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INTRODUCTON

Chinese Written in “English”

The transcription of Mandarin Chinese into Roman letters, known as pīnyīn (peen-een) 拼音, was reformed in 1958, making it easier for foreigners to study the language without having to learn the thousands of logograms.

However, several of the letters used in the pinyin version of Chinese are still pronounced in what might be called the old way. These include c, q, x, z, and the combination of ch. C is pronounced more or less as “ts,” q as “ch,” x as “sh,” z as “dz,” and zh as “j.”

There are also some variations (from English) in the pronunciation of vowels in Chinese words. U may be pronounced more like o, and e may be pronounced more like u. These and other variations in pronunciation are accounted for—to the extent possible—in the English phonetic version of each word and sentence in this book.

Here are some additional guidelines on how the 26 English letters are pronounced when used in Chinese words (most of them are pronounced very much like they are in English):

A	“ah,” as in father
B	like the “b” in bay
C	like “ts” in rats
D	similar to the “d” in day
E	similar to the “u” in up
F	same as in English
G	similar to the “g” in gay
H	similar to the “h” in hah
I	pronounced as the “e” in easy
J	sounds like “jee-ay”
K	like the “k” in kay
L	same as in English
M	same as in English
N	similar to the “n” in nay
O	“oh”
P	like the “p” in pay
Q	sounds like “chee,” as in cheese
R	same as in English
S	same as in English
T	has a “ta” sound, as in take
U	like the “oo” in oops
W	like “wa” in water
X	pronounced “she”
Y	pronounced like “yah”
Z	sounds like the “ds” in heads

Those Notorious “Tones”

Dealing with the problem of tonal changes in the pronunciation of Chinese words remains a challenge, but with a little effort, it does not preclude one from communicating effectively in the language. For one thing, one of the four tones in the language is neutral or flat, requiring no tonal change. [This is the way most English is spoken, but if you enunciate all Chinese words in this manner you will get some surprising results!]

Fortunately, the pronunciation of the other three tones in Chinese is not absolutely precise in actual use, although there is an “official” tone. Different people pronounce them slightly differently, so there is some tolerance; plus the fact that the context in which words are used helps make the meaning clear.

The four tones in Mandarin Chinese are described as even, rising, falling-rising, and falling. The even tone is generally spoken in a slightly higher pitch than the normal voice. In the rising tone, the voice goes from the normal pitch to a slightly higher pitch. In the falling-rising tone the voice goes down and up, and in the falling tone the voice goes from a higher to a lower tone.

* Mispronunciation here—it should be lǎomā.

In “formal” Chinese written in Roman letters the tones are indicated by diacritical marks over the appropriate letters—the even tone by a horizontal line (e.g. ā); the rising tone by a line sloping up (á); the falling-rising tone by a v-shaped mark (ǎ); and the falling tone by a line slanting downward (à). When there are no diacritical marks over letters it means they are pronounced “flat.”

Again, while using an incorrect tone will sometimes change the meaning of a word, pronunciation of the tones by the Chinese themselves often varies significantly, based on their education, where they were raised, etc.

Chinese is Easier than English!

It may require a stretch to think of Chinese as simpler and easier than English, but linguistically speaking that is the case. The Chinese “alphabet” consists of 405 syllables that use tonal differences to make up some 1,277 “building blocks.” English uses 26 letters and 44 basic sounds to create several thousand “building blocks.”

The 405 Chinese syllables are made up of combinations of five vowel sounds, 23 consonant sounds and 15 compound sounds consisting of combinations of the five vowels. While this may sound extraordinarily intimidating, the same syllables are repeated over and over, and their spelling never changes—while there often appears to be no rhyme or reason to the spelling of English words.

Chinese is also grammatically simpler than English. The sentence order of Chinese is the same as that of English: subject, verb and object. Adjectives come before nouns, just as they do in English. But there are no verb conjugations in Chinese, no articles (the, a, an), and no plurals. To make the Chinese words for “I, you, he, she” and “it” plural, you just add the suffix men (mern) to them:

I	wǒ	(woh)	我
we	wǒ-men	(woh-mern)	我们
you	nǐ	(nee)	你
you (all)	nǐ-men	(nee-mern)	你们
he, she, it	tā	(tah)	他/她/它
they	tā-men	(tah-mern)	他们

There is just one word in Chinese for all of the variations of the verb “to be”—shì (pronounced shr) 是, which expresses “be, am, is, are” and “were.” Similarly, the word qù (chwee) 去 incorporates “go, goes, went” and “gone.”

Here are some of the other “rules” of Chinese:

1) The subject of sentences (I, he, she, they, it) is generally not expressed when it is obvious from the context.

2) The past tense is formed by adding the term le (ler) 了 after the verb.

3) The future tense is formed by adding the term jiāng (jeeahng) 将 before the verb.

4) To make a sentence negative all you do is add the term bù (boo) 不 in front of the verb.

5) Questions are formed by the use of interrogative terms and tone of voice as well as by adding the special interrogative term ma (mah) 吗 at the end of sentences.

6) Sentences are made possessive by using the word de (der) 的 in between the pronoun and noun.

7) Likewise, you qualify adjectives by putting either bǐjiào (bee-jee-ow) 比较 or zuì (zway) 最 in front of them. Bǐjiào incorporates the meaning of “relatively,” and zuì “most”—in the sense of “better” and “best, bigger” and “biggest, cheaper, cheapest,” etc.

8) Special “measure words” are used between numbers and nouns when referring to a number or quantity of things and people. There are different “measure words” for different types of things (flat, round), for people, animals, etc. There is, however, one “measure word,” gè (guh) 个 that is more or less universal and may be used for virtually anything if you don’t know the correct one.

9) “Yes” and “no” are generally not used by themselves. The custom is to use the negative or the positive of the appropriate verb or adjective to express these meanings. In other words, the usual response to “Are you going?” is not “no.” It is the negative form of “going”—that is, “not going,” with the subject [I] understood—i.e. qù? (chwee?) 去 / “Are you going?” Bú qù (boo chwee) 不去 / “I’m not going.”

There are other “rules” for using Chinese, but rather than trying to remember them individually, it is best to simply use them as they appear in the basic sentences in this book.

The Chinese “Alphabet”

The 405 syllables that make up the Chinese language are in effect the Chinese “alphabet.” These syllables are divided into five sets, each of which is based on three or more of the five vowel sounds, a (ah), i (ee), u (uu), e (eh) and o (oh), combined with consonants.

The initial or first letter in Chinese syllables is always a consonant. The “final” or ending portion of the syllables always begins with a vowel. Example: sànbù (sahn-boo) 散步, which means “walk” or “stroll.” Individual words consist of one or more syllables. And as in English, there are many compound words.

One example of a compound word is qìchë (chee-cher) 汽车, literally “steam vehicle”; and figuratively, car or automobile. Another commonly seen and used compound word is xièxie (she-eh-she-eh) 谢谢, or “thank you.” [When pronounced at normal speed it sounds like “shay-shay.”]

With only a few exceptions (as shown above) pronunciation of the initial letters of Chinese syllables is the same as or similar to the English pronunciation. Pronunciation of the so-called “final” portions of the syllables varies slightly. [See the pronunciation guidelines on pages 14 to 23.]

Running Words Together

In written Chinese, characters representing the words of the language are not separated by spaces (as individual words are in English).

However, the custom of not separating words with spaces is frequently carried over into pinyin (the Roman letter version of Chinese), so that what looks like one word may be two or three words, with Tiananmen, Beijing’s famous central square, being an outstanding example. This is actually three words, written in Chinese with three characters, Tiān Ān Mén (Tee-an Ahn Mern), which literally means “Heaven Peace Gate,” and is usually translated as “Gate of Heavenly Peace.”

In some cases in this book, I have chosen to separate the pinyin spellings of some words to make it easier to identify and pronounce them.

Pronouncing Chinese “in English”

The English phonetics used in the following pronunciation guides are designed to approximate the correct Chinese pronunciation as closely as possible. In some cases, the Chinese syllables are pronounced exactly like—or almost exactly like—common English words, and I have chosen to use these English words in an effort to make recognizing and pronouncing syllables and words as simple as possible. The Chinese syllable bai, for example, sounds like “by,” and bao sounds like “bow” (as in “bowing down”). Gai sounds like “guy,” and so on.

Pronunciation Guide No. 1

[Pronounce the phonetic spellings as English. Note that the a (ah) vowel sound is repeated in all of the syllables in this group.]

A ah	AI aye	AN in/ahn	ANG ahng	AO ow (as in “ouch”)
BA bah	BAI by	BAN bahn	BANG bahng	BAO bow (as in “bow down”)
CA tsah	CAI tsigh	CAN tsahn	CANG tsahng	CAO tsow
CHA chah	CHAI chigh	CHAN chahn	CHANG chahng	CHAO chow
DA dah	DAI die	DAN dahn	DANG dahng	DAO dow
FA fah		FAN fahn	FANG fahng
GA gah	GAI guy	GAN gahn	GANG gahng	GAO gow
HA hah	HAI hi	HAN hahn	HANG hahng	HAO how
KA kah	KAI kigh	KAN kahn	KANG kahng	KAO kow (as in “cow”)
LA lah	LAI lie	LAN lahn	LANG lahng	LAO lao (as in “Laos”)
MA mah	MAI my	MAN mahn	MANG mahng	MAO mao
NA nah	NAI nigh	NAN nahn	NANG nahng	NAO now
PA pah	PAI pie	PAN pahn	PANG pahng	PAO pow
		RAN rahn	RANG rahng	RAO rao
SA sah	SAI sigh	SAN sahn	SANG sahng	SAO sao
SHA shah	SHAI shy	SHAN shahn	SHANG shahng	SHAO shou
TA tah	TAI tie	TAN tahn	TANG tahng	TAO tao
WA wah	WAI wigh	WAN wahn	WANG wahng
YA yah		YAN yahn	YANG yahng	YAO yee-ow
ZA zah	ZAI zigh	ZAN zahn	ZANG zahng	ZAO zow
ZHA jah	ZHAI jigh	ZHAN jahn	ZHANG jahng	ZHAO jow

Pronunciation Guide No. 2

[Note that the e (eh) vowel sound is repeated in all of the syllables.]

E uh

EI a*

EN ern**

ENG erng

ER ur

*EI is pronounced like the “ei” in eight.

**EN is pronounced as the “ern” in concern.

	BEI bay	BEN burn	BENG bung
CE tser		CEN tswun	CENG tserng
CHE cher		CHEN churn	CHENG churng
DE der			DENG derng
	FEI fa y	FEN fern	FENG ferng
GE guh	GEI gay	GEN gurn	GENG gurng
HE her	HEI hay	HEN hern	HENG herng
KE ker		KEN kern	KENG kerng
LE ler	LEI lay		LENG lerng
ME mer	MEI may	MEN mern	MENG merng
NE nuh	NEI nay	NEN nern	NENG nerng
	PEI pay	PEN pern	PENG perng
RE rr		REN wren	RENG wreng
SE ser		SEN sern	SENG serng
SHE sher	SHEI shay	SHEN shern	SHENG sherng
TE ter			TENG terng
	WEI way	WEN wern	WENG werng
YE yeh
ZE zuh	ZEI zay	ZEN zern	ZENG zerng
ZHE juh	ZHEI jay	ZHEN jern	ZHENG jehng

Pronunciation Guide No. 3

[These syllables are based on the i vowel sound, which is pronounced as ee.]

BI bee

BIAN bee-an*

BIAO bee-ow

BIE bee-eh

BIN bin

BING beeng

*Phonetic terms divided by hyphens, like bian (bee-an) should be pronounced smoothly as one word.

CHI chee
CI tsu
DI dee	DIU dew/deo	DIAN dee-an	DIAO dee-ow	DIE dee-eh	DING deeng
JI jee	JIA jee-ah	JIAN jee-an	JIAO jee-ow	JIE jee-eh	JIN jeen
JING jeeng	JIU jew/jeo	JIANG jee-ahng
LI lee LING leeng	LIU lew/leo	LIAN lee-an LIANG lee-ahng	LIAO lee-ow	LIE lee-eh	LIN leen
MI me MING meeng	MIU mew	MIAN mee-an	MIAO mee-ow	MIE me-eh	MIN meen
NI nee NING neeng	NIU new	NIAN nee-an NIANG nee-ahng	NIAO nee-ow	NIE nee-eh	NIN neen
PI pee	PIAN pee-an	PIAO pee-ow	PIE pee-eh	PIN peen	PING peeng
QI chee QING cheeng	QIA chee-ah QIU chew	QIAN chee-in QIANG chee-ahng	QIAO chee-ow	QIE chee-eh	QIN cheen
RI rr
SHI shr
SI suh
TI tee		TIAN tee-an	TIAO tee-ow	TIE tee-eh	TING teeng
XI she XING sheeng	XIA she-ah XIU shew	XIAN shee-an XIANG shee-ahng	XIAO she-ow XIONG she-ong	XIE she-eh	XIN sheen
YI ee				YIN een	YING eeng
ZHI jr	ZI dzu

Pronunciation Guide No. 4

[These syllables are based on the o (oh) vowel sound.]

BO bwo/bwough
CHONG chohng	CHOU choe	CONG tsohng	COU tsoe
		DONG doong	DOU doe
FO fwo/fwough	FOU foe
		GONG gohng	GOU go
		HONG hohng	HOU hoe
		KONG kohng	KOU koe
		LONG lohng	LOU low
		MO mwo/mwough	MOU moe
		NONG nohng
O aw			OU oh
PO pwaw
		RONG rohng	ROU roe
	SHOU show	SONG sohng
		TONG tohng	TOU toe
WO woh
YO yaw		YONG yohng	YOU you
ZHONG johng	ZHOU joe	ZONG zohng	ZOU dzow

Pronunciation Guide No. 5

[These syllables are based on the u (“oo” as in soon) vowel sound.]

BU boo
CHU choo	CHUI chwee/chway	CHUAI chwie	CHUAN chwahn CHUO chwoh
CU tsu	CUI tsway/tswee CUN tsoon	CUAN tswahn CUO tswoh
DU doo		DUAN dwahn DUN doon	DUI dway/dwee DUO dwoh
FU foo
GU goo GUANG gwahng	GUA gwah GUI gway/gwee	GUAI gwie GUN goon	GUAN gwahn GUO gwoh
HU hoo HUANG hwahng	HUA hway HUI hway/hwee	HUAI hwie HUN hoon	HUAN hwahn HUO hwoh
JU jwee	JUE jway	JUN jwin/joon	JUAN jwen
KU koo	KUA kwah KUI kway/kwee	KUAI kwie KUN koon	KUAN kwahn KUO kway
LU loo/lwee	LUE lu-eh	LUN loon	LUAN lwahn
MU moo
NU nwee	NUE nu-eh		NUAN nwahn NUO nwoh
PU poo
QU chwee	QUE chee-eh	QUN chwun	QUAN chwahn
RU roo	RUI rway/rwee	RUN roon	RUAN rwahn RUO rwoh
SHU shoo SHUANG shwahng	SHUA shwah SHUI shway/shwee	SHUAI shwie SHUN shoon	SHUAN shwahn SHUO shwo
SU soo	SUI sway/swee	SUN soon	SUAN swahn SUO swoh
TU too	TUI tway	TUN toon	TUAN twahn TUO twoh
WU woo
XU shee	XUE shu-eh	XUN sheen	XU AN shwen
YU yuu	YUE yu-eh	YUN ywun	YUAN ywahn
ZHU joo ZHUANG jwahng	ZHUA jwah ZHUI jway/jwee	ZHUAI jwie ZHUN joon	ZHUAN jwahn
ZU joo	ZUI zway/zwee	ZUN zwun	ZUAN zwahn ZUO zwoh