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Chinese Syllables

This document provides phonetic guidance for pronouncing Mandarin Chinese pinyin syllables. It lists common English approximations for the vowel and consonant sounds in each pinyin syllable, such as "a" sounding like the "a" in "father" and "ü" being similar to the vowel sound in the French word "tu".

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czarmaine29
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46 views1 page

Chinese Syllables

This document provides phonetic guidance for pronouncing Mandarin Chinese pinyin syllables. It lists common English approximations for the vowel and consonant sounds in each pinyin syllable, such as "a" sounding like the "a" in "father" and "ü" being similar to the vowel sound in the French word "tu".

Uploaded by

czarmaine29
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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a The "ahhhhh" that the dentist has you say, except for a shorter time.

o Like the "o" in "flow"


e Like the "e" in "problem" or the "o" in "some"
ai Like the "y" in "fly" or the "igh" in "sigh".
ei Like the "ay" in "say" or "way".
ao Like the "ow" in "wow" or "clown".
ou Like the "oe" in "toe".
an Close to the word "on" (ahn)
ang Close to the "ong" in "song" (ahng)
en Like the "un" in "unlock" (ehn)
eng Like the "ung" in "sung" or "flung" (ehng)
ong Like the "ow" in "own" followed by "ng" (owng)
u Like the "ue" in "blue"
ua Close to the "wo" in "won" (oo-wah)
uo (this entry needs an example) (oo-oh)
uai Like "why"
ui Like "ue" in "true" followed by "way"
uan Like "ue" in "true" followed by "won" (oo-ahn)
uan
Close to the "ue" in "true" followed by "ong" in "song" (oo-ahng)
g
un (this entry needs an example) (oo-uhn)
uen
"ue" in "true" followed by "ung" in "sung"
g
i Like the "e" in "me"
ia Like a Scandinavian "ja" or the "ya" in "yawn"
ie "e" in "me" followed by "ay" in "say"
iao "e" in "me" followed by "ow" in "clown"
iu Like the "u" in "cute"
ian Like the Japanese "Yen" or "yan" in "Mayan"
iang (this entry needs an example) (ee-yahng)
in Like the "ean" in "mean" or "bean".
ing Like the "ing" in "sing".
iong "e" in "me" followed by "ow" in "flow" followed by "ng" (ee-yo-ng)
Like the French "u" in "tu" or the German "ü". Pronounced by puckering your lips (pulling the
ü
corners in like to whistle) and saying the "e" in "me"
üe ü described above, followed by first "e" from "clever"
üan ü described above, followed by something close to the word "on" (ü-ahn)

ün ü described above, followed by normal "n" sound.

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