| How to Pronounce Mandarin Chinese | |
One of the first steps in learning Mandarin Chinese is becoming accustomed to Mandarin pronunciation. Learning how to pronounce Mandarin helps with speaking and listening skills.
The Mandarin language has 21 consonants and 16 vowels. They can be combined together to create more than 400 mono-syllabic sounds.
Many of the sounds of Mandarin are not used in English. Although they may be similar to English, you should try to hear the differences and work on learning how to pronounce Mandarin sounds.
Here is a chart of the 37 sounds of Mandarin with a sound clip of each. Practice these as much as you can - they will provide the foundation learning how to pronounce Mandarin.
| Pinyin | Explanation | Sound Clip |
| b | similar to 'b' in the English 'boat' - softened to approach a 'p' sound | audio |
| p | similar to 'p' in the English 'top' - with more aspiration | audio |
| m | same as 'm' in the English 'mat' | audio |
| f | same as 'f' in the English 'fat' | audio |
| d | similar to 'd' in the English 'down' - softened to approach a 't' sound | audio |
| t | similar to 't' in the English 'top' - with more aspiration | audio |
| n | similar to 'n' in the English 'name' | audio |
| l | similar to 'l' in the English 'look' | audio |
| g | similar to 'g' in the English 'go' - softened to approach a 'k' sound | audio |
| k | similar to 'k' in the English 'kiss' - with more aspiration | audio |
| h | similar to 'h' in the English 'hope' - with a slight rasp as in 'loch' | audio |
| j | similar to 'j' in the English 'jeep' - tongue is positioned below lower teeth | audio |
| q | similar to 'ch' in the English 'cheap' - tongue is positioned below lower teeth | audio |
| x | similar to 'sh' in the English 'sheep' - tongue is positioned below lower teeth | audio |
| zh | similar to 'j' in the English 'jam' | audio |
| ch | similar to 'ch' in the English 'cheap' | audio |
| sh | similar to 'sh' in the English 'ship' | audio |
| r | similar to 'z' in the English 'azure' | audio |
| z | same as 'ds' in the English 'woods' | audio |
| c | similar to 'ts' in the English 'bits' | audio |
| s | similar to 's' in the English 'see' | audio |
| (y)i | similar to 'ee' in the English 'bee' | audio |
| (w)u | similar to 'oo' in the English 'room' | audio |
| yu | purse your lips and position the tongue high and forwards | audio |
| a | similar to 'ah' in the English 'Ah-hah!' | audio |
| (w)o | similar to 'or' in the English 'bore' | audio |
| e | similar to 'er' in the English 'hers' | audio |
| (y)e | similar to the English 'Yay!' | audio |
| ai | similar to the English 'eye' | audio |
| ei | similar to 'ei' in the English 'weigh' | audio |
| ao | similar to 'au' in the English 'sauerkraut' | audio |
| ou | similar to 'ou' in the English 'dough' | audio |
| an | similar to 'an' in the English 'fan' | audio |
| en | similar to 'un' in the English 'under' | audio |
| ang | a Mandarin 'a' followed by the 'ng' sound like in the English 'sing' | audio |
| eng | a Mandarin 'e' followed by the 'ng' sound like in the English 'sing' | audio |
| er | a Mandarin 'e' with the tongue curled back | audio |
