The complete, free guide to Chinese Pinyin for foreign learners. Explore all 23 initials (声母), the finals (韵母), the four tones (声调) plus the neutral tone, and master Mandarin pronunciation with clear English explanations, tone marks and everyday examples.
Initials are the consonant sounds at the start of a syllable. There are 23 initials in Mandarin. Tap any cell to see its English pronunciation guide and an example.
Pinyin (拼音, "spell-sound") is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese. Every Mandarin syllable can be built from three parts: an initial (consonant, 声母), a final (vowel sound, 韵母), and a tone (声调). Learn these building blocks and you can read and pronounce any Chinese word from the dictionary — it is the foundation of every Mandarin course and HSK study plan.
| Type | Pinyin | How to say it (English hint) |
|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | b = unaspirated "p", p = "p" with a puff of air, m = "m", f = "f" | |
| Dental / alveolar | d = "t" in "stop", t = "t" in "top", n = "n", l = "l" | |
| Velar | g = "k" in "sky", k = "k" in "kite", h = a breathy "h" from the throat | |
| Palatal (tongue on the ridge) | j = "j" in "jeep", q = "ch" in "cheese", x = "sh" in "she" — keep the tongue tip down | |
| Retroflex (curled tongue) | Curve the tongue tip back: zh = "j", ch = "ch", sh = "sh", r = a buzzy "r" | |
| Dental sibilant | z = "ds" in "beds", c = "ts" in "cats", s = "s" in "sun" | |
| Approximants | y acts like "i" (yi, yao), w acts like "u" (wu, wan) — used to start syllables with no consonant |
Tip for beginners: many pinyin letters look like English but are NOT pronounced the same. For example q sounds like English "ch", and x sounds like "sh". Spend time with these five pairs: b/p, d/t, g/k, j/q/x, z/c/s — the first of each pair is unaspirated (no puff of air).
| Category | Finals | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Simple (6) | a = "father", o = "more", e = "uh", i = "see", u = "too", ü = say "ee" with rounded lips | |
| Compound (9) | ai = "eye", ei = "day", ui = "way", ao = "now", ou = "go", ie = "yes" | |
| Front nasal (5) | an = "on", en = "when", in = "seen", un = "soon", ün = round lips + "ee" + "n" | |
| Back nasal (4) | ang = "song" (open mouth), eng = "long", ing = "sing", ong = "oong" with tongue lifted |
24 finals in total: 6 simple + 9 compound + 5 front-nasal + 4 back-nasal. This is the standard set taught in Chinese classrooms.
Quick note: the ü (umlaut u) is written as plain u after j, q, x — e.g. ju, qu, xu — because u never follows those letters on its own. Also remember the two written abbreviations: iou → iu and uei → ui.
| Tone | Mark | Shape | Example (mā) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st - high level | ˉ (mā) | Flat, high, even pitch 55 | mā | mother |
| 2nd - rising | ˊ (má) | Rises from middle to high 35 | má | hemp |
| 3rd - falling-rising | ˇ (mǎ) | Dips low then rises 214 | mǎ | horse |
| 4th - falling | ˋ (mà) | Slides from high to low 51 | mà | scold |
| Neutral - light | none (ma) | Short and light, no full pitch | ma | question particle |
Why tones matter: the same spelling ma means "mother", "hemp", "horse" or "scold" depending only on the tone. Tones are not decoration — they are part of the word, just like the vowels and consonants.
ā, ó, ǐ, ù.a present, mark a first — bāo, piāo.a? Mark o then e — hóu, jué.i and u together: the mark goes on the second one — liù (iu), guì (ui).māma (妈妈).nǐ hǎo is spoken as ní hǎo.nǐmen.yí; before 1st/2nd/3rd it becomes yì; alone or at the end it stays yī.bú, e.g. bú shì.men, de, ma.| Pinyin | Characters | Meaning | Tones |
|---|---|---|---|
| nǐ hǎo | 你好 | hello | 3rd + 3rd (spoken ní hǎo) |
| xiè xie | 谢谢 | thank you | 4th + neutral |
| zài jiàn | 再见 | goodbye | 4th + 4th |
| hěn gāo xìng | 很高兴 | very happy | 3rd + 1st + 4th |
| zhōng guó | 中国 | China | 1st + 2nd |
| bēi jīng | 北京 | Beijing | 3rd + 1st |
This page is the perfect companion for HSK preparation, Mandarin self-study and classroom teaching. Practice the initials, finals and tones above until they feel natural — then any Chinese word is just a syllable you already know how to say.