Read a Mandarin Pinyin Syllable

Split a Mandarin pinyin syllable into its initial consonant, final and tone, then compare it with an audio example. Some syllables have no consonant initial; use Mandarin sound values when reading the letters.

Identify the parts and tone

In mā, m is the initial, a is the final, and the mark gives first tone. The four marks are mā, má, mǎ, mà: high level, rising, low with a rise in isolation, and falling. Neutral-tone syllables have no tone mark and take their pitch from context. Follow one source’s syllable audio to hear the contrast.

Sources: Yale

Read ü and connected third tones

After j, q and x, written u represents ü, as in ju, qu and xu. After n or l, retain the dots when they distinguish ü from u, as in nǚ and lǜ. In a phrase of two consecutive third tones, the first is pronounced with a rising tone: hěn hǎo sounds hén hǎo. A third tone before other tones commonly stays low. Dictionary citation tones and phrase pronunciation serve different purposes.

Sources: Yale

Complete one syllable exercise

Choose one syllable from a pinyin chart, identify its parts and tone, listen, repeat, and put it into a short phrase from the same course. Compare both the single syllable and the phrase audio. If the vowel or tone differs, practice that element separately before repeating. Use the external chart’s recording; Dictionary’s supplied pronunciation text helps identify the written entry.

Sources: Yale · Yale

Open product: Dictionary