The pinyin

Pinyin is the official transcription system for Mandarin Chinese. It uses the Latin alphabet but is not read like French, so it's important to master it properly.

The Tones in Pinyin

In Mandarin Chinese, each syllable can have 5 different intonations (tones):

- 1st tone: mā 妈 (mother) it's the high level tone (55)
- 2nd tone: má 麻 (hemp) it's the rising tone (35)
- 3rd tone: mǎ 马 (horse) it's the low dipping tone (214)
- 4th tone: mà 骂 (to scold) it's the falling tone (51)
- 5th tone: ma 吗 (question particle) it's the neutral tone
 

 

Tones in Pinyin are marked on the vowel. The tone mark is placed over the main vowel (in Chinese phonetics, one distinguishes the initial, the medial, and the final). In general, the order of priority is: a, o, e, u, i. Example: mǎi, huā, jiā, dōu, shuō, què, suì, xiě. But for "u" and "i" the tone mark is always placed on the second letter: iū, uī.

Pinyin Consonants

The consonants F, L, M, S and the vowel Y are pronounced as in English or French.

French has voiced consonants (with vocal cord vibration) like B, D, G and their voiceless equivalents like P, T, K.

In Chinese, we distinguish between unaspirated and aspirated consonants (with a puff of air). The challenge is that unaspirated Chinese consonants are written like voiced French ones: B in pinyin is pronounced like French P, and so on.

Here is a table showing the unaspirated and aspirated consonants in pinyin:

The H in pinyin is pronounced like the Spanish jota.
W is pronounced as in English (like the French OU in WA = "wha").
Note! R is pronounced like the French J but with the tongue curled further back.

In Chinese, some consonants are pronounced with the tip of the tongue, while others — not found in French — use the back of the tongue (with the tip behind the lower teeth).

Pinyin Vowels

A is pronounced like in “father”: ya, wa, la, ma,...

O is pronounced almost like in English, but with a slight “u” before it: MO = “MuO”, PO = “PuO”.

E is pronounced wide open, like in "her" or "fur" (British): le, me, te,…
Preceded by Y, I, or U, E is pronounced like “ay” in “say”: xue, xie, ye, jie,...

I is pronounced like a closed "e" (like in French “le”, “feu”) after sibilants: S, SH, C, CH, Z, ZH, and R. (SI = “se”, SHI = “che”, RI = “je”,...)
After other consonants, I is pronounced like the English “ee”: mi, ni, li,...

U also has two pronunciations. It is pronounced like French U (German Ü) after Y, J, Q, and X. When marked with a diaeresis Ü, it is always pronounced like French U.
After other consonants and without the diaeresis, U is pronounced like “oo” in English: wu, mu, lu,...

Compound vowels in Pinyin:

OU is pronounced like "o" followed by a slight "e": OU = “Oe”. DOU = “Doe”, LOU = “Loe”,...

AN is pronounced like “anne” in French. But IAN is pronounced like “yen” in English.

EN is pronounced like “en” in “taken”, or “un” in French “jeune”.

IN is pronounced like "in" in English “pin”.

UN is pronounced like “ooen” (OU+EN), with a slight “e” between the “oo” and the “n”.

AI is pronounced like “eye”.

EI is pronounced like “ay” in “day”.

UI sounds between “way” and “wee” — like “OUEï”.

Vowel + NG is pronounced like in English. Do not pronounce the G at the end like in French — it’s silent and nasal: ANG, ING, ENG, ONG.

Tone Changes in Pinyin

The tone of a syllable can change depending on the tones of surrounding syllables:

When two third tones come together, the first becomes a second tone: nǐhǎo => níhǎo. 
This change occurs in speech but is generally not written.

The third tone ends low (21) if followed by another syllable. Otherwise, it completes the full curve (214).

The negation 不 bù is in the fourth tone when alone or before tone 1, 2, or 3. Before a fourth tone, it changes to the second tone: bú qù, bú dà,...

The number 'one' 一 yī is in the 1st tone when alone. Before the 4th tone, it changes to the 2nd tone: yí gè, yí xià. Before other tones, it becomes the 4th tone: yì tiān, yì qǐ, yì zhí.