Pinyin Pronunciation Chart

Welcome to the Pinyin Chart! This interactive chart contains all 410 valid Mandarin Chinese syllables.

Click any syllable to hear its pronunciation. Use the tone buttons to see different tone marks. Printable Version

Select Tone: All 1ˉ First Tone 2ˊ Second Tone 3ˇ Third Tone 4ˋ Fourth Tone
1 First Tone
High and level
2 Second Tone
Rising
3 Third Tone
Falling then rising
4 Fourth Tone
Sharp falling
Initial↓ Final→ a o e i u ü ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong er
b ba bo - bi bu - bai bei bao - ban ben bang beng - -
p pa po - pi pu - pai pei pao pou pan pen pang peng - -
m ma mo me mi mu - mai mei mao mou man men mang meng - -
f fa fo - - fu - - fei - fou fan fen fang feng - -
d da - de di du - dai dei dao dou dan den dang deng dong -
t ta - te ti tu - tai - tao tou tan - tang teng tong -
n na - ne ni nu nv nai nei nao nou nan nen nang neng nong -
l la lo le li lu lv lai lei lao lou lan - lang leng long -
g ga - ge - gu - gai gei gao gou gan gen gang geng gong -
k ka - ke - ku - kai kei kao kou kan ken kang keng kong -
h ha - he - hu - hai hei hao hou han hen hang heng hong -
j - - - ji - ju - - - - - - - - - -
q - - - qi - qu - - - - - - - - - -
x - - - xi - xu - - - - - - - - - -
zh zha - zhe zhi zhu - zhai zhei zhao zhou zhan zhen zhang zheng zhong -
ch cha - che chi chu - chai - chao chou chan chen chang cheng chong -
sh sha - she shi shu - shai shei shao shou shan shen shang sheng - -
r - - re ri ru - - - rao rou ran ren rang reng rong -
z za - ze zi zu - zai zei zao zou zan zen zang zeng zong -
c ca - ce ci cu - cai - cao cou can cen cang ceng cong -
s sa - se si su - sai - sao sou san sen sang seng song -
y ya yo ye yi - yu - - yao you yan - yang - yong -
w wa wo - - wu - wai wei - - wan wen wang weng - -
- a o e - - - ai ei ao ou an en ang eng - er
Initial↓ Final→ ia ie iu ian in iang ing iong ua uo uai ui uan un uang üe üan ün
b - bie - bian bin - bing - - - - - - - - - - -
p - pie - pian pin - ping - - - - - - - - - - -
m - mie miu mian min - ming - - - - - - - - - - -
f - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
d dia die diu dian - - ding - - duo - dui duan dun - - - -
t - tie - tian - - ting - - tuo - tui tuan tun - - - -
n - nie niu nian nin niang ning - - nuo - - nuan - - nve - -
l lia lie liu lian lin liang ling - - luo - - luan lun - lve - -
g - - - - - - - - gua guo guai gui guan gun guang - - -
k - - - - - - - - kua kuo kuai kui kuan kun kuang - - -
h - - - - - - - - hua huo huai hui huan hun huang - - -
j jia jie jiu jian jin jiang jing jiong - - - - - - - jue juan jun
q qia qie qiu qian qin qiang qing qiong - - - - - - - que quan qun
x xia xie xiu xian xin xiang xing xiong - - - - - - - xue xuan xun
zh - - - - - - - - zhua zhuo zhuai zhui zhuan zhun zhuang - - -
ch - - - - - - - - chua chuo chuai chui chuan chun chuang - - -
sh - - - - - - - - shua shuo shuai shui shuan shun shuang - - -
r - - - - - - - - rua ruo - rui ruan run - - - -
z - - - - - - - - - zuo - zui zuan zun - - - -
c - - - - - - - - - cuo - cui cuan cun - - - -
s - - - - - - - - - suo - sui suan sun - - - -
y - - - - yin - ying - - - - - - - - yue yuan yun
w - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Pronunciation Tips
Difficult Initials
  • zh, ch, sh, r - Retroflex sounds (tongue curled back)
  • j, q, x - Palatal sounds (tongue flat, softer)
  • z, c, s - Dental sounds (tongue behind teeth)
Difficult Finals
  • ü - Round lips, say "ee" (like German "ü")
  • -i after zh/ch/sh/r - Buzzing sound, not "ee"
  • -i after z/c/s - Hissing sound, not "ee"
Pinyin Quick Reference
The 4 Tones
  • 1st (ˉ): High and flat
  • 2nd (ˊ): Rising (like a question)
  • 3rd (ˇ): Dipping low
  • 4th (ˋ): Sharp falling
21 Initials

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

~35 Finals

a o e i u ü, ai ei ao ou, an en ang eng ong, ia ie iu ian in iang ing iong, ua uo uai ui uan un uang, üe üan ün

Neutral Tone (Light Tone)

The neutral tone (also called "light tone" or 5th tone) is unstressed and has no tone mark. It typically appears in the second syllable of certain words. Its pitch depends on the preceding tone. Click any example to hear how neutral tone sounds in context.

Common Particles
Common Suffixes
Example Words
Word Pinyin Meaning Audio
妈妈 māma mother
爸爸 bàba father
我的 wǒ de my/mine
走了 zǒu le left/gone
你呢 nǐ ne and you?
桌子 zhuōzi table
我们 wǒmen we/us
石头 shítou stone

Tip: The neutral tone syllable is shown in blue. Notice how it's always unstressed and shorter than the preceding syllable.

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