Mandarin Chinese/Pinyin/Consonants

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Lesson[edit | edit source]

In pinyin, there are 23 consonants. Do not be alarmed by this number, many are pronounced as they are in English.

Here is a list.

b p m f
d t n l
g k h
j q x
zh ch sh r
z c s
w y

The pronunciations of all these consonants, except for q, x, zh and c, are similar to those in English.

  • q - ch as in "cheese"
  • x - sh as in "sheet"
  • zh - j as in "jack"
  • c - ts as in "hats"

See, Chinese is easier than people say it is.

In Short...[edit | edit source]

  • 23 consonants
  • b p m f d t n l g k h j q x zh ch sh r z c s w y
  • Most are like English
  • "q" and "x" are "ch" and "sh" respectively
  • "c" is "ts"
  • "zh" is like "jack"