Pinyin Chart: Complete Guide to Mandarin Chinese Pronunciation

Pinyin is the romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It maps every possible Mandarin syllable to a combination of Latin letters, making Chinese pronunciation accessible to learners who already read the Roman alphabet. If you're learning Chinese characters, pinyin is how you know what those characters sound like.

This guide covers the complete pinyin system: 21 initials (consonant sounds that start a syllable), 36 finals (vowel sounds that end a syllable), 4 tones plus the neutral tone, and the tone sandhi rules that change pronunciation in connected speech. We've included pronunciation tips for the sounds that trip up English speakers most.

Tones are the single most important aspect of Mandarin pronunciation. The same syllable pronounced with different tones means completely different things. The classic example: mā (mother), má (hemp), mǎ (horse), mà (to scold). Same consonant, same vowel, four entirely different words.

Mandarin has four main tones and one neutral (unstressed) tone.

A few tips for getting tones right. First, exaggerate them when you're learning. Most beginners don't use enough pitch range. Second, the 3rd tone is the trickiest -- in isolation it dips low and rises, but in continuous speech it often just stays low (more on this in the tone sandhi section below). Third, practice tones in pairs and sentences, not just on single syllables. Tones change in context.

Initials are the consonant sounds at the beginning of a Mandarin syllable. Some map directly to English sounds, others don't exist in English at all. The ones that cause the most confusion for English speakers are the retroflex consonants (zh, ch, sh, r), the palatal consonants (j, q, x), and the distinction between aspirated and unaspirated pairs.

j, q, x -- The palatal consonants. These don't exist in English. Place the tip of your tongue behind your lower front teeth and press the middle of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. "j" is like a soft "dj" sound (similar to the "j" in "jeep" but with the tongue further forward). "q" is the aspirated version -- add a puff of air. "x" is like "sh" but with the tongue flat against the palate, not curled. These three initials only combine with "i" and "ü" sounds.

zh, ch, sh, r -- The retroflex consonants. Curl the tip of your tongue upward toward (but not touching) the hard palate. "zh" sounds similar to "j" in "judge" but with a curled tongue. "ch" is the aspirated version, like "ch" in "church" with a curled tongue. "sh" is like English "sh" but with the tongue curled back. "r" is the trickiest -- it's a voiced version of "sh" with the tongue curled, somewhat like the "r" in "pleasure" but further back.

Aspirated vs. unaspirated. In English, we don't distinguish "b" from "p" by aspiration -- we distinguish them by voicing. In Mandarin, both are voiceless, but "p" has a burst of air and "b" doesn't. Hold your hand in front of your mouth: you should feel a puff of air for p, t, k, q, ch, c, but not for b, d, g, j, zh, z.

Finals are the vowel sounds (sometimes with a trailing consonant) that follow the initial. Mandarin finals can be simple vowels, compound vowels, or vowels ending in -n or -ng. The only consonants that can end a Mandarin syllable are -n and -ng.

The ü sound deserves special attention because it doesn't exist in English. To produce it: shape your lips as if you're going to say "oo" (round and protruded), but try to say "ee" instead. The lip position of "u" combined with the tongue position of "i" gives you ü.

Important spelling rules for ü: after j, q, x, and y, the ü is written as plain "u" (because these initials can never combine with regular "u", so there's no ambiguity). So "ju" is actually pronounced "jü", "qu" is "qü", "xu" is "xü", and "yu" is "yü". After l and n, the dots are kept: lü, nü.

Not every initial can combine with every final. The chart below shows which combinations are valid in Mandarin. This is useful for pronunciation practice -- work through each row to drill all the syllables an initial can produce.

This table shows a selection of the most common combinations. The full pinyin system includes additional combinations with compound finals (ia, ie, iu, ua, uo, ui, üe, etc.) and nasal finals (ian, uan, üan, iang, uang, etc.). The key patterns to note: j, q, x only combine with i and ü (written as u after these initials); zh, ch, sh, r never combine with ü; and some combinations like "dei" and "kei" exist but are extremely rare.

Tones change in certain contexts when syllables are spoken together. These changes are called tone sandhi, and they're essential for natural-sounding Chinese. The pinyin spelling keeps the original tones, but the pronunciation changes.

This is the most important tone sandhi rule. When two 3rd tone syllables appear in a row, the first one changes to a 2nd tone in pronunciation.

- 你好 (nǐ hǎo) is pronounced as ní hǎo - 很好 (hěn hǎo) is pronounced as hén hǎo - 可以 (kě yǐ) is pronounced as ké yǐ

The pinyin still writes the original 3rd tone, so you need to know this rule and apply it automatically. In longer strings of 3rd tones, the grouping determines which ones change. For example, 我也很好 (wǒ yě hěn hǎo) is typically pronounced wǒ yé hén hǎo -- the changes cascade based on how the phrase groups naturally.

The character 不 (not) is normally 4th tone (bù), but it changes to 2nd tone (bú) before another 4th tone syllable.

- 不是 (bù shì) is pronounced bú shì - 不对 (bù duì) is pronounced bú duì - 不去 (bù qù) is pronounced bú qù

Before 1st, 2nd, and 3rd tones, 不 stays as bù.

The character 一 (one) has the most complex tone sandhi. On its own or at the end of a phrase, it's 1st tone (yī). But it changes depending on what follows.

- Before a 4th tone: yī becomes yí (2nd tone). Example: 一个 (yí gè) - Before 1st, 2nd, or 3rd tone: yī becomes yì (4th tone). Example: 一天 (yì tiān), 一年 (yì nián), 一起 (yì qǐ)

This means 一 is almost never pronounced as yī in connected speech, even though that's its citation tone.

Pinyin has several spelling conventions that can confuse beginners. Knowing these rules prevents misreadings.

Certain pinyin letters look like English but sound different. These are the most common traps.

Reading about pinyin only takes you so far. Here's how to turn this knowledge into actual pronunciation skill.

As you learn characters, pinyin becomes the bridge between written and spoken Chinese. Every character has a pinyin pronunciation with tone marks, and pairing that written representation with native audio is the fastest way to internalize correct pronunciation. For character-level study, see our guide to how to learn Chinese characters or browse the 100 most common Chinese characters to start practicing with real examples.