What is Pinyin and why is it important for learning Chinese?

Pinyin is the official romanization system for Mandarin Chinese that uses Latin alphabet to represent Chinese sounds. It consists of initials (consonants), finals (vowels), and tone marks. Pinyin is essential for beginners because it provides a standardized way to learn pronunciation before mastering Chinese characters. Our interactive chart includes audio for all 400+ syllable combinations.

How many initials and finals are there in Chinese Pinyin?

Chinese Pinyin has 23 initials (consonants): b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l, g, k, h, j, q, x, zh, ch, sh, r, z, c, s, y, w. There are 24 finals (vowels) divided into: 6 simple finals (a, o, e, i, u, ü), 8 compound finals (ai, ei, ui, ao, ou, iu, ie, üe), 5 front nasal finals (an, en, in, un, ün), 4 back nasal finals (ang, eng, ing, ong), and 1 special final (er).

What are the 4 tones in Mandarin Chinese?

Mandarin Chinese has 4 main tones plus a neutral tone: 1st tone (ā) - high and flat, 2nd tone (á) - rising like asking a question, 3rd tone (ǎ) - falling then rising, 4th tone (à) - sharp falling. The neutral tone has no mark. Tones are crucial as they change word meanings - for example, "ma" can mean mother (mā), hemp (má), horse (mǎ), or scold (mà) depending on the tone.

How do I use the Pinyin chart to improve my pronunciation?

Click any Pinyin syllable in our interactive chart to hear native speaker audio. The chart is organized with initials in rows and finals in columns. Start by learning individual initials and finals, then practice combinations. Use the tabs to focus on specific categories: Initials (23), Finals (24 divided into simple, compound, and nasal), and Whole Syllables (16). Listen repeatedly and practice speaking along with the audio.

What are tone change rules in Chinese?

Key tone change rules: 1) When 不 (bù) precedes a 4th tone, it changes to 2nd tone (bú). 2) When 一 (yī) is followed by a 4th tone, it becomes 2nd tone (yí); when followed by other tones, it becomes 4th tone (yì). 3) When two 3rd tones appear together, the first becomes 2nd tone (e.g., 你好 is pronounced ní hǎo, not nǐ hǎo). 4) Neutral tone appears in words like 桌子 (zhuōzi).

What is the difference between zh/ch/sh and z/c/s in Pinyin?

zh, ch, sh are retroflex sounds (tongue curled up): zh sounds like "j" in joke with tongue curled, ch like "ch" in chin with tongue curled, sh like "sh" in shoe with tongue curled. z, c, s are dental sounds: z is a "dz" sound (like "ds" in kids), c is a "ts" sound (like "ts" in cats), s is like "s" in sun. The key difference is tongue position - retroflex sounds require curling the tongue upward.

Mandarin Chinese Pinyin Chart with Audio

What is Pinyin? Pinyin is the official romanization system for Mandarin Chinese, using the Latin alphabet to represent Chinese sounds. It's the foundation for learning Chinese pronunciation.

How to use this chart: Click on any Pinyin combination below to learn the pronunciations of different tones. The chart shows initials (consonants) in each row and finals (vowels) in each column. On mobile phones, scroll left for more combinations.

Chart structure: This interactive tool covers all 23 initials, 24 finals (simple, compound, and nasal), and 16 whole syllables. Each syllable has 4 tones plus a neutral tone, giving you access to 400+ pronunciation examples with native speaker audio.

Based on Yabla Tool

	a	o	e	i	i	er	ai	ei	ao	ou	an	en	ang	eng	ong	i	ia	iao	ie	iu	ian	in	iang	ing	iong	u	ua	uo	uai	ui	uan	un	uang	ueng	ü	üe	üan	ün
	a	o	e			er	ai		ao	ou	an	en	ang	eng		yi	ya	yao	ye	you	yan	yin	yang	ying	yong	wu	wa	wo	wai	wei	wan	wen	wang	weng	yu	yue	yuan	yun
b	ba	bo					bai	bei	bao		ban	ben	bang	beng		bi		biao	bie		bian	bin		bing		bu
p	pa	po					pai	pei	pao	pou	pan	pen	pang	peng		pi		piao	pie		pian	pin		ping		pu
m	ma	mo	me				mai	mei	mao	mou	man	men	mang	meng		mi		miao	mie	miu	mian	min		ming		mu
f	fa	fo						fei		fou	fan	fen	fang	feng												fu
d	da		de				dai	dei	dao	dou	dan	den	dang	deng	dong	di		diao	die	diu	dian			ding		du		duo		dui	duan	dun
t	ta		te				tai	tei	tao	tou	tan		tang	teng	tong	ti		tiao	tie		tian			ting		tu		tuo		tui	tuan	tun
n	na		ne				nai	nei	nao	nou	nan	nen	nang	neng	nong	ni		niao	nie	niu	nian	nin	niang	ning		nu		nuo			nuan				nü	nüe
l	la		le				lai	lei	lao	lou	lan		lang	leng	long	li	lia	liao	lie	liu	lian	lin	liang	ling		lu		luo			luan	lun			lü	lüe
g	ga		ge				gai	gei	gao	gou	gan	gen	gang	geng	gong											gu	gua	guo	guai	gui	guan	gun	guang
k	ka		ke				kai	kei	kao	kou	kan	ken	kang	keng	kong											ku	kua	kuo	kuai	kui	kuan	kun	kuang
h	ha		he				hai	hei	hao	hou	han	hen	hang	heng	hong											hu	hua	huo	huai	hui	huan	hun	huang
z	za		ze	zi			zai	zei	zao	zou	zan	zen	zang	zeng	zong											zu		zuo		zui	zuan	zun
c	ca		ce	ci			cai		cao	cou	can	cen	cang	ceng	cong											cu		cuo		cui	cuan	cun
s	sa		se	si			sai		sao	sou	san	sen	sang	seng	song											su		suo		sui	suan	sun
zh	zha		zhe		zhi		zhai	zhei	zhao	zhou	zhan	zhen	zhang	zheng	zhong											zhu	zhua	zhuo	zhuai	zhui	zhuan	zhun	zhuang
ch	cha		che		chi		chai		chao	chou	chan	chen	chang	cheng	chong											chu	chua	chuo	chuai	chui	chuan	chun	chuang
sh	sha		she		shi		shai	shei	shao	shou	shan	shen	shang	sheng												shu	shua	shuo	shuai	shui	shuan	shun	shuang
r			re		ri				rao	rou	ran	ren	rang	reng	rong											ru	rua	ruo		rui	ruan	run
j																ji	jia	jiao	jie	jiu	jian	jin	jiang	jing	jiong										ju	jue	juan	jun
q																qi	qia	qiao	qie	qiu	qian	qin	qiang	qing	qiong										qu	que	quan	qun
x																xi	xia	xiao	xie	xiu	xian	xin	xiang	xing	xiong										xu	xue	xuan	xun

Initials

Finals

Syllables

Initials (23)

* Click the audio icon to hear the first tone

Important Pinyin Rules & Notes:

Neutral Tone: Apart from the 4 tones, there's a neutral tone (no tone mark), commonly seen in words like 桌子 (zhuōzi)
不 (bù) Tone Change: When 不 (bù) precedes a fourth tone, it changes to second tone (bú)
一 (yī) Tone Changes: The character 一 (yī) changes to second tone when followed by a fourth tone (一个 yí gè), and to fourth tone when followed by any other tone (一毛 yì máo), except in numbers or 第一 (dì yī)
Third Tone Sandhi: When there are two third tones in a row, the first one becomes second tone: 你好 (ní hǎo). Note: this rule applies even though it's not always reflected in textbooks
Typing ü: You'll use "v" for the single final ü in most Chinese input methods

Learning Tips:

Start with initials and finals separately: Master the 23 initials and 24 finals before combining them
Practice tones daily: Tones change meanings completely - mā (mother), má (hemp), mǎ (horse), mà (scold)
Use the audio feature: Click each syllable to hear native pronunciation and repeat multiple times
Focus on difficult sounds: Pay extra attention to j/q/x, zh/ch/sh, and z/c/s which don't exist in English
Learn tone change rules: Understanding tone sandhi is crucial for natural-sounding Chinese