming);

jie3jie (elder sister); san3zi (voice); zou3 ba (let’s go);

Xie4xie (thanks); mu4tou (wood); lei4 ma ([you're] tired?)

Please note that, for a neutral tone, no tone-mark is needed.

Here are the main characteristics of each tone: Tone 1 is a high level pitch; Tone 2 is a rising pitch; Tone 3 is a low dipping pitch; Tone 4 is a falling pitch. When practising, please note that if there are two Tone 3 syllables in the same tone combination, the first syllable should be articulated in Tone 2 instead of Tone 3. The neutral tone is short and unstressed.

Pinyin Combination

Chinese Pinyin Combination Chart 1

The numbers refer to tones available to these conbinations.

Finals

a

o

e

ê

-i

er

ai

ei

ao

ou

an

en

ang

eng

Initials

1234 a

1234 e

1234 (ê)

234 er

1234 ai

1234 ao

1 34 ou

1 34 an

1 4 en

12 4 ang

b

1234 ba

1234 bo

1234 bai

1 34 bei

1234 bao

1 34 ban

1 34 ben

1 34 bang

1234 beng

p

12 4 pa

1234 po

1234 pai

12 4 pei

1234 pao

1 pou

12 4 pan

12 4 pen

1234 pang

1234 peng

m

1234 ma

1234 mo

me

234 mai

234 mei

1234 mao

23 mou

1234 man

12 4 men

23 mang

1234 meng

f

1234 fa

2 fo

1234 fei

3 fou

1234 fan

1234 fen

1234 fang

1234 feng

d

1234 da

12 de

1 34 dai

1 3 dei

1234 dao

1 34 dou

1 34 dan

1 34 dang

1 34 deng

t

1 34 ta

4 te

12 4 tai

1234 tao

12 4 tou

1234 tan

1234 tang

12 teng

n

1234 na

2 4 ne

34 nai

34 nei

234 nao

234 nan

4 nen

234 nang

2 neng

l

1234 la

4 le

2 4 lai

1234 lei

1234 lao

1234 lou

234 lan

234 lang

234 leng

g

1234 ga

1234 ge

1 34 gai

3 gei

1 34 gao

1 34 gou

1 34 gan

1 4 gen

1 34 gang

1 34 geng

k

1 3 ka

1234 ke

1 34 kai

1 kei

34 kao

1 34 kou

1 34 kan

3 ken

12 4 kang

1 keng

h

123 ha

12 4 he

1234 hai

1 hei

1234 hao

1234 hou

1234 han

234 hen

12 4 hang

12 4 heng

zh

1234 zha

1234 zhe

1234 zhi

1234 zhai

1234 zhao

1234 zhou

1 34 zhan

1 34 zhen

1 34 zhang

1 34 zheng

ch

1234 cha

1 34 che

1234 chi

12 chai

1234 chao

1234 chou

1234 chan

12 4 chen

1234 chang

1234 cheng

sh

1234 sha

1234 she

1234 shi

1 34 shai

2 shei

1234 shao

1234 shou

1 34 shan

1234 shen

1 34 shang

1234 sheng

r

34 re

4 ri

234 rao

2 4 rou

23 ran

234 ren

1234 fang

12 reng

z

12 za

2 4 ze

1 34 zi

1 34 zai

2 zei

1234 zao

1 34 zou

1234 zan

3 zen

1 4 zang

1 4 zeng

c

1 ca

4 ce

1234 ci

1234 cai

123 cao

4 cou

1234 can

12 cen

12 cang

2 4 ceng

s

1 34 sa

4 se

1 34 si

1 4 sai

1 34 sao

1 34 sou

1 34 san

1 sen

1 34 sang

1 seng

Chinese Pinyin Combination Chart 2

The numbers refer to tones available to these conbinations.

Finals	i	ia	ie	iao	iou	ian	in	iang	ing
Initials	1234 yi	1234 ya	1234 ye	1234 yao	1234 you	1234 yan	1234 yin	1234 yang	1234 ying
b	1234 bi		1234 bie	1 34 biao		1 34 bian	1 4 bin		1 34 bing
p	1234 pi		1 34 pie	1234 piao		12 4 pian	1234 pin		12 ping
m	1234 mi		1 4 mie	234 miao	4 miu	234 mian	23 min		234 ming
d	1234 di		12 die	1 4 diao	1 diu	1 34 dian			1 34 ding
t	1234 ti		1 34 tie	1234 tiao		1234 tian			123 ting
n	234 ni		1 4 nie	34 niao	1234 niu	1234 nian	2 nin	2 4 niang	234 ning
l	234 li	3 lia	34 lie	1234 liao	1234 liu	234 lian	1234 lin	234 liang	1234 ling
j	1234 ji	1234 jia	1234 jie	1234 jiao	1 34 jiu	1 34 jian	1 34 jin	1 34 jiang	1 34 jing
q	1234 qi	1 34 qia	1234 qie	1234 qiao	12 qiu	1234 qian	1234 qin	1234 qiang	1234 qing
x	1234 xi	12 4 xia	1234 xie	1234 xiao	1 34 xiu	1234 xian	1 4 xin	1234 xiang	1234 xing

Chinese Pinyin Combination Chart 3

The numbers refer to tones available to these conbinations.

Finals	u	ua	uo	uai	uei	uan	uen	uang	ueng	ong
Initials	1234 wu	1234 wa	1 34 wo	1 34 wai	1234 wei	1234 wan	1234 wen	1234 wang	1 4 weng
b	234 bu
p	1234 pu
m	234 mu
f	1234 fu
d	1234 du		1234 duo		1 4 dui	1 34 duan	1 34 dun			134 dong
t	1234 tu		1234 tuo		1234 tui	12 tuan	12 4 tun			1234 tong
n	234 nu		24 nuo			3 nuan				2 4 nong
l	234 lu		1234 luo			234 luan	12 4 lun			234 long
g	1234 gu	1 34 gua	1234 guo	1 34 guai	1 34 gui	1 34 guan	34 gun	1 34 guang		1 34 gong
k	1 34 ku	1 34 kua	4 kuo	4 kuai	1234 kui	1 3 kuan	1 34 kun	12 4 kuang		1 34 kong
h	1234 hu	12 4 hua	1234 huo	2 4 huai	1234 hui	1234 huan	12 4 hun	1234 huang		1234 hong
zh	1234 zhu	1 3 zhua	12 zhuo	1 34 zhuai	1 4 zhui	1 34 chuan	1 3 zhun	1 4 zhuang		1 34 zhong
ch	1234 chu		1 4 chuo	1 34 chuai	12 chui	1234 chuan	123 chun	1234 chuang		1234 chang
sh	1234 shu	1 3 shua	1 4 shuo	1 34 shuai	234 shui	1 4 shuan	3 4 shun	1 3 shuang
r	234 ru		4 ruo		34 rui	3 ruan	4 run			23 rong
z	123 zu		1234 zuo		34 zui	1 34 zuan	1 zun			1 34 zong
c	1 4 cu		1 34 cuo		1 4 cui	12 4 cuan	1234 cun			12 cong
s	12 4 su		13 suo		1234 sui	1 4 suan	1 3 sun			1 34 song

Chinese Pinyin Combination Chart 4

The numbers refer to tones available to these conbinations.

Finals	ü	üe	üan	ün	iong
Initials	1234 yu	1 4 yue	1234 yuan	1234 yun	1234 yong
n	3 nü	4 nüe
l	234 lü	4 lüe
j	1234 ju	12 4 jue	1 34 juan	1 4 jun	3 jiong
q	1234 qu	12 4 que	1234 quan	2 qun	2 qiong
x	1234 xu	1234 xue	1234 xuan	12 4 xun	12 xiong

Tones of Chinese Pinyin

Introduction of Chinese Pinyin Tones

Tones are an important part of Chinese, which are the variation of pitch within a syllable and are used to distinguish words with same Pinyin. There are basiclly four tones and one neutral tone in Mandarin Chinese. The following chart illustates the four basic tones.

Basic Four Tone Marks

Tones	Tone Marks	Descriptons	Examples
1st tone		阴平 high level	dā 耷(drop down)
2nd tone		阳平 high rising	dá 答(answer)
3rd tone		上声 low dipping	dǎ 打(hit)
4th tone		去声 high falling	dà 大(big)

The neutral tone, occurs on stressless syllables and has a pitch entirely determined by the tones of adjacent syllables. However, a neutral will never act as the starting tone. Neutral tones are usually unmarked. For example, the read parts of the following table are neutral tones.

māma 妈妈	yéye 爷爷	nǎinai 奶奶	bàba 爸爸
gēge 哥哥	wáwa 娃娃	jiějie 姐姐	mèimei 妹妹
zhuōzi 桌子	fángzi 房子	běnzi 本子	jìngzi 镜子
jīnzi 金子	yínzi 银子	zǎoshang 早上	dìshang 地上
dīngzi 钉子	miánhua 棉花	yǐngzi 影子	yànzi 燕子

Tone Mark Placement

The tone mark is placed over the vowel if there is only one vowel letter.

bù

nà

tè

If there are two vowels, the tone mark is placed on the first, unless the this first vowel is i or u.

kǎi

hēi

qiú

tuī

If there are three vowels in a syllable, the tone mark is placed on the middle one.

qióng

zhuāng

chuán

When the tone mark is place on i, the small dot is removed.

yí

lín

huī