Chinese grammar · Beginner (A1)

Pinyin and the four tones

How Mandarin sounds are spelled in pinyin: initials, finals, the four tones and the neutral tone, and the tone changes of 不 and 一.

Syllables and tones

Every Chinese character is said as one syllable. A syllable has three parts: an initial (the consonant at the start), a final (the rest of the syllable) and a tone (the melody of the voice). Pinyin (the official spelling of Chinese in Latin letters) shows all three: m + a + a flat line gives mā.

The tone is part of the word. (mā) means “mother”, (mǎ) means “horse”. Learn every word with its tone from the start and copy the audio: click any Chinese on this page to hear it. The tone mark sits over the vowel.

Some syllables have no tone of their own. They are said short and light, and pinyin writes them without a mark. This is the neutral tone. You hear it in small grammar words such as (ma) and (de), and on the second syllable of many words: (māma, mum), (xièxie, thank you).

Tone	Mark	How it sounds	Example	Another example
first tone	ā	high and level, like a note you sing	(mā, mother)	(tāng, soup)
second tone	á	rising, like a surprised “what?”	(má, numb)	(táng, sugar)
third tone	ǎ	low; on its own it dips and rises again	(mǎ, horse)	(tǎng, to lie down)
fourth tone	à	falling sharply, like a firm “No!”	(mà, to scold)	(tàng, very hot)
neutral tone	no mark	short and light	(ma, question word)	(māma, mum)

妈māmother
马mǎhorse
你好。Nǐ hǎo.Hello.

Initials: the consonants

Mandarin has 21 initials. Most are close to English sounds, with a few traps. The pairs b / p, d / t and g / k differ in breath: b, d and g have no puff of air, while p, t and k have a strong one. Hold your hand in front of your mouth to feel it.

j, q and x are said with the tongue flat behind the lower teeth and the lips spread, as if smiling. zh, ch, sh and r are said with the tip of the tongue curled back. q is never “k”, x is never “ks”, and c is always “ts”.

y and w are not real initials: they are how pinyin spells a syllable that starts with i, u or ü (see the finals below).

Initial	Sounds like	Example
b	p in “spin”, no puff of air	(bā, eight)
p	p in “pin”, with a puff of air	(péngyou, friend)
m	m in “me”	(māma, mum)
f	f in “far”	(fàn, meal)
d	t in “stop”, no puff of air	(dà, big)
t	t in “top”, with a puff of air	(tā, he)
n	n in “no”	(nǐ, you)
l	l in “let”	(lái, to come)
g	k in “skin”, no puff of air	(gēge, older brother)
k	k in “kite”, with a puff of air	(kàn, to look)
h	a rough h, like ch in Scottish “loch”	(hǎo, good)
j	j in “jeep”, tongue flat	(jǐ, how many)
q	ch in “cheap”, tongue flat, with a puff of air	(qù, to go)
x	sh in “sheep”, tongue flat, lips spread	(xièxie, thank you)
zh	j in “jug”, tongue curled back	(Zhōngguó, China)
ch	ch in “church”, tongue curled back, with a puff of air	(chī, to eat)
sh	sh in “shirt”, tongue curled back	(shì, to be)
r	between r in “run” and s in “pleasure”, tongue curled back	(rén, person)
z	ds in “kids”	(zàijiàn, goodbye)
c	ts in “cats”, with a puff of air	(cài, dish)
s	s in “sun”	(sān, three)
y	y in “yes” (spelling of i or ü at the start)	(yào, to want)
w	w in “we” (spelling of u at the start)	(wǒ, I)

Finals: the vowel part

The final is the vowel part of the syllable, sometimes ending in n or ng. Keep n and ng apart: (sān, three) and (shàng, on) end differently.

Pinyin vowels don't always sound the way English spells them. e is a sound from the back of the throat, like the u in “duh”. i after z, c, s, zh, ch, sh and r is not “ee” at all: the tongue stays where the consonant put it and you hear a short buzz, as in (sì, four) and (chī, to eat). ü is “ee” said with rounded lips, like German ü.

Final	Sounds like	Example
a	a in “father”	(chá, tea)
o, uo	“wo”, like the start of “war”	(duō, many)
e	u in “duh”, from the back of the throat	(hē, to drink)
i	ee in “see”	(nǐ, you)
i after z c s zh ch sh r	a short buzz, no “ee”	(sì, four), (chī, to eat)
u	oo in “food”	(bù, not)
ü	“ee” with rounded lips; written u after j q x y	(nǚ, woman), (qù, to go)
ai	“eye”	(mǎi, to buy)
ei	ay in “say”	(Běijīng, Beijing)
ao	ow in “how”	(hǎo, good)
ou	o in “go”	(zǒu, to walk)
an	“ahn”	(bàn, half)
en	en in “taken”	(mén, door)
ang	“ahng”	(máng, busy)
eng	ung in “lung”	(lěng, cold)
ong	oo in “book” + ng	(hóng, red)
er	American “are”	(èr, two)

Finals with i, u and ü, and spelling rules

Many finals start with a short i, u or ü glide. With no initial in front, pinyin changes the spelling: i becomes y (ya, ye, yao, you, yan, yang, and yi, yin, ying), u becomes w (wa, wo, wai, wei, wan, wen, wang, wu), and ü becomes yu (yue, yuan, yun).

After j, q and x the dots of ü are dropped, because a plain u can never follow them: is written qù but said with ü. After n and l the dots stay, because both sounds exist there: nǚ (woman) but nù (anger).

Pinyin writes the syllables of one word together: (péngyou, friend), (Zhōngguó, China). When a syllable starting with a, o or e comes inside a word, an apostrophe marks the break: (Xī'ān, Xi'an).

Final	Sounds like	Example
ia	“ya”	(jiā, home)
ie	ye in “yes”	(jiějie, older sister)
iao	“yow”	(xiǎo, small)
iu	“yo”	(liù, six)
ian	“yen”	(qián, money)
in	“een”	(nín, you, polite)
iang	“yahng”	(xiǎng, to want to)
ing	ing in “sing”	(qǐng, please)
iong	“yoong”	(xióng, bear)
ua	“wa”	(huā, flower)
uai	“why”	(kuài, fast)
ui	“way”	(duì, right, correct)
uan	“wahn”	(chuān, to wear)
un	“wun”	(chūn, spring)
uang	“wahng”	(huáng, yellow)
üe	ü + “eh”	(xué, to study)
üan	ü + “en”	(yuǎn, far)
ün	ü + “n”	(yún, cloud)

西安Xī'ānXi'an
我要去西安。Wǒ yào qù Xī'ān.I'm going to Xi'an.

Where the mark goes, and the third tone

A syllable has one tone mark. It goes on a if there is one, otherwise on o or e. In iu and ui it goes on the second letter: (liù, six), (duì, correct). On an i, the mark replaces the dot: nǐ.

Said on its own, the third tone dips low and rises again. In a sentence it usually stays low and doesn't rise, which makes it easier than it looks.

When two third tones meet, the first one is said as a second tone: sounds like ní hǎo. Pinyin still writes nǐ hǎo, and this course does the same, so make the change yourself. In a longer run of third tones, speakers change all of them except the last: (wǒ yě hěn hǎo, I'm fine too) usually sounds like wó yé hén hǎo.

Written	Said	Meaning
(nǐ hǎo)	ní hǎo	hello
(hěn hǎo)	hén hǎo	very good, fine
(kěyǐ)	kéyǐ	can, may
(shuǐguǒ)	shuíguǒ	fruit
(wǒ yě hěn hǎo)	wó yé hén hǎo	I'm fine too

你好。Nǐ hǎo.Hello.
我很好。Wǒ hěn hǎo.I'm fine.
可以。Kěyǐ.That's fine. (literally: can)

The tone changes of 不 and 一

(bù, not) is a fourth tone, but before another fourth tone it changes to a second tone: (bú shì, is not), (bú kèqi, you're welcome). This course writes the tone you actually say. Inside an A-not-A question it is light: (shì bu shì, is it or not). It is light between a verb and its result too: (tīng bu dǒng, can't understand).

(yī, one) keeps its first tone when you count, at the end of a word, in numbers such as (shíyī, eleven), and in dates and ordinals: (dì-yī, first). Before a fourth tone it becomes second: (yí ge, one; is light here but counts as fourth). Before tones 1, 2 and 3 it becomes fourth: (yì tiān, one day), (yì nián, one year), (yìqǐ, together). Between a doubled verb it is light: (kàn yi kàn, have a look).

In phone numbers and room numbers, the digit 1 is said (yāo), so it can't be mixed up with seven, (qī).

Character	Before	Said and written	Examples
(bù)	tones 1, 2 and 3	bù	(bù chī), (bù lái), (bù hǎo)
(bù)	tone 4	bú	(bú shì), (bú qù), (bú kèqi)
(yī)	nothing: counting, end of a word, dates	yī	(shíyī), (dì-yī)
(yī)	tones 1, 2 and 3	yì	(yì tiān), (yì nián), (yìdiǎnr)
(yī)	tone 4	yí	(yí ge), (yígòng), (yíyàng)

我不是老师。Wǒ bú shì lǎoshī.I'm not a teacher.
我不喝咖啡。Wǒ bù hē kāfēi.I don't drink coffee.
一个苹果yí ge píngguǒone apple
一杯茶yì bēi cháa cup of tea
不客气。Bú kèqi.You're welcome.