1.4 Initials

In Mandarin Chinese there are 21 initial sounds.

• b
• p
• m
• f
• d
• t
• n
• l
• g
• k
• h
• j
• q
• x
• z
• c
• s
• zh
• ch
• sh
• r

In addition, the semi-vowels y and w also function as initials.

b, p, m, f

Only the simple finals a, o, i, u and the compound finals that start with a, o, i, u can be combined with b, p, m; only the simple finals a, o, u and the compound finals that start with a, o, u can be combined with f.

Chinese Initial	Description	English Equivalent
b	Quick sound produced at the front of the mouth unlike the strong sound produced in English	boy
p	Same sound as in English, put with strong exhalation like a puff of air	put
m	Same sound as in English	mom
f	Same sound as in English	fall

Listen & practice

d, t, n, l

Only the simple finals a, i, e ,u and the compound finals that start with a, i, e, u can be combined with d, t, n, l; and simple finals ü and the compound finals that start with ü can be combined with n, l.

Chinese Initial	Description	English Equivalent
d	Quick sound produced at the front of the mouth unlike the strong sound produced in English	d
t	Same sound as in English, put with strong exhalation like a puff of air	toy
n	Same sound as in English	enjoy
l	Same sound as in English	long

Listen & practice

g, k, h

Only the simple finals a, e, u and the compound finals that start with a, e, u can be combined with g, k, h.

Chinese Initial	Description	English Equivalent
g	Same sound as in English, but with no vibrations in the vocal cords	go
k	Same sound as in English, put with strong exhalation like a puff of air	kite
h	When producing h, the back of the tongue is raised towards the soft palate. The friction is noticeable. Audible and strong!	high

Listen & practice

j, q, x

Only the simple finals i, ü and the compound finals that start with i, ü can be combined with j, q, x. When j, q, x are combined with ü or a compound final starting with ü, the umlaut is omitted and ü appears as u.

Chinese Initial	Description	English Equivalent
j	Same sound as in English with minimal exhalation	Egypt
q	Sounds like all these letters run together with no emphasis on the first letter — tchee	No English equivalent
x	Sounds like the sh in English sheep, but there is no emphasis on the first letter	No English equivalent

Listen & practice

z, c, s

The simple finals a, e, u and the compound finals that start with a, e, u can be combined with z, c, s. The front apical vowel i (not the regular palatal high front vowel i) can also be combined with z, c, s. In pronouncing the syllables zi, ci, si the tongue is held in the same position throughout the syllable except that it is slightly relaxed as the articulation moves from the voiceless initial consonant to the voiced vowel.

Chinese Initial	Description	English Equivalent
z	Sounds like the ds in English beds, but with no exhalation!	birds
c	Sounds like the ts in English hats. Similar to Pinyin z, but with strong exhalation!	No English equivalent but it sounds similar to cats
s	Same sound as in English.	swim

zh, ch, sh, r

The simple finals a, e, u and the compound finals that start with a, e, u can be combined with zh, ch, sh, r. The back apical vowel i can also be combined with zh, ch, sh, r. In pronouncing the syllables zhi, chi, shi, ri the tongue is held in the same position throughout the syllable except that it is slightly relaxed as the articulation moves from the voiceless initial consonant to the voiced vowel.

Chinese Initial	Description	English Equivalent
zh	In this sound, the tongue is thrown forward from the curled back position.	George
ch	In this sound, the tongue is thrown forward from the curled back position.	Church
sh	The tongue is thrown forward from the curled back position.	Dish
r	This sound is pronounced with the tongue vibrating in the curled back position.	Pleasure

Listen & practice

w, y

w: Produce in the same manner as in English. Special case: the syllable wu is pronounced as the Pinyin u (the letter w is in this case used to mark the beginning of a new syllable.

y: Produced in the same manner as in English. Special cases: the syllable yi is pronounced as the Pinyin i #1 and the syllable yu is pronounced as the Pinyin ü (the letter y is in these cases used to mark the beginning of new syllables).

Listen & practice

 

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Pinyin foundations

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