How to Read and Pronounce Chinese Mandarin Pinyin

For anyone who wants to learn Mandarin Chinese, the first step is to learn the Chinese pinyin system. Chinese pinyin is a Romanization system: that is, it uses English letters to "spell out" how Chinese words sound. Learning Chinese pinyin will greatly help you in your quest to read and speak Mandarin Chinese.

Take the word "hello" for example. In Chinese pinyin, it would be spelled ni3 hao3. The numbers are sometimes used to indicate the tones (there are four tones in Mandarin Chinese).

The first tone is flat. The second tone starts at a low pitch and goes up to a high pitch (sort of as if you are asking a question). The third tone starts at a high pitch, goes low and then high again. The fourth tone starts at a high pitch and then goes to a low pitch.

So "hello" in Mandarin Chinese is ni3 hao3, both words spoken using the third tone.

Most of the letters in Chinese pinyin are pronounced the same way they are in English. However, there are a few differences. A couple of the sounds are not quite found in English, so the letters are only an approximation.

For instance, the Chinese pinyin letter "j" is pronounced sort of like "dz." So "Beijing" is said sort of like "beidzing."

The letter "q" in Mandarin pinyin also has no equivalent sound in English. It's pronounced somewhat like a cross between "ch" and "ts." Curl the tip of your tongue down against the back of your teeth when your are saying this.

The Chinese pinyin letter "x" also has no English equivalent. It's pronounced kind of like "syee."

"Zh" is pronounced like the "g" in "urge."

The Chinese pinyin "R" is pronounced similar to the "z" in "azure."

The pinyin "z" is pronounced somewhat like the "dz" in "suds."

The "c" is pronounced like the "ts" in "bats," only harsher, like you are really emphasizing the "ts" sound.

The pinyin "a" is pronounced like the "a" in "father."

The pinyin "e" is pronounced like the "u" in "butter."

The pinyin "I" sounds like the "ee" in "bee."

The pinyin "o" is pronounced sort of like "uh."

The pinyin "u" sounds like "ew" only with very pursed lips.

That's a starter's guide to pronouncing words in the Mandarin Chinese pinyin system. Now that you know the basics of pronouncing words in Chinese pinyin, check out a couple of these Chinese vocabulary lists to test out your pinyin knowledge:

*Chinese phrases for travelers

*The names of countries in Chinese

*Business phrases in Chinese

*Shopping in Chinese

*Computers and the Internet in Chinese