Chinese (Mandarin)/Pronunciation of Initials

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Pronunciation of initials

Pinyin	IPA	Explanation	Examples
b	[p]	unaspirated p, as in spit	宝贝 baǒbeì, baby; treasure
p	[pʰ]	as in English	炮弹 pàodàn, bomb
m	[m]	as in English	马车 mǎ chē, cart
f	[f]	as in English	发财 fācaí, make fortune
d	[t]	unaspirated t, as in stand	伟大 wěidà, great
t	[tʰ]	as in English	太平 taìpíng, peaceful
n	[n]	as in English	男人 nánren, man
l	[l]	as in English	老人 lǎorén, old people
g	[k]	unaspirated k, as in skill	格式 géshì, format
k	[kʰ]	as in English	客人 kèren, guest
h	[x]	like the English h if followed by "a"; otherwise it is pronounced more roughly (not unlike the Scots ch)	喝水 hēshuǐ, drinking water
j	[tɕ]	like q, but unaspirated. (To get this sound, first take the sound halfway between joke and check, and then slowly pass it backwards along the tongue until it is entirely clear of the tongue tip.) While this exact sound is not used in English, the closest match is the j in ajar, not the s in Asia; this means that "Beijing" is pronounced like "bay-jing", not like "beige-ing".	教堂 jiàotáng, Eglise, church; 家 jiā, home or family
q	[tɕʰ]	like j above, but with strong aspiration. Similar to church; pass it backwards along the tongue until it is free of the tongue tip	生气 shēngqì, angry
x	[ɕ]	like sh, but take the sound and pass it backwards along the tongue until it is clear of the tongue tip; very similar to the final sound in German ich, Portuguese enxada, luxo, xícara, puxa, and to huge or Hugh in some English dialects	小孩 xiǎohaí, child
zh	[tʂ]	ch with no aspiration (take the sound halfway between joke and church and curl it upwards); very similar to merger in American English, but not voiced	着火 zháohǔo, on fire
ch	[tʂʰ]	Like zh above, but with strong aspiration. Similar to chin, but with the tongue curled upwards; very similar to nurture in American English, but strongly aspirated	吃饭 chīfàn, eat dinner; 吵架 chǎojià, dispute
sh	[ʂ]	as in shinbone, but with the tongue curled upwards; very similar to undershirt in American English	沙漠 shāmò, desert
r	[ɻ]	similar to the English r in rank, but with the lips spread and with the tongue curled upwards	日 r(ì),sun; 热情 rèqíng, passion
z	[ts]	unaspirated c (halfway between beds and bets), (more common example is suds)	妻子 qīzi, wife; 章子怡 Zhāng Zǐyí, Name of a Chinese actress.
c	[tsʰ]	like ts, aspirated (more common example is cats)	小草 xǐaocǎo, grass; 次 cì, one time
s	[s]	as in sun	拉萨 Lāsà, Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region; 苏州 sūzhoū, capital of the province of Jiansu, near Shanghai
y	[j], [ɥ]	as in English. If followed by a u, pronounce it with rounded lips	月亮 yuèliang, moon
w	[w]	as in English	外国人 wàiguórén, foreigner