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In this document, many Chinese words
are shown. In each case, a pronounciation guide is placed in parentheses following
the first usage of each word. For example:
The sounds represented by Pinyin letters do not exactly match the way one would pronouce those letters in English. The following is a basic guide to Pinyin:
| Pinyin | English-equivalent Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|
| b | b (as in "boy") | bai |
| p | p (as in "paper") | pai |
| m | m (as in "mother") | ma |
| f | f (as in "father") | fa |
| d | d (as in "dog") | dai |
| t | t (as in "toy") | tai |
| n | n (as in "nice") | nao |
| l | l (as in "land") | le |
| z(i) | dz (try starting the sound as a "d" but end like a "z"... this one takes a little practice.) | zai |
| c(i) | tsz (as above, but start with a "t" sound and end in "z") | cai |
| s | s (as in "sand") | san |
| zh | hard "j" (as in "jam") | zhong |
| zhi | pronounced "jur" (as in "jury") | zhi |
| ch | hard "ch" (as in "chair") | chao |
| chi | pronounced "chur" (as in "churn") | chi |
| sh | hard "sh" (as in "shelf") | sheng |
| shi | pronounced same as "sure" | shi |
| r | r (same as English, but with a very slight roll) | ren |
| ri | pronounced "rrr" | ri |
| ji | soft "ji" (as in "jingle") | jing |
| qi | soft "chee" (as in "cheap") | qing |
| xi | soft "shee" (as in "sheep", but with a very soft "h", almost a "syee" sound) | xiao |
| g | hard "g" (as in "game") | guo |
| k | hard "k" (as in "kick") | kang |
| h | h (as in "house") | hei |
| a | short a (as in "ha" or "father") | ma |
| e | short e (as the u "uh") | de |
| ai | as "eye" | pai |
| ei | as the "ay" in "hay" | hei |
| ao | as the "ou" in "ouch" | dao |
| ou | long o (as in "open") | zhou |
| an | as "on" | ban |
| en | as "un" in "undecided" | ben |
| ang | as "ong" in "ping pong" | pang |
| eng | as "ung" in "rung" | peng (Although "peng" is pronounced "pong" (long o) in Mahjong. Go figure.) |
| ong | as above but with a long "o" | pong |
| er | as "are" | er |
| i | long e (as in "easy") | yi (which is "ee", not "yee") |
| ia | as the "ya" in "yard" | xia |
| ie | as in the last part of "yeah" | xie |
| iao | as in "yeeee-ow!" | miao |
| iu | as in "yo" of "yo-yo" | liu (like "Leo") |
| ian/yan | as in "yen" | yan |
| in | as "een" in "keen" | yin |
| iang/yang | "ee"+"ong" as in "ping pong" | yang |
| ing | "ing" (as in "king") | jing |
| iong/yong | "ong" with a long "o" | yong |
| u | "oo" (as "woo") | wu |
| ua/wa | "wah" (as in "want") | hua |
| uai/wai | as in "why" | huai |
| ui | as in "way" | hui |
| uan/wan | as "wan" in "wander" | guan |
| uang/wang | as in "wong" (long "o") | huang |
| ü | (hard to explain... shape your lips like you're going to say "ee" but instead make a long "u" or "o" sound) | yü |
| üe | "ü" + "eh" | yüe |
| üan | "ü" + "en" (like "yen" but with funny ü sound) | xüan |
Chinese is a tonal language. The correct pronunciation of a syllable depends on the inflection you use when speaking it as well as the actual sounds spoken. The five tones in Mandarin Chinese are written with diacritical marks (not all of which show up in HTML, sorry) over the first vowel (a, e, i, o, r, u, y or z) in each syllable:
| Tone | Mark | Inflection used |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | bar over vowel | steady high pitch |
| 2 | rising mark (má) | pitch rises from low to high |
| 3 | curve down over vowel | drop to low pitch, slight rise at end |
| 4 | falling mark (mà) | sharp fall from high to low pitch |
| 5 | dot over vowel or no mark at all | no inflection (normal voice) |
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