Introduction

Chinese syllables have three parts: an initial, a final, and a tone.

Initial
Final
Tone
Syllable

t

a
ˉ

ㄊㄚˉ

m

ㄧㄥ

ing
ˊ

ㄇㄧㄥˊ

míng

h

ao
ˇ

ㄏㄠˇ

hǎo

b

u
ˋ

ㄅㄨˋ

Initials

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b

p

m

f

d

t

n

l

g

k

h

j

q

x

zh

ch

sh

r

z

c

s


Finals

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a

ai

an

ang

ao

o

ou

ㄨㄥ

ong

ㄩㄥ

iong

e

ei

en

eng

er

i

ㄧㄝ

ie

ㄧㄣ

in

ㄧㄥ

ing

ㄧㄡ

iu

u

ㄨㄟ

ui

ㄨㄣ

un

ㄨㄛ

uo

ü

ㄩㄝ

üe

ㄩㄣ

ün

ㄩㄢ

üan

ㄧㄚ

ia

ㄧㄢ

ian

ㄧㄤ

iang

ㄧㄠ

iao

ㄨㄚ

ua

ㄨㄞ

uai

ㄨㄢ

uan

ㄨㄤ

uang


Tones

Chinese is a tonal language. Syllables that differ only in tones can have different meanings.
There are four main tones and a neutral tone.

Tone
Zhuyin
Hanzi
Meaning

1

high

ˉ 

ㄇㄚ

mother

2

rising

ˊ 

ㄇㄚˊ

hemp

3

low

ˇ 

ㄇㄚˇ

horse

4

falling

ˋ 

ㄇㄚˋ

scold

5

neutral

˙ 

ㄇㄚ˙

ma

[question particle]

In zhuyin, the first (high) tone is usually not marked.




Audio courtesy of the AllSet Learning Chinese Pronunciation Wiki, used with permission.