How to Pronounce Chinese Pinyin: An English Pronunciation Guide

Pandanese Staff writer

Mandarin Chinese language, Online platform July 6th, 2023

How to Pronounce Chinese Pinyin: An English Pronunciation Guide

Knowing and pronouncing Chinese words can still be difficult when learning to speak Chinese, even if written in pinyin.

Many English-speaking learners struggle with Chinese pronunciation in English due to the significant differences in tonal distinctions and phonetic patterns. However, correctly pronouncing Chinese will help you speak, listen and communicate more effectively. While it can be tricky if you've just started learning Chinese, you will be able to hear and differentiate Chinese tones.

Learning Mandarin pronunciation will make you know how to pronounce Chinese sounds, tones, and words like any native speaker.

So let's jump in.

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The Chinese pronunciation cheat sheet for beginners

To start practicing speaking Chinese, let's break down how Chinese characters and their pinyin work.

English speakers can quickly master Chinese pronunciation with its syllable or pinyin. A syllable is made of a consonant, a vowel, and a tone.

A Chinese syllable contains a consonant (Initial) and a vowel (Finals).

It improves your Chinese speaking skills; knowing how to pronounce and read a character's pinyin properly will give you a strong foundation for communicating effectively in spoken Chinese.

To make it easier, we've created a cheat sheet for Chinese Mandarin consonant and vowel pronunciation. Keep these sheets nearby and practice these as much as you can!

How to pronounce Chinese consonants

Pinyin	Pronunciation
b	similar to “b” in the English “boat.”
p	similar to “p” in the English “pen.”
m	similar to “m” in the English “mat.”
f	similar to “f” in the English “fire.”
d	similar to “d” in the English “down.”
t	similar to “t” in the English “top.”
n	similar to “n” in the English “name.”
l	similar to “l” in the English “lake.”
g	similar to “g” in the English “go.”
k	similar to “k” in the English “kiss.”
h	similar to “h” in the English “hope.”
j	similar to “j” in the English “jeep” but with your tongue placed below the lower teeth
q	similar to “ch” in the English “cheap” but with your tongue placed below the lower teeth
x	similar to “sh” in the English “sheep” but with your tongue placed below the lower teeth
z	same as “ds” in the English “birds.”
c	similar to “ts” in the English “cats.”
s	similar to “s” in the English “sing.”
zh	similar to “j” in the English “jam.”
ch	similar to “ch” in the English “cheap.”
sh	similar to “sh” in the English “ship.”
r	similar to “r” in the English “run.”
y	similar to “y” in the English “yard.”
w	similar to “w” in the English “wood.”

Some of these contents take a lot of work to learn by reading, so here is a video to help you hear and learn Mandarin pronunciation

How the 23 Chinese consonants sound, explained by AvenueX

How to pronounce Chinese vowels

Pinyin	Pronunciation
a	similar to “ah” in the English “Ah-hah!”
o	similar to “o” in the English “bore.”
e	similar to “er” in the English “her,” without your tongue curling up.
i	similar to “ee” in the English “see.”
u	similar to “oo” in the English “room.”
ü	This is a special vowel because there is no alternative in English. It’s similar to the sound “u”, but with your lips pouting up a little.
ai	similar to the English “eye.”
ei	similar to “ey” in the English “hey.”
ui	combine “u” and “i.”
ao	similar to “ou” in the English “loud.”
ou	similar to “ou” in the English “dough.”
iu	combine “i” and “u.”
ie	combine “i” and “e.”
er	similar to “ear” in the English “early”, with your tongue curled back
an	similar to “an” in the English “fan.”
en	similar to “en” in the English “end.”
in	similar to “in” in the English “pin.”
un	combine “u” and “n.”
ang	similar to “ang” in the English “slang.”
eng	similar to “ung” in the English “hung.”
ing	similar to “ing” in the English “king.”
ong	similar to “ong” in the English “song.”
yu	purse your lips and position the tongue high and forwards
(y)i	similar to “ee” in the English “bee.”
(w)u	similar to “oo” in the English “room.”
(w)o	similar to “or” in the English “bore.”
(y)e	similar to the English “Yay!”

These pronunciations might be hard to do by just reading. To help you fully hear and pronounce Chinese vowels, here is a video

All Chinese vowels' pronunciation and tips with AvenueX

What is the app that checks Chinese pronunciation?

There're plenty of Chinese learning apps or platforms that can help you improve your Chinese pronunciation. These apps are very handy and helpful as they allow you to learn directly from your smartphones, laptop, or tablets without carrying heavy books.

All you need to do is create an account, install the app onto your device (if needed), and you're ready!

Here are the best three apps (or platforms) that can help you improve and learn how to pronounce Chinese:

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Build upon your Chinese vocabulary from what you previously learned.

Chinese Pronunciation Corrector

You can speak any Chinese phrase or Chinese word. Based on what you said, the app can give you a score from 0 to 100 based on your pronunciation.

Additionally, you can speak anything to it in Chinese, which will give several results based on your pronunciation, with the top results being the closest match to what you said.

Talk to the app in Chinese; it will give you sentences of what you said; Chinese Pronunciation Corrector

While the app does not give you the pinyin of the Chinese characters, it will pronounce any series of Chinese characters you input.

Available on: Google Play Store

Chinese Pinyin Trainer

Chinese listening and pinyin practice; Chinese Pinyin Trainer

This app works similarly to Chinese Pronunciation Corrector, but there are a few differences.

It has exercises and drills to practice picking the correct pinyin based on what you hear. It also has interactive features and audio recordings to help learners in mastering correct pronunciation and tones.

Available on: Google Play Store and Apple Store

Pandanese

Pandanese is a web-based application for Mandarin Chinese learners. Unlike the two apps above, Pandanese doesn't require any installation or system. You can log in to your Pandanese account and learn from anywhere, anytime, with any device!

When you click on a Chinese vocabulary flashcard, you'll see its pronunciation, meaning, components, and the mnemonic to remember the meaning. Pandanese also shows a list of words that contain the character you're clicking, which helps you learn many words simultaneously.

Pandanese's review flashcards mode

Pandanese‘s one-of-a-kind curriculum is categorized into three main learning purposes: school, business, and travel. Users can choose the learning purpose best suited to their needs and master the language in no time!

Frequently asked questions

What English sounds are not in Mandarin?

The "th" sound, such as in "this" and "think," does not exist in Mandarin
There is no "v" sound in Mandarin pronunciation
The "r" sound in certain contexts, such as in words like "red" or "car," is different from the Mandarin "r" sound.
The "l" sound is at the end of words or syllables, as Mandarin usually ends syllables with a vowel or a nasal consonant.

Is Chinese hard for English speakers?

Yes, it can be difficult, especially when speaking in Chinese. But with practice, English speakers can properly pronounce Chinese sounds.

What does Pinyin mean?

Pinyin is the romanization of Chinese characters—aka giving the Latin alphabet to Chinese characters. So, it allows other speakers to read and pronounce Chinese characters.

The word "Pinyin" itself means "spelled sounds" or "phonetic notation" in Chinese.

Additionally, pinyin provides tones and marks for each Chinese word so learners can pronounce them correctly.

In summary

Learning how to pronounce Chinese doesn’t happen in one day. So, don't be disappointed if you cannot master these pronunciations in one shot. Practice every day, even for just 5 minutes before bedtime.

Here's a final quick video to help you hear all the Chinese language consonants and vowels:

Quick review of all Chinese initials (consonant) and final (vowels) pronunciation, Adeeba Kashif

Acquiring accurate Chinese pronunciation is a long-term battle. For even better practice, practice speaking Chinese with your Chinese teacher or a native speaker to hear the tones and correct your pronunciation.

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