The Chinese Phonetics (Pinyin) part 4

Final Sounds

Simple finals = single vowels.

The Chinese vowels all have quite logical pronunciation, but there are some details to be noted – especially the three types of "i", two types of "e" and two types of "u"!

Mandarin Pinyin	English Equivalent
a	As the "a" in "far" and "father".
e / ê	1: As the English "e" in "send", "very. 2: If the "e" stands as a single vowel at the end of a syllable (e.g. "de", "ne", "zhe"), the pronunciation becomes more similar to the vowel sound in "bird" and "sir". 3: Note the special cases: "er" and "eng"! Comment: If the "e" is the only phoneme in a syllable, pronunciation of type #1 is transcribed as "ê", and pronunciation of type #2 as "e".
i / yi	1: As the vowels in "sit", "it", "machine". The spelling "yi" is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable. 2: When preceded by "c", "s" or "z" (dental sibilants), you get a sound like a mosquito buzzing ("ziii..."). 3: In the syllables "chi", "shi", "zhi" and "ri" (retroflexes), the entire syllable is pronounced as one retroflex sound. Pronounce all letters of the syllable with your tongue curled back!
o	As the vowels in "saw", "all". Exception: the combination "ong" (back nasal)!
u / wu	As the vowel "o" in "too", "woman", "loop". The spelling "wu" is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable. Special cases: In syllables beginning with "ju", "qu", "xu" and "yu", the "u" is to be pronounced as an "ü".
ü / yu	As the German "ü". Try to say "yeee", keep your tongue exactly where it is and let the sound continue while you form your lips to the shape they'd have when you say "yuuu".

Compound finals = two or three vowels together.

Mandarin Pinyin	English Equivalent
ai	As the "ai"-sounds in "byes", "bike", "high".
ao	As the "ow" in "how", "down".
ei	As the "ay"-sounds in "cake", "say".
ia / ya	As the "ya"-sounds in "maya", "playa". The spelling "ya" is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.
iao / yao	As the "ya"-sounds in "maya", "playa" followed by an English "w". The spelling "yao" is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.
ie / ye	As a combination of the Pinyin sounds "y" + "ê" – i.e. NOT quite as the English "ye", as in "yes", but rather "tight"! The spelling "ye" is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.
iou / iu / you	The spelling "iou" is never used, but describes the sound best. Pronounced as a Pinyin "y" + the English "ow"-sounds in "go", "note", "row". The spelling "you" is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.
ou	As the "ow"-sounds in "go", "note", "row".
ua / wa	As an English "w" followed by a Pinyin "a". Compare with the final vowels in the Italian word "acqua". The most probable English spelling of this sound would be "wah". Do NOT pronounce this combination as the English "wa"-sounds in "water" or "Wales"! The spelling "wa" is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.
uai / wai	English "w" + Pinyin "ai". Compare with the English word "why". The spelling "wai" is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.
ue / üe / yue	Pinyin "ü" + "ê". The "ü" is written as "u" in the syllables "jue", "que", "xue" and "yue". The spelling "yue" is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.
uei / ui / wei	The spelling "uei" is never used, but describes the sound best. Compare with the initial sounds in "waiter", "wage". Try to pronounce the "ê", even if it is not explicitly written a syllable such as "hui". The spelling "wei" is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.
uo / wo	Sounds like "woah", but the "a" is hardly audible. Similar to the "wuo"-sounds in "war", "quark". The spelling "wo" is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.

Nasal finals = single or compound vowel followed by "n" or "ng".

Nasals are pronounced through the nose. In Mandarin Chinese, sounds ending in "n" (an alveolar nasal) are known as front nasals, while sounds ending in "ng (a velar nasal) are known as back nasals.

Front nasals = sounds through the nose formed with the tongue in the front of the mouth (i.e. in alveolar position).

Mandarin Pinyin	English Equivalent
an	This "a" is similar to the Chinese "a" as described above. Can possibly be compared with the "an" in "Russian". Do NOT pronounce this combination as the English "an" in "man" and "manager"!
en	"e" #2 + "n". Usually as the "en" in "men", but sometimes more similar to the "urn" in "burning" or "fern" with practically no sound of the "r".
ian / yan	Pinyin "y" + "an", but here the "an" becomes broader, as in "man", "manager". The spelling "yan" is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.
in / yin	As in English ("bin"). The spelling "yin" is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.
uan / wan	Pinyin "u" + "an". In "juan", "quan", "xuan" and "yuan", the "u" is pronounced as "ü". The spelling "wan" is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.
üan / yuan	Pinyin "ü" + "an", but here the "an" becomes broader, as in "man", "manager". This sound occurs only in the syllables "juan", "quan", "xuan" and "yuan", and is then spelled with a "u".
uen / un / wen	The spelling "uen" is never used, but describes the sound best. If a syllable begins with a different consonant than "w", the pronunciation is Pinyin "u" + an almost inaudible "e" #2 + "n". When there is no initial consonant, this sound is spelled "wen", and the pronunciation is an English "w" + Pinyin "en".
ün / yun	Pinyin "ü" + "n". This sound occurs only in the syllables "jun", "qun", "xun" and "yun", and is then spelled with a "u".

Back nasals = sounds through the nose formed with the tongue in the back of the mouth (i.e. in velar position).

Mandarin Pinyin	English Equivalent
ang	This "a" is similar to the Chinese "a" as described above, followed by an "ng"-sound. Do NOT pronounce this combination as the broad "ang" in "language"!
eng	"e" #2 + "ng" (almost similar to the "ang" in "language", but the "e" has a little "taste" of the vowel sound in "bird" and "sir").
iang / yang	Pinyin "y" + "ang". The spelling "yang" is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.
ing / ying	As in English ("sing"). The spelling "ying" is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.
iong / yong	This syllable corresponds to the Pinyin "y" + "u" + "ng". The "o" is here most similar to the "o"-sound in "too", "woman", "loop". The spelling "yong" is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.
ong	This syllable corresponds to the Pinyin "u" + "ng". The "o" is here most similar to the "o"-sound in "too", "woman", "loop".
uang / wang	English "w" + Pinyin "ang". The spelling "wang" is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.
ueng / weng	This sound only occurs in the syllable "weng". Pronounced as English "w" + Pinyin "eng".

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Special Cases - additional syllables

er	Rather similar to the vowel sound in "bird" and "sir", with an audible retroflex "r" at the end. Sometimes more like the English word "are". Could possibly be written as "ehr" in English. Pronounced as a retroflex.
hm	Pronounced as in English. This syllable is only used as an interjection.
hng	Pronounced as a Pinyin "h" + a back nasal. This syllable is only used as an interjection.
m	Pronounced as in English. This syllable is only used as an interjection.
n	Pronounced as in English. This syllable is only used as an interjection.
ng	Pronounced as a back nasal. This syllable is only used as an interjection.
~r	Sometimes the syllable "er" (儿) is added to the end of words – especially on nouns. This is most common in Chinese spoken by people from Beijing. If the "儿" is written in a text, and is to be interpreted as a suffix rather than "er2" = "child", then the transcription is usually written only as "r" (e.g. "yi4 dian3r" = "a little"). Basically, this added "~r" changes the pronunciation of the previous syllable, so that the entire final part of the syllable is pronounced as a retroflex with an "~r" at the end. In short, the "~r" moves the pronunciation of the syllable backwards in the mouth.

Simple finals = single vowels.
The Chinese vowels all have quite logical pronunciation, but there are some details to be noted – especially the three types of "i", two types of "e" and two types of "u"!

Compound finals = two or three vowels together.

Nasal finals = single or compound vowel followed by "n" or "ng".
Nasals are pronounced through the nose. In Mandarin Chinese, sounds ending in "n" (an alveolar nasal) are known as front nasals, while sounds ending in "ng (a velar nasal) are known as back nasals.

Front nasals = sounds through the nose formed with the tongue in the front of the mouth (i.e. in alveolar position).

Back nasals = sounds through the nose formed with the tongue in the back of the mouth (i.e. in velar position).


Ref: http://www.zein.se/patrick/chinen8p.html