Hanyu (汉语) means Chinese Language
Pin (拼) means spelling
Yin (音) means sound
Hanyu PinYin is the Chinese Phonetic System. It is written in Roman letters to represent the sound of the characters. Chinese pronunciation does not correspond directly to the sound of English but only an approximate only.
A Chinese syllable consists of an initial and a final. There are altogether 21 initials and 38 finals. Initial is equivalent to a consonant in English and finals are the equivalent of vowels in English.
Initials
b | p | m | f | d | t | n |
l | g | k | h | z | c | s |
j | q | x | r | zh | ch | Sh |
Initial m, f,n, l, h, s and sh are similar to English pronunciation.
b (unaspirated) like p in spit
p (strongly aspirated) like p in pay
d (unaspirated) like t in stop
t (strongly aspirated) like t in take
g (unaspirated) like k in skill
k (aspirated) like k in kill
z (unaspirated) like ds in reads
c (strongly aspirated) like ts in cats
j (unaspirated) no equivalent in English. Like ji (じ) in Japanese
q (strongly aspirated) no equivalent in English. Like chi (ち) in Japanese
x no equivalent in English. Like shi (し) in Japanese
r like rain with tough curl upwards
zh like j in job
ch (strongly aspirated) like ch in church with tongue curl upwards
*aspirated means pronounce with a breathing
Finals
i | u | ü | |
a | ia | ua | |
o | uo | üe | |
e | ie | ||
er | |||
ai | uai | ||
ei | uei (ui) | ||
ao | iao | ||
ou | iou (iu) | ||
an | ian | uan | üan |
en | in | uen (un) | üen |
ang | iang | uang | |
eng | ieng | ueng | |
ong | iong |
ie like ye in yet
e like e in her
er like ar in bar (American pronunciation)
ai like English word eye
ei like ay in bay
ou like o in so
ao like ow in cow
an like an in ban
en like en in taken
-ng nasalized sound like ng in bang
Examples of Initial + Final
bu (不) no pa (怕) scared mang (忙) busy
hao (好) good zhong (中) middle xie (谢) thanks
PinYin Tone
Chinese pronunciation is a very important step in learning this language. If the tone is pronounced incorrectly, the meaning of the word changes as well. There are basically 4 tones and 1 neutral tone in Chinese.
1st Tone: High Level Tone
Example: Ma (妈) mother
2nd Tone: High Rising Tone
Example: Ma (麻) hemp
3rd Tone: Low Dipping Tone
Example: Ma (马) horse
4th Tone: High Falling Tone
Example: Ma (骂) scold
Der umfang ghostwriter doktorarbeit der vertraglichen leistungen ergibt sich aus der jeweils gültigen ausschreibung.
It is good, but could you please let me know how I can make sure about the correct pronunciation? as you mentioned, the pronunciation is so important, is there any link or anything to download about hearing the correct way of saying them?
Thanks
There are probably others, but if you can get “Mango” through your local library or school, it is an excellent resource. You can record any sound you make and compare it to native speakers. It’s really great! Of course, working with native speakers is the best, but if they are not available Mango is the next best thing, IMO.
it s very good i like ths site .i am beginner in chinese .i have chinese friend from henan but she s not good n english .so she tries to help me by the net of course
of course i am usings also many software n chnese and there are very good but only for trial .there s not a way how to pay to get them.
also ther s the ste of cine-information but not enough
i read chinese language carefully ,have good feelings for that.