Mandarin is the predominant Chinese language spoken in China and around the world. Unfortunately for us speakers of English and other non-Chinese languages, it’s written in Chinese. (Imagine that!) We can’t look at a Chinese word and know immediately how to pronounce it.
If we know the pronunciation rules of Spanish or German, e.g., we know pretty much how to pronounce the word. If we know the pronunciation guidelines of English, as another example, we can guess pretty much how to pronounce a word. However, English has a lot of discrepancies and inconsistencies in its spelling and pronunciation. At least we can consult an English dictionary to learn how to pronounce and spell a word properly.
My pronunciation guide to Mandarin Chinese is an APPROXIMATE description of how to pronounce words in Mandarin Chinese. This guide is designed to help you to pronounce the words somewhat properly. Your Chinese-speaking friends may not be able to understand for various reasons. However, your English-speaking friends should be able to. I am currently studying the north China pronunciation of Mandarin. This guide reflects that. Apologies to my south China and Taiwan family and friends.
My pronunciation guide is based on the Yale method of transliterating the Mandarin language into the English alphabet. This system was developed by professors at Yale University during World War 2. It was designed to facilitate communication between Chinese and American military personnel. It represents the north China pronunciation (accent) very well. It does not accommodate the south China and Taiwan pronunciation of Mandarin Chinese.
Hanyu Pinyin, often just called Pinyin, is today’s official standard and most common way of representing Mandarin Chinese pronunciation in the English alphabet. It was developed in China in the 1950s and became the world ISO standard in 1982. It does a pretty good job of accommodating the various regional accents of spoken Mandarin. Pinyin does have some anomalies, though. For example:
- C sounds like ts
- Q sounds like ch + y
- X sounds like s + y
- and so on
Once you learn the rules of Pinyin and its anomalies, it will serve you well in your study of the Mandarin language.
| initials (the first consonant of a syllable) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pinyin | JERRY’S GUIDE |
SOUNDS similar to |
| b | b | b in bat, bet, bought |
| c | ts | ts in cats, bats, fights |
| ch | ch | ch in chirp, chervil, church, churn (Compare with Pinyin q below) |
| d | d | d in dog, door, David |
| f | f | f in fox, for, February |
| g | g | g in get, gill, go (never g in gel, gin, George) |
| h | h | h in hat, hot, hill |
| j | jy | j + y (j in Jeep, jeer, Jesus + y in yard, yet, you) (Compare with Pinyin zh below) |
| k | k | k in kale, keel, kosher |
| l | l | l in luck, loose, lose |
| m | m | m in moon, mung, me |
| n | n | n in nape, nor, nut |
| p | p | p in papa, pet, pill |
| q | chy | ch + y (ch in cheap, cheat, cheer + y in yard, yet, you) (Compare with Pinyin ch above) |
| r | r | r in rough, Ron, red |
| s | s | s in Sam, sat, sun |
| sh | sh | sh in shirt, shirk, shirr (Compare with Pinyin x below) |
| t | t | t in tiger, tub, till |
| w | w | w in want, will, won |
| x | sy | s + y (s in see, seat, seem + y in yard, yet, you) (Compare with Pinyin sh above) |
| y | y | y in yard, yet, you |
| z | dz | ds in ads, bids, lids |
| zh | j | g in germ, gerbil, geranium (Compare with Pinyin j above) |
| Finals (The vowels and consonants at the end of a syllable) | ||
| Pinyin | JERRY’S GUIDE |
SOUNDS similar to |
| a | ah | a in father, far, tar |
| ai | ai | ai in aisle; i in ice, bite |
| an | ahn | on in bond, gone, John |
| ang | ahng | ong in song, long, wrong |
| ao | ao | ow in how, now, pow |
| Pinyin | JERRY’S GUIDE |
SOUNDS similar to |
| e | uh | u in but, cup, duck |
| ei | ey | ey in they, grey; ei in eight, weight |
| en | uhn | un in bun, fun, gun |
| eng | uhng | ung in sung, lung, hung |
| er | ahr | ar in are, far, yard |
| Pinyin | JERRY’S GUIDE |
SOUNDS similar to |
| i / yi | ee | i in machine, cuisine, police |
| i | (silent) | In ci, ri, si, zi, the i is silent. Ci sounds like ts in cats. Ri sounds like r in rich. Si sounds like ss in bass. Zi sounds like dz in adze or ds in ads. |
| i | ur | In chi, shi, zhi, the i sounds like r in rich. Chi sounds like chir in chirp (American pronunciation). Shi sounds like shir in shirt (American pronunciation). Zhi sounds like ger in germ (American pronunciation). |
| ia / ya | yah | ya in yard; y + a in father, far, car |
| ian / yan | yehn | y + en in Ben, hen, men |
| iang / yang | yahnng | y + ong in bong, gong, long |
| iao / yao | yao | y + ow in how, now, pow |
| ie / ye | yeh | ye in yes, yet, yell |
| in / yin | een | een in keen, teen, seen |
| ing / ying | eeng | ing in sing, ring, wing |
| iong / yong | yong | y + ung in dung, hung, lung, except the o sounds closer to the o in or, north, soar (do not pronounce the r) |
| iu / you [1] | yoh [1] | yo in yo-yo [1] |
| Pinyin | JERRY’S GUIDE |
SOUNDS similar to |
| o | o | o in or, north, soar (do not pronounce the r) |
| ong | ong | ung in dung, hung, lung, except the o sounds closer to the o in or, north, soar (do not pronounce the r) |
| ou | oh | ou in dough, though, borough |
| Pinyin | JERRY’S GUIDE |
SOUNDS similar to |
| u / wu | oo | u in blue, flu, glue |
| ua /wa | wah | w in wet, wind, won + a in bra, father, far |
| uai / wai | wai | w + y in why, try, bye |
| uan /wan | wahn | w + on in bond, gone, John |
| uang / wang | wahng | w + ong in song, long, wrong |
| ui / wei [1] | wey [1] | way in way, wei in weigh, weight [1] |
| un / wen [1] | wuhn[1] | the English words won and one [1] |
| ueng / weng | wuhng | w + ung in sung, lung, hung |
| uo / wo | wo | w + o in or, north, soar (do not pronounce the r) |
| Pinyin | JERRY’S GUIDE |
SOUNDS similar to |
| ü / yu | yew | See footnote [2] below. the English word yew |
| üan / yuan | ywahn | See footnote [2] below. y in yew + wan in wander |
| üe / yue | yweh | See footnote [2] below. y in yew + we in wet |
| ün / yun | yewn | See footnote [2] below. ewn in hewn |
[2] Technically, the ü in Mandarin and u in the words ju, qu, xu, and yu are pronounced similar to the u in the French words une and musique and ü in the German words Schüler and grün. To pronounce this vowel, form your mouth as if to say oo in moon. Then, WITHOUT MOVING YOUR LIPS(!), say ee instead. You’ve got it! Or close enough for your English-speaking friends.