LessonsChinese · Lesson 1
Chinese · Lesson 1 · Pinyin: the 21 initials
Chinese is written in characters, but every learner starts with pinyin — the standard way to spell Mandarin sounds in Latin letters. A syllable is an initial, a final and a tone: m + ā = mā. This lesson covers the 21 initials. Tap any tile to hear a real word that starts with that sound.
🔊 The sound in these lessons comes from your device’s own Mandarin voice, so it differs from device to device. Recorded audio will follow.
💨 One idea first: the puff of air
English tells b from p by voice: b buzzes, p does not. Mandarin does not use voice at all — six pairs differ only by a puff of air: b–p, d–t, g–k, j–q, zh–ch, z–c. The first of each pair is plain, the second is strongly puffed. Hold your palm in front of your mouth: p, t, k, q, ch and c should hit it; b, d, g, j, zh and z should not.
👄 Lips: b p m f
| b | the p of “spy”: no puff of air and no buzz | |
| p | the p of “pie”, with a clear puff of air | |
| m | as in English | |
| f | as in English |
👅 Tip of the tongue: d t n l
| d | the t of “stay”: no puff | |
| t | the t of “tie”, with a clear puff | |
| n | as in English | |
| l | as in English |
🔙 Back of the tongue: g k h
| g | the k of “sky”: no puff | |
| k | the k of “kite”, with a clear puff | |
| h | rougher than English h: the air rubs at the back of the mouth, a light version of the ch in “loch” |
⚠️ Three families that look alike
These three families are the hard part of pinyin. What tells them apart is where the tongue is: lying flat (j q x), curled back (zh ch sh r), or at the teeth (z c s).
Tongue flat — always before i or ü
| j | like the j of “jeep”, but with the tip of the tongue resting behind the lower teeth; no puff | |
| q | like the ch of “cheese”, tongue tip down, with a clear puff | |
| x | like the sh of “she”, tongue tip down and lips spread — thinner than English sh |
Tongue curled back
| zh | like the j of “jar” with the tip of the tongue curled up and back; no puff | |
| ch | like the ch of “church”, tongue curled back, with a clear puff | |
| sh | like the sh of “shirt”, tongue curled back | |
| r | start an English r but keep the lips relaxed; it has a slight buzz, like the s of “leisure” |
Tongue at the teeth
| z | like the ds of “kids”; no puff | |
| c | like the ts of “cats”, with a clear puff — never a k sound | |
| s | as in English |
Hear the three families side by side — all spelled with the letter i, yet they sound quite different (Lesson 2 explains why):
✍️ Worth remembering
Letters that do not mean what they say
c is “ts”, q is close to “ch”, x is close to “sh”, zh is close to “j”, and z is “ds”. Read pinyin as pinyin, not as English.
y and w are not new sounds
When a syllable begins with i, u or ü, pinyin writes a y or w to make it easier to read: 一 yī, 五 wǔ, 月 yuè. That is why pinyin counts 21 initials, without y and w.
Only two consonants can end a syllable
A Mandarin syllable ends in a vowel, -n or -ng (and sometimes -r). Nothing else — which is one reason the language has so many words that sound alike, and why tones matter so much.
Do you speak Vietnamese? Switch the site to Tiếng Việt: every sound is then compared with Vietnamese, where several match exactly (pinyin t = Vietnamese th).