Pronunciation
Chinese Pinyin Chart
A pinyin syllable is an initial (the opening consonant) plus a final (the vowel part), spoken with one of four tones. The tables below list all 21 initials and 35 finals used in standard Mandarin, with a real example character for each.
413 distinct syllables appear in the character data behind this site (Unicode Unihan). Combinations that do not exist in Mandarin are simply not listed.
Initials (声母)
21 in totalb不bu
p朋peng
m吗ma
f飞fei
d大da
t他ta
n你ni
l来lai
g个ge
k看kan
h好hao
j叫jiao
q去qu
x学xue
zh中zhong
ch吃chi
sh是shi
r人ren
z在zai
c菜cai
s三san
Finals (韵母)
35 in totala啊a
o哦o
e饿e
ai爱ai
ei给gei
ao好hao
ou有you
an安an
en很hen
ang上shang
eng冷leng
er二er
i一yi
ia家jia
ie别bie
iao小xiao
iu六liu
ian天tian
in心xin
iang想xiang
ing名ming
iong穷qiong
u不bu
ua花hua
uo说shuo
uai快kuai
ui对dui
uan关guan
un论lun
uang光guang
ueng翁weng
ü女nü
üe学xue
üan元yuan
ün云yun
Note: the i in zhi chi shi ri is a different vowel from the i in li. Charts often merge them; they are not pronounced the same.
Tone changes the meaning
ma can be mā (mother), má (hemp), mǎ (horse) or mà (to scold). Same initial, same final — only the tone is different.