Pinyin: initials, finals and tricky sounds
Chinese Foundations · Lesson 2 of 11 · About 15 minutes
Preview version — Chinese review in progress.
Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can read a pinyin syllable as initial + final + tone and say the sounds English speakers most often get wrong.
Audio preview uses your device’s Chinese voice. It is not a recording.
Warm-up: do you remember?
Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.
Meaning
Quick recall: what does 再见 mean?
Show the answer
Answer: B, goodbye.
再见 (zàijiàn) is goodbye.
New words
A syllable has three parts
Almost every character is one syllable. Pinyin writes it in three parts: an initial (the consonant at the start), a final (the rest) and a tone mark. 茶 is ch + á, 水 is sh + uǐ and 去 is q + ù.
| Where | Initials | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Lips | b p m f | b has no puff of air; p has a strong puff |
| Tongue tip | d t n l | d and t: the same no-puff and puff pair |
| Back of the tongue | g k h | h is rougher than English h |
| Tongue flat at the front | j q x | lips spread, tongue tip down behind the lower teeth |
| Tongue curled back | zh ch sh r | tongue tip curled up towards the roof of the mouth |
| Tongue tip at the teeth | z c s | z like ds in beds, c like ts in cats |
Finals carry the vowel: a, o, e, i, u, ü and combinations such as ai, ao, an, ang and ong. Two spelling rules help you read them: after j, q and x the letter u is really ü (去 qù is said with ü), and syllables that start with a vowel are written with y or w: yi, wu, yu.
Sounds English speakers often get wrong
| Pinyin | Sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| q | ch in cheap, lips spread | 去 qù |
| x | sh in sheep, lips spread | 谢谢 xièxie |
| zh | j in jump, tongue curled back | 中文 Zhōngwén |
| ch | ch in church, tongue curled back | 吃 chī and 茶 chá |
| sh | sh in shirt, tongue curled back | 水 shuǐ |
| z | ds in beds | 再见 zàijiàn |
| e | an uh sound from the back of the mouth, lips not rounded | 喝 hē |
| ü | say ee, then round your lips | 去 qù |
Pinyin letters are not English letters. q never sounds like kw, x never sounds like ks, and c never sounds like k.
Speak: listen, record, compare
Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.
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Recording is not available in this browser. Listen, then repeat aloud and compare by ear.
茶
chá
tea
水
shuǐ
water
吃
chī
to eat
喝
hē
to drink
去
qù
to go
Practice
Pinyin
去 is written qù. Which sound does the q make?
English qu is kw, but pinyin q has no w sound at all.
Show the answer
Answer: B, ch as in cheap, lips spread.
Pinyin q sounds like ch in cheap with your lips spread. It never sounds like English kw.
Listening
Listen and choose the pinyin you hear.
Cannot listen? Read it instead
茶 chá
Show the answer
Answer: C, chá.
You heard chá (茶, tea): ch with a curled tongue and a puff of air.
Characters
Which character is chī, to eat?
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Answer: A, 吃.
吃 (chī) means to eat; 喝 (hē) is to drink and 去 (qù) is to go.
Pinyin
In 去 (qù), what is the vowel really?
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Answer: B, ü: say ee with rounded lips.
After j, q and x, pinyin writes ü as u. 去 qù is said with ü: ee with rounded lips.
Your turn
Type the pinyin of 水 (water). Tone marks or numbers are optional.
Show the answer
Answer: shuǐ
水 is shuǐ: sh with a curled tongue, then uǐ in the third tone.
Meaning
What does 喝 mean?
To eat is 吃 (chī).
Show the answer
Answer: C, to drink.
喝 (hē) means to drink: 喝茶, to drink tea. To eat is 吃 (chī).
Your mission: five words, five sounds
Train your mouth before your memory.
- Listen to each word above at slow speed.
- Record yourself and play it back: is the q in 去 a ch sound, never kw?
- Curl your tongue for 吃 and 水; keep it flat for 去 and 谢谢.
Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:
Review and finish
Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.
- I can split a syllable into initial, final and tone.
- I know that j, q and x are said with spread lips and that z sounds like ds.
- I know that u after j, q and x is really ü.
- I can say 茶, 水, 吃, 喝 and 去.
Review works best spaced out: answer these exercises again tomorrow, then after a few days. Your progress is saved in this browser.
Completing records that you finished the lesson. Mastery is separate: it grows as reviews bring the exercises back and you answer them correctly.