Initials & Finals

Mandarin Chinese sounds are built from initials (consonants) and finals (vowels or vowel combinations), so learning them systematically helps you pronounce and recognize syllables more easily.

Initials

Initials are consonant sounds that come at the beginning of a syllable; they set the syllable's opening sound and affect its tone color. Mandarin has about 21 standard initials, including some that sound like English "j," "ch," and "zh," and others that are more tongue- or lip-position–dependent.

Initial Hanzi	Initial Pinyin	English Approximation
b	b	b as in "bat"
p	p	p as in "pat" (aspirated)
m	m	m as in "mat"
f	f	f as in "fat"
d	d	d as in "dog"
t	t	t as in "top" (aspirated)
n	n	n as in "net"
l	l	l as in "let"
g	g	g as in "go"
k	k	k as in "key" (aspirated)
h	h	h as in "hat"
j	j	j as in "jeep" (but tongue behind lower teeth)
q	q	ch in "cheese" (aspirated, tongue position like j)
x	x	sh in "she" (tongue flat, tongue behind lower teeth)
zh	zh	j in "judge" (retroflex)
ch	ch	ch in "church" (retroflex, aspirated)
sh	sh	sh in "shut" (retroflex)
r	r	r as in "run" (retroflex)
z	z	ds in "beds"
c	c	ts in "cats" (aspirated)
s	s	s as in "sun"

Hanzi	Pinyin	English Translation
🐶 我学了声母“b”。	wǒ xuéle shēngmǔ “b”.	I learned the initial “b.”
🐱 他会念“p”。	tā huì niàn “p”.	He can pronounce “p.”
🐭 老师教了“m”。	lǎoshī jiāole “m”.	The teacher taught “m.”
🐹 同学们练习“f”。	tóngxuémen liànxí “f”.	Classmates practice “f.”
🐰 我认识声母“d”。	wǒ rènshi shēngmǔ “d”.	I know the initial “d.”
🦊 她说了“t”。	tā shuōle “t”.	She said “t.”
🐻 我写了“n”。	wǒ xiěle “n”.	I wrote “n.”
🐼 老师示范“l”。	lǎoshī shìfàn “l”.	The teacher demonstrated “l.”
🐨 学生念“g”。	xuéshēng niàn “g”.	Students read “g.”
🐯 她写了“k”。	tā xiěle “k”.	She wrote “k.”
🦁 我学会了“h”。	wǒ xuéhuìle “h”.	I learned “h.”
🐮 他说“j”。	tā shuō “j”.	He said “j.”
🐷 老师教“q”。	lǎoshī jiāo “q”.	Teacher taught “q.”
🐸 我练“x”。	wǒ liàn “x”.	I practice “x.”
🐵 同学说“zh”。	tóngxué shuō “zh”.	Classmate said “zh.”
🐔 她念“ch”。	tā niàn “ch”.	She read “ch.”
🐧 我学“sh”。	wǒ xué “sh”.	I learned “sh.”
🐢 老师说“r”。	lǎoshī shuō “r”.	Teacher said “r.”
🦉 我认识“z”。	wǒ rènshi “z”.	I know “z.”
🐝 他练“c”。	tā liàn “c”.	He practices “c.”
🐞 她说“s”。	tā shuō “s”.	She said “s.”
🐬 学生念“y”。	xuéshēng niàn “y”.	Student reads “y.”
🐢 我写了“w”。	wǒ xiěle “w”.	I wrote “w.”

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Finals

Finals are vowel sounds or vowel-plus-consonant endings that come after an initial; they carry the pitch of the tone and give the syllable its musical quality. Finals can be simple vowels like ā (啊) or combinations like uān (湾), and they sometimes include nasal endings.

Final Hanzi	Final Pinyin	English Approximation
a	ā	a as in "father"
o	ō	o as in "or"
e	ē	e as in "her" (more open)
i	ī	ee as in "see"
u	ū	oo as in "food"
ü	ǖ	ü as in German "für"
ai	āi	i as in "time"
ei	ēi	ay as in "say"
ao	āo	ou as in "how"
ou	ōu	o as in "go"
an	ān	an as in "hand"
en	ēn	en as in "taken"
ang	āng	ong in "long"
eng	ēng	eng in "length"
ian	iān	yen in "yens"
in	īn	in as in "pin"
uan	uān	wan in "want"
un	ūn	woon in "wonton"
uang	uāng	wang in "swang"
ong	ōng	ong in "song"
iong	īong	yong in "young"

Hanzi	Pinyin	English Translation
🍎 我学了韵母“a”。	wǒ xuéle yùnmǔ “a”.	I learned the final “a.”
🍊 她会念“o”。	tā huì niàn “o”.	She can pronounce “o.”
🍌 老师教了“e”。	lǎoshī jiāole “e”.	The teacher taught “e.”
🍉 同学们练习“i”。	tóngxuémen liànxí “i”.	Classmates practice “i.”
🍇 我认识韵母“u”。	wǒ rènshi yùnmǔ “u”.	I know the final “u.”
🍓 他说了“ü”。	tā shuōle “ü”.	He said “ü.”
🥝 我写了“ai”。	wǒ xiěle “ai”.	I wrote “ai.”
🍍 老师示范“ei”。	lǎoshī shìfàn “ei”.	Teacher demonstrated “ei.”
🥥 学生念“ao”。	xuéshēng niàn “ao”.	Student read “ao.”
🍑 她写了“ou”。	tā xiěle “ou”.	She wrote “ou.”
🍒 我学会了“an”。	wǒ xuéhuìle “an”.	I learned “an.”
🍈 他说“en”。	tā shuō “en”.	He said “en.”
🍋 老师教“ang”。	lǎoshī jiāo “ang”.	Teacher taught “ang.”
🍌 我练“eng”。	wǒ liàn “eng”.	I practice “eng.”
🥭 同学说“ong”。	tóngxué shuō “ong”.	Classmate said “ong.”

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Special Finals after J, Q, X, and Y

When the initial is j, q, x, or y, the final ü (ǖ) is written as u and certain finals change shape to reflect the tongue position; this is a spelling convention that helps show pronunciation. For example, ju represents jü, and xian represents xiān.

Sound Hanzi	Sound Pinyin	Notes
ju	jū	= jü
qu	qū	= qü
xu	xū	= xü
yu	yū	= yü
jia	jiā	= jiā (not jüā)
qia	qiā	= qiā (not qüā)
xia	xiā	= xiā (not xüā)
yan	yān	= yān (not yüān)
yin	yīn	= yīn (not yüīn)
yun	yūn	= yūn (not yün)
yong	yōng	= yōng (not yüng)

Hanzi	Pinyin	English Translation
🧃 “ji” 不念“j+i”，念“ji”。	“ji” bù niàn “j+i”, niàn “ji”.	“ji” is not pronounced “j+i”, but “ji.”
🧼 “qi” 不是“q+i”，是“qi”。	“qi” bù shì “q+i”, shì “qi”.	“qi” is not “q+i”, it is “qi.”
🧹 “xi” 念“xi”，不念分开。	“xi” niàn “xi”, bù niàn fēnkāi.	Pronounce “xi” together, not separately.
🍸 “yu” 不念“y+u”，念“yu”。	“yu” bù niàn “y+u”, niàn “yu”.	“yu” is pronounced “yu,” not “y+u.”
🧊 “xue” 念“xue”，不是“x+ue”。	“xue” niàn “xue”, bù shì “x+ue”.	“xue” is pronounced “xue,” not “x+ue.”
🥤 “qun” 念“qun”，不分开说。	“qun” niàn “qun”, bù fēnkāi shuō.	“qun” is pronounced “qun,” not separately.

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Neutral Tone

The neutral tone (轻声) has no fixed pitch and sounds light and quick; it often appears in common particles, endings, and unstressed syllables. Recognizing neutral tone helps speech sound natural and fluent. Neutral tone is usually not marked in pinyin.

Hanzi	Pinyin	English Translation
☕ 他喝了杯子里的水。	tā hēle bēizi lǐ de shuǐ.	He drank the water in the cup.
🍪 我吃了妈妈做的饼干。	wǒ chīle māma zuò de bǐnggān.	I ate the cookies mom made.
🧸 桌子上放着一个玩具熊。	zhuōzi shàng fàngzhe yí gè wánjù xióng.	There is a toy bear on the table.
🧢 她戴着一顶红色的帽子。	tā dài zhe yì dǐng hóngsè de màozi.	She is wearing a red hat.
📚 我放了一本书在包里。	wǒ fàngle yì běn shū zài bāo lǐ.	I put a book in the bag.

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Summary

Mandarin syllables combine an initial consonant (like b 𠈌) and a final vowel or vowel group (like ā 阿) to create sounds; learning the standard initials and finals, plus special spelling rules for j/q/x/y and the neutral tone, gives you a solid foundation for pronunciation.

Last updated: Sun Sep 14, 2025