Chinese Pronunciation Guide

Master the fundamentals of Chinese pronunciation and improve your spoken Chinese

4 Tones
21 Initials
36 Finals
400+ Syllables

Four Tones Practice

Chinese has four basic tones. Mastering tones is the key to learning Chinese pronunciation well

First Tone
ˉ
High Level
妈
mā
mother
Second Tone
ˊ
Rising
麻
má
hemp
Third Tone
ˇ
Falling-Rising
马
mǎ
horse
Fourth Tone
ˋ
Falling
骂
mà
scold

Tone Practice

Pinyin Chart

Complete chart of pinyin initials and finals combinations

Initials (21 sounds)

b
爸 bà
p
怕 pà
m
妈 mā
f
发 fā
d
大 dà
t
他 tā
n
你 nǐ
l
来 lái
g
哥 gē
k
可 kě
h
好 hǎo
j
家 jiā
q
去 qù
x
小 xiǎo
zh
中 zhōng
ch
吃 chī
sh
是 shì
r
人 rén
z
在 zài
c
从 cóng
s
三 sān

Finals (36 sounds)

Simple Finals

a
啊 a
o
哦 o
e
鹅 é
i
衣 yī
u
乌 wū
ü
鱼 yú

Compound Finals

ai
爱 ài
ei
给 gěi
ui
水 shuǐ
ao
好 hǎo
ou
走 zǒu
iu
六 liù

Common Pinyin Combinations

Pronunciation Practice

Tone Recognition

Listen to pronunciation and choose the correct tone

Repeat Practice

Practice speaking by following standard pronunciation

Pronunciation Assessment

Record and assess your pronunciation accuracy

Pronunciation Tips

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Tone Mastery

  • First tone: Keep high and level, don't rise or fall
  • Second tone: Rise quickly from mid to high pitch
  • Third tone: Fall then rise, forming a V-shape
  • Fourth tone: Fall quickly from high to low pitch
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Mouth Position

  • a: Open mouth wide, tongue flat
  • o: Round lips, tongue pulled back
  • e: Half-open mouth, tongue in center
  • i: Pull corners of mouth apart, tongue tip touches lower teeth
  • u: Lips protruding in round shape
  • ü: Mouth shape like u, tongue position like i
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Practice Methods

  • Practice 15-30 minutes daily
  • Start with single syllables, then words
  • Record and compare to find problems
  • Imitate standard pronunciation
  • Listen and speak more to develop language sense
⚠️

Common Mistakes

  • Inaccurate tones or ignoring tones
  • Confusing zh, ch, sh with z, c, s
  • Not distinguishing n and l
  • Confusing front and back nasal sounds
  • Improper handling of neutral tones