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Table of Pinyin Pronunciation |
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Table of Pinyin Pronunciation |
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| Letter | American and Western Language Words | Pinyin | Pinyin | Notes |
| b | bay | ba1 | bi3 | (sometimes overlaps with p) |
| p | pay | pei2 | pi3 | (pei and bei are often said for the same character) |
| m | may | mo4 | men2 | |
| f | fair | fa1 | fen4 | |
| d | day | duo1 | dang1 | |
| t | take | ta1 | tian1 | (tian and dian can be confused when listening) |
| n | nay | ni3 | na4 | |
| l | lay | lan2 | lao3 | |
| g | gay | gai1 | gong1 | |
| k | kay | ke1 | kao4 | |
| h | hay | hai2 | Huang2 He2 | (often said with a rasp at the back of the throat) |
| j | jeep | jie1 | ju2 | (palatial) |
| q | cheer | qian2 | qie1 | |
| x | she | xian1 | xie4xie | (palatial) |
| zh | junk | zhao1 | zheng3 | (retro - devoiced) |
| ch | church | chang2chang2 | cheng2 | (retro) |
| sh | shirt | shi4 | shu1 | (retro) |
| r | leisure | ren2 | rou4 | (retro) (can include a bit of the s on leisure) |
| z | reads | zai4 | zan3 | (devoiced) |
| c | hats | cao3 | ci2 | |
| s | say | san1 | song4 | |
| y | yea | yan3 | ye2ye | |
| w | way | wen4 | wu3 | |
| VOWELS | ||||
| a | father | ta1 | ma3 | |
| o | saw | mo4 | po1 | (halfway between o and a) |
| e | British her | zhe4 | che1 | (in the back of the throat) |
| i | (no illustration) | zhi1 | ci4 | (after z, c, s, zh, ch, sh, r) |
| i | see | ti3 | qi1 | (after other consonants) |
| u | rude | lu4 | mu3 | |
| ü | French tu, German Fü hlen | lu~4 | nu~3 | (ee with rounded lips) |
| zhu | rude | zhu1 | zhu4 | zh takes the j sound and tells you that the u sound is open |
| ju | French tu, German Fü hlen | ju1 | ju4 | (ee with rounded lips) - j takes the j sound and changes the pronunciation of the u so it is like the umlaut u. |
| er | are | er4 | er2 | |
| ai | eye | hai2 | bai3 | |
| ei | eight | mei2 | gei3 | |
| ao | now | hao3 | zao1 | |
| ou | oh | dou1 | zhou1 | |
| an | can | san3 | wan3 | |
| en | British turn | wen2 | fen3 | |
| ue | you + eh | xue2 | xue3 | There is an emphatic cut off at the end of the vowel sound, don't let your voice linger or it will turn into u + long a |
| ang | German Gang | wang4 | tang1 | |
| eng | sung | zheng4 | ceng2 | |
| ong | German Lunge | zhong1 | song4 | |
| ia | Asia | jia1 | xia4 | |
| ie | yes | jie1 | qie1 | |
| iao | yeowl | qiao3 | jiao1 | |
| iu | yoke / yukon | jiu4 / jiu3 | liu2 / xiu1 | (varies with consonant) |
| ian | yen | tian1 | dian3 | |
| in | in | qin1 | jin4 | (the j creates slightly more ee sound) |
| iang | e+yang | liang2 | xiang3 | (approximately - with the 'a' in papa) |
| ing | sing | ting1 | bing4 | |
| iong | German Jü nger | xiong2 | qiong2 ren2 | |
| ua | guano | hua4 | zhua1 | |
| uo | wall | guo2 | cuo4 | |
| uai | wife | kuai4 | guai3 | |
| uan | one | yuan2 | zhuan3 | |
| un | went | cun4 | kun3 | |
| uang | oo+ahng | zhuang4 | guang3 | |
| ü e | ü+eh | |||
| ü an | ü+an | |||
| ü n | German grü n | |||
| kongr | corn | you3 kong4r | kong4r | (soften n) |
| wanr | w + far | wan2r | wan2r | (n is silent) |
| dianr | d + yar | dian3r | you3 yi2 dian3r | (n is silent) |
http://hua.umf.maine.edu/Chinese/pinyin/pinyin.html
Last update: July, 2012
© Marilyn Shea, mshea@maine.edu, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2012