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Pronunciation guide

The book uses the standard romanized system of Mandarin Chinese called Hanyu Pinyin.

Consonants

Most of the Chinese consonants are similar to the English ones, with the following exceptions:

Pinyin	Pronunciation	Example
c	like ts in its	粗 cū “rough”
q	like ch in cheer, with a strong puff of air	去 qù “go”
x	like sh in she	西 xī “west”
z	like ds in kids	字 zì “word”
zh	like dg as in judge, with the tongue rolled back	这 zhè “this”

Vowels

Most of the Chinese vowels are similar to English also:

Pinyin	Pronunciation	Example
a	short a, as in far	八 bā “eight”
e	short e, as in the	鹅 é “goose”
i	long ee, as in fee	七 qī “seven”
o	short o, as in for	我 wǒ “I, me”
u	long u, as in cute	哭 kū “cry”
ü	as in yü or the French u	绿 lǜ “green”

Combination Vowels

The combination vowels are also fairly similar to those in English:

Pinyin	Pronunciation	Example
ao	like ow in now	好 hǎo “good”
ei	like ay in say	黑 hēi “black”
er	like er in number, with a longer “r” sound	二 èr “two”
ian	like yen	天 tiān “sky”
ie	like ea in wear	鞋 xié “shoe”
iu	like ew as in pew	丢 diū “throw”
ou	like ow in low	猴 hǒu “monkey”
ui	like way in sway	水 shuǐ “water”
uo	like wo in sword	说 shuō “word”
ue	like ue in fluent	学 xuě “study”

Tones

A tone is a variation in pitch when a syllable or word is pronounced. In Mandarin, a variation in the pitch or tone changes the meaning of the word. Mandarin has four different tones, each marked by a sign above the vowel. In addition there is a neutral tone which does not carry any mark—often used in the second syllable of a word, e.g., nǐmen 你们 “you” (plural). Below is a tone chart which shows how the tones work.

Tone 1 is a high-level tone represented by a level tone mark above the vowel.

Tone 2 is a high-rising tone represented by a rising tone mark above the vowel.

Tone 3 is a low-dipping tone represented by a dish-like concave tone mark above the vowel.

Tone 4 is a high-falling tone represented by a falling tone mark above the vowel.

The neutral tone is pronounced lightly and softly in comparison to the other tones and is not marked by any tone symbol. A syllable is said to take on a neutral tone when it is not emphasized or stressed in the sentence, (i.e., it is skipped over quickly).

Take care to pronounce the words accurately according to their tone marks, as the same syllable can have several different meanings. For example,

Word	Tone Number	Meaning
妈 mā	1	mother
麻 má	2	numb
马 mǎ	3	horse
骂 mà	4	scold
吗 ma	neutral tone	question marker

Pronouncing a word with a different tone can change its meaning. For example, “I’m looking for my mother” can become “I’m looking for my horse”!