Pinyin is the official romanisation of Mandarin Chinese. Every syllable has an initial (consonant), a final (vowel/ending), and a tone. Press ▶ on any card to hear the sound.
Tones (聲調)
Every Mandarin syllable carries one of four tones — or a neutral (unstressed) tone. The same syllable with a different tone is a completely different word.
ā
First Tone
High and level — hold it steady and flat
妈māmother
á
Second Tone
Rising — like asking "huh?" in English
麻máhemp / numb
ǎ
Third Tone
Dip then rise — go low, then come back up
马mǎhorse
à
Fourth Tone
Sharp falling — short and decisive
骂màto scold
a
Neutral Tone
Short and light — unstressed, barely said
吗maquestion particle
Initials (聲母)
Initials are the consonant sounds that begin a syllable. There are 21 initials plus y and w, which act as medials when a syllable starts with a vowel. Each card shows the initial, an example syllable, and an example character.
Labials — made with the lips
b
bō
波
wave
p
pō
坡
slope
m
mā
妈
mother
f
fēi
飞
fly
Alveolars — tongue tip behind upper teeth
d
dà
大
big
t
tā
他
he
n
nǐ
你
you
l
lái
来
come
Velars — back of the throat
g
gē
哥
older brother
k
kàn
看
look
h
hǎo
好
good
Palatals — front of the palate (only pair with i, u, ü)
j
jī
鸡
chicken
q
qù
去
go
x
xiǎo
小
small
Retroflexes — curl the tongue tip backward
zh
zhōng
中
middle / China
ch
chī
吃
eat
sh
shū
書
book
r
rè
熱
hot
Sibilants — flat tongue, air forced through a narrow gap
z
zài
在
at / exist
c
cóng
從
from
s
sān
三
three
Medials — start syllables that begin with i or u
y
yī
一
one
w
wǒ
我
I / me
Finals (韻母)
Finals are the vowel (and optional nasal ending) part of a syllable. A final may appear alone or after an initial. Note: some finals change spelling when they appear with an initial (e.g. iou → iu, uei → ui).
Standalone spelling: When a final appears without an initial, it uses a different spelling — i → yi, u → wu, ü → yu, ian → yan, uan → wan, ün → yun, etc. The sound is the same; only the written form changes.
Simple Finals (單韻母) — pure vowel sounds
a
ā
啊
ah! (exclamation)
o
ō
哦
oh (realisation)
e
è
餓
hungry
i
yī
一
one
u
wú
無
without / none
ü
yú
魚
fish — round lips as "u", say "ee"
Compound Finals (複韻母) — vowel combinations
ai
ài
愛
love
ei
hēi
黑
black
ao
gāo
高
tall / high
ou
kǒu
口
mouth
ia
jiā
家
home
ie
jiě
姐
older sister
ua
huā
花
flower
uo
guó
國
country
üe
yuè
月
moon / month
iao
jiào
叫
call / be called
iou (iu)
niú
牛
cow
uai
wài
外
outside
uei (ui)
duì
對
correct
Nasal Finals (鼻韻母) — end with n (front) or ng (back)
