Chinese Pinyin Pronunciation Guide with Pinyin Chart: Sounds, Tones, and Other Basics

Here we are, the pinyin of the new Chinese character is right in front of our eyes, but we have no idea how to pronounce it... It is this kind of moment that you know it's time to learn how to pronounce pinyin! Within this guide, we will deconstruct the pinyin chart and give you tips on how to pronounce each consonant, vowel, and whole syllable. Then, we can move forward to how to combine initials and finals, conquer the critical tones that define meaning. Our explanations and practical tips are designed to help you develop a solid, authentic accent from your very first Mandarin Chinese lesson.

Let's have a look at the pinyin chart first!

Pronounce each consonant, vowel, and whole syllable according to the audio of each Chinese character, but without the tone!

The basic structure of the Chinese pinyin chart: initials, finals, and whole syllables

As a Chinese learner, you might have seen all kinds of Chinese pinyin charts. The chart provided by this article categorizes the syllables into consonants, vowels, and whole syllables. When combining syllables into pinyin, consonants are usually the initials, vowels the finals, and the whole syllables are complete and unique structures in themselves.

In the pinyin chart, there are:

A quick way to memorize these syllables is to pick up 2 - 4 syllables with similar sounds as a group every day, and start your day by reviewing the previously learned groups. Some sample groups are: "b" and "p", "m" and "f", "n" and "l".

Chinese pinyin chart pronunciation: pronounce the syllables with a neutral tone

Before delving into the pinyin pronunciation, it is definitely necessary to explain the pronunciation of each syllable first in the pinyin chart. The sound of pinyin is the combination of the syllables in the pinyin, for example, "" is pronounced as the combination of "j" and "ü", with the fourth tone.

You can try to go back to the pinyin chart listed above, and you will notice that each syllable is followed by a Chinese character. The syllable should be pronounced exactly the same as the following Chinese character, but with a neutral tone, because we are only practicing on pronouncing the consonants, vowels, and whole syllables, not the complete pinyin yet.

If you still feel confused about how to pronounce the pinyin chart, check this video here!

Mandarin Chinese tone marks: practice the five core Chinese tones

Now we are ready to add tones to the syllables! In hanyu pinyin, the system consists of five distinct tones.

The perfect Chinese pinyin pronunciation = initials + finals / (whole syllables) + tones

After practicing the pinyin chart pronunciation and the five core tones, it is now time to put them together and spell out pinyin as a whole! As mentioned in the subtitle of this section, in the Chinese language, Chinese pinyin pronunciation = initials + finals / (whole syllables) + tones.

Let's try to deconstruct some Chinese characters and practice their Chinese sounds!

It's not hard at all. Now you get the gist of it about how to deconstruct the Chinese pronunciations with Chinese syllables and tones!

Why not perfect your Chinese pronunciation with videos?

It is a grinding process to memorize the pinyin syllables every day with only the pinyin charts. So, where to find more interesting materials with Chinese characters, pinyin, and English translation?

With the help of the Migaku app, you can access YouTube and other online videos for learning Mandarin phonetics. By tapping the magic wand icon at the lower right corner, Migaku can generate subtitles for you and mark out all the pinyin for each Chinese character. Clicking on the new character will automatically look up the word for you, saving you the trouble of switching between videos and dictionaries!

Learn Pinyin Pronunciation with Migaku App

FAQs

You are not far from mastering the Chinese pinyin system!

Remember, consistency is your greatest ally. Practice these initials, finals, and tones a little every day, with the materials you love and enjoy!

Your journey to clear and authentic pronunciation starts now.