by:Kah Joon Liow
To continue with Chinese pronunciation…
1. Consonants
There are 24 consonants in pinyin which are pronounced a lot like in English.
b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l, g, k, ng, h, j, q, x, zh, ch, sh, r, z, c, s, y, w
Chinese pronunciation of Consonants
b as in boy
p as in pine
m as in mother
f as in food
d as in dig
t as in talk
n as in none
l as in loud
g as in good
k as in kid
ng as in song
h as in hot
j as in jeep
q like ch in cheat
x like a sound between the s in see and the sh in she
zh like dg in sludge
ch as in children
sh as in shake
r as in raw
z like ds in words
c like ts in eats
s as in son
y as in Yao Ming
w as in we
2. Vowels
There are 6 simple vowels.
a, o, e, i, u, ü
Chinese pronunciation of Vowels
a as in mama
o as in drop
e as in earn
I as in sit
U as in look
ü like the u in the French rue
3. Vowel Combinations
In Chinese pronunciation, basic vowels can form vowel combinations with each other or with a nasal consonant.
Chinese pronunciation of Vowel Combinations
- ai like eye
- an sounds like ah with an emphatic n at the end (NOT like an in can)
- ang sounds like ah with a soft ng (NOT like ang in hang)
- ao is like ao in Tao
- ei is like ay in bay
- en is like u in sun
- eng is like ung in sung
- er like ur in purse
- ia is like ya
- iang is like young
- ie is like yeah
- iu is like the ou in you
- ian like yen
- iao is like eow in meow
- in as in in in gin
- ing as in ing in sing
- iong is like pinyin yong
- ong is like ong in kong
- ou is like ow in low
- ua is like ua in guava
- uan like one
- uang like oo ang
- ui is like way
- un is like wou in would and ending in n sound (woon)
- uo sounds like wo as in wall
- uai is like why
- ua is like wa
- üan like yuan and written without two dots
- üe is like yue (we in wet)
Now, I know youre going to ask…
Get the rules and tips of using pinyin at http://www.living-chinese-symbols.com/chinese-pronunciation.html
Kah Joon Liow
Want to learn Chinese for pleasure and profit in less time? Like to discover the culture of Chinese characters and enhance your life? Liow Kah Joon is your guide. Sign up for his free Chinese Symbols ezine at http://www.living-chinese-symbols.com.
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