Chinese Pinyin

In Mandarin Chinese it happens that sometimes we change the tones of certain Pinyin syllable to improve the clarity or ease pronunciation difficulties, here are some general rules.

1. The 3rd tone is a changeable tone. When two 3rd tones come together, the first 3rd tone should be changed into a 2nd tone, e.g., nĭ hăo (你好 hello) should be pronounced níhăo.

2. When a 3rd tone is followed by a 1st, 2nd, 4th or neutral tone, the 3rd tone should be pronounced as a low 3rd tone. In other words it is a low sustained tone, e.g., as in jĭnzhāng (紧张 nervous) and jiĕfàng (解放 liberate). Both jĭn and jiĕ stay in the lower part of your voice and you don’t move the sound up.

3. Only under the following situations should the 3rd tone be pronounced as a proper 3rd tone:

* when a 3rd tone is on its own. For example, the mono-syllabic expression hăo (好 OK, all right).
* when a 3rd tone is at the end of a sentence or a phrase, e.g. fànghăo (放好 to put [something] properly.)

4. When a sentence has three third tones next to each other, it can be changed into the following two patterns:

* second, second and proper third
* lower third, second and proper third.

For example: wŏ hĕn hăo (我很好 I am fine) can be pronounced either wŏ hénhăo or wó hénhăo.

The neutral tone in Mandarin Chinese is a short and light tone, as described above. The best way to remember how to pronounce the neutral tone is to remember its length and its pitch as follows:

* The syllable before the neutral tone should be pronounced longer, as if it is a crochet in music notation and the neutral tone as a quaver.
* A neutral tone should be in the middle range of your voice. If a neutral tone is preceded by a low tone such as a third (curved) tone or a low ending tone such as a fourth (falling) tone, the neutral tone should end up at a higher pitch than the preceding tones; if a neutral tone is preceded by a first (sustained) tone or second (rising) tone, the neutral tone should end at a lower pitch than the preceding tones.

Here are some examples of tone changes

1 xiè xie 2 hăo ma 3 mā ma 4 péng you
5 jiĕ jie 6 xìng zhi 7 hái zi 8 yá men

There are four tones in Mandarin Chinese Pinyin, plus one neutral tone(or called “no tone”).

First tone in Chinese Pinyin
The first tone is marked as a straight line like this¯. It has a long and sustained sound (as if singing a note).

Second tone in Chinese Pinyin
The second tone is marked upwards like this . It is a rising tone (start from the lower part of your voice, then go up).

Third tone in Chinese Pinyin
The third tone is marked down and up like this ˇ. It is a low and curved tone. Try to go as low as you can and then bounce up.

Fourth in Chinese Pinyin
The fourth tone is marked downwards like this. It is a falling tone (start from the grating highest part of your voice, then go down, as if exclaiming).

Neutral in Chinese Pinyin
The neutral tone has no mark. It is a short and light tone.

Where should I mark the tones?
Tones should be marked on a vowel. If a word has more than one vowel, the tone should be marked on the main vowel of the word. Vowels are listed in the following order: a, o, e, i, u and ü. As the vowel ‘a’ appears first in this list, the tone in the word liao should be marked on the vowel ‘a’.

There are three parts in Chinese Pinyin: the initial, the final, and the tone. In Chinese pinyin, the tone, initial, and final are represented as follows:

Tone

The tone is represented by a tone mark placed on top of the syllable. There are exactly four tone marks: ˉ, ˊ, ˇ, and ˋ. The two dots on ü (like a German umlaut) do not have to do with the tone, so if you see ǖ, ǘ, ǚ, or ǜ, the symbol above the dots represents the tone.

Initial

The initial is:

* at the front of the syllable
* a consonant (not including y, or w)
* usually one letter, except for:zh, ch, sh

Final

The final is made up of the letter(s) after a syllable’s initial, not including the tone mark. A final:

* begins with a vowel
* can be made of 1-4 characters
* end with a vowel, n, ng, or r

Exceptions to initial-final combinations in syllables

Some syllables have no initial or no final. In Pinyin, this is shown as follows:

* For syllables with no final:
o an unpronounced i is added to the end of the syllable
o Occurs only with the following initials:zh, ch, sh, r, z, c, s
* For syllables with no initial:
o if the final begins with an i, it is replaced with a y
o if the final begins with an u, it is replaced with a w
o if the final begins with an ü, it is replaced with yu
o Exceptions to the above:
+ i alone is replaced by yi
+ iu is replaced by you
+ in is replaced by yin
+ ing is replaced by ying
+ u alone is replaced by wu
+ ui is replaced by wei
+ un is replaced by wen
+ ueng is replaced by weng

One other exception:

* when combined with initials j, q, any ü in a final is changed to u

ㄚ a
ㄞ ai
ㄢ an
ㄤ ang
ㄠ ao
ㄅㄚ ba
ㄅㄞ bai
ㄅㄢ ban
ㄅㄤ bang
ㄅㄠ bao
ㄅㄟ bei
ㄅㄣ ben
ㄅㄥ beng
ㄅㄧ bi
ㄅㄧㄢ bian
ㄅㄧㄠ biao
ㄅㄧㄝ bie
ㄅㄧㄣ bin
ㄅㄧㄥ bing
ㄅㄛ bo
ㄅㄨ bu
ㄘㄚ ca
ㄘㄞ cai
ㄘㄢ can
ㄘㄤ cang
ㄘㄠ cao
ㄘㄜ ce
ㄘㄣ cen
ㄘㄥ ceng
ㄔㄚ cha
ㄔㄞ chai
ㄔㄢ chan
ㄔㄤ chang
ㄔㄠ chao
ㄔㄜ che
ㄔㄣ chen
ㄔㄥ cheng
ㄔ chi
ㄔㄨㄥ chong
ㄔㄡ chou
ㄔㄨ chu
ㄔㄨㄚ chua
ㄔㄨㄞ chuai
ㄔㄨㄢ chuan
ㄔㄨㄤ chuang
ㄔㄨㄟ chui
ㄔㄨㄣ chun
ㄔㄨㄛ chuo
ㄘ ci
ㄘㄨㄥ cong
ㄘㄡ cou
ㄘㄨ cu
ㄘㄨㄢ cuan
ㄘㄨㄟ cui
ㄘㄨㄣ cun
ㄘㄨㄛ cuo
ㄉㄚ da
ㄉㄞ dai
ㄉㄢ dan
ㄉㄤ dang
ㄉㄠ dao
ㄉㄜ de
ㄉㄟ dei
ㄉㄣ den
ㄉㄥ deng
ㄉㄧ di
ㄉㄧㄢ dian
ㄉㄧㄤ diang
ㄉㄧㄠ diao
ㄉㄧㄝ die
ㄉㄧㄥ ding
ㄉㄧㄡ diu
ㄉㄨㄥ dong
ㄉㄡ dou
ㄉㄨ du
ㄉㄨㄢ duan
ㄉㄨㄟ dui
ㄉㄨㄣ dun
ㄉㄨㄛ duo
ㄜ e
ㄟ ei
ㄣ en
ㄦ er
ㄈㄚ fa
ㄈㄢ fan
ㄈㄤ fang
ㄈㄟ fei
ㄈㄣ fen
ㄈㄥ feng
ㄈㄛ fo
ㄈㄡ fou
ㄈㄨ fu
ㄍㄚ ga
ㄍㄞ gai
ㄍㄢ gan
ㄍㄤ gang
ㄍㄠ gao
ㄍㄜ ge
ㄍㄟ gei
ㄍㄣ gen
ㄍㄥ geng
ㄍㄨㄥ gong
ㄍㄡ gou
ㄍㄨ gu
ㄍㄨㄚ gua
ㄍㄨㄞ guai
ㄍㄨㄢ guan
ㄍㄨㄤ guang
ㄍㄨㄟ gui
ㄍㄨㄣ gun
ㄍㄨㄛ guo
ㄏㄚ ha
ㄏㄞ hai
ㄏㄢ han
ㄏㄤ hang
ㄏㄠ hao
ㄏㄜ he
ㄏㄟ hei
ㄏㄣ hen
ㄏㄥ heng
ㄏㄨㄥ hong
ㄏㄡ hou
ㄏㄨ hu
ㄏㄨㄚ hua
ㄏㄨㄞ huai
ㄏㄨㄢ huan
ㄏㄨㄤ huang
ㄏㄨㄟ hui
ㄏㄨㄣ hun
ㄏㄨㄛ huo
ㄐㄧ ji
ㄐㄧㄚ jia
ㄐㄧㄢ jian
ㄐㄧㄤ jiang
ㄐㄧㄠ jiao
ㄐㄧㄝ jie
ㄐㄧㄣ jin
ㄐㄧㄥ jing
ㄐㄩㄥ jiong
ㄐㄧㄡ jiu
ㄐㄩ ju
ㄐㄩㄢ juan
ㄐㄩㄝ jue
ㄐㄩㄣ jun
ㄎㄚ ka
ㄎㄞ kai
ㄎㄢ kan
ㄎㄤ kang
ㄎㄠ kao
ㄎㄜ ke
ㄎㄣ ken
ㄎㄥ keng
ㄎㄨㄥ kong
ㄎㄡ kou
ㄎㄨ ku
ㄎㄨㄚ kua
ㄎㄨㄞ kuai
ㄎㄨㄢ kuan
ㄎㄨㄤ kuang
ㄎㄨㄟ kui
ㄎㄨㄣ kun
ㄎㄨㄛ kuo
ㄌㄚ la
ㄌㄞ lai
ㄌㄢ lan
ㄌㄤ lang
ㄌㄠ lao
ㄌㄜ le
ㄌㄟ lei
ㄌㄥ leng
ㄌㄧ li
ㄌㄧㄚ lia
ㄌㄧㄢ lian
ㄌㄧㄤ liang
ㄌㄧㄠ liao
ㄌㄧㄝ lie
ㄌㄧㄣ lin
ㄌㄧㄥ ling
ㄌㄧㄡ liu
ㄌㄛ lo
ㄌㄨㄥ long
ㄌㄡ lou
ㄌㄨ lu
ㄌㄨㄢ luan
ㄌㄨㄣ lun
ㄌㄨㄛ luo
ㄌㄩ lü
ㄌㄩㄝ lüe
ㄌㄩㄣ lün
ㄇㄚ ma
ㄇㄞ mai
ㄇㄢ man
ㄇㄤ mang
ㄇㄠ mao
ㄇㄜ me
ㄇㄟ mei
ㄇㄣ men
ㄇㄥ meng
ㄇㄧ mi
ㄇㄧㄢ mian
ㄇㄧㄠ miao
ㄇㄧㄝ mie
ㄇㄧㄣ min
ㄇㄧㄥ ming
ㄇㄧㄡ miu
ㄇㄛ mo
ㄇㄡ mou
ㄇㄨ mu
ㄋㄚ na
ㄋㄞ nai
ㄋㄢ nan
ㄋㄤ nang
ㄋㄠ nao
ㄋㄜ ne
ㄋㄟ nei
ㄋㄣ nen
ㄋㄥ neng
ㄋㄧ ni
ㄋㄧㄚ nia
ㄋㄧㄢ nian
ㄋㄧㄤ niang
ㄋㄧㄠ niao
ㄋㄧㄝ nie
ㄋㄧㄣ nin
ㄋㄧㄥ ning
ㄋㄧㄡ niu
ㄋㄨㄥ nong
ㄋㄡ nou
ㄋㄨ nu
ㄋㄨㄢ nuan
ㄋㄨㄣ nun
ㄋㄨㄛ nuo
ㄋㄩ nü
ㄋㄩㄝ nüe
ㄡ ou
ㄆㄚ pa
ㄆㄞ pai
ㄆㄢ pan
ㄆㄤ pang
ㄆㄠ pao
ㄆㄟ pei
ㄆㄣ pen
ㄆㄥ peng
ㄆㄧ pi
ㄆㄧㄢ pian
ㄆㄧㄠ piao
ㄆㄧㄝ pie
ㄆㄧㄣ pin
ㄆㄧㄥ ping
ㄆㄛ po
ㄆㄡ pou
ㄆㄨ pu
ㄑㄧ qi
ㄑㄧㄚ qia
ㄑㄧㄢ qian
ㄑㄧㄤ qiang
ㄑㄧㄠ qiao
ㄑㄧㄝ qie
ㄑㄧㄣ qin
ㄑㄧㄥ qing
ㄑㄩㄥ qiong
ㄑㄧㄡ qiu
ㄑㄩ qu
ㄑㄩㄢ quan
ㄑㄩㄝ que
ㄑㄩㄣ qun
ㄖㄢ ran
ㄖㄤ rang
ㄖㄠ rao
ㄖㄜ re
ㄖㄣ ren
ㄖㄥ reng
ㄖ ri
ㄖㄨㄥ rong
ㄖㄡ rou
ㄖㄨ ru
ㄖㄨㄢ ruan
ㄖㄨㄟ rui
ㄖㄨㄣ run
ㄖㄨㄛ ruo
ㄙㄚ sa
ㄙㄞ sai
ㄙㄢ san
ㄙㄤ sang
ㄙㄠ sao
ㄙㄜ se
ㄙㄟ sei
ㄙㄣ sen
ㄙㄥ seng
ㄕㄚ sha
ㄕㄞ shai
ㄕㄢ shan
ㄕㄤ shang
ㄕㄠ shao
ㄕㄜ she
ㄕㄟ shei
ㄕㄣ shen
ㄕㄥ sheng
ㄕ shi
ㄕㄨㄥ shong
ㄕㄡ shou
ㄕㄨ shu
ㄕㄨㄚ shua
ㄕㄨㄞ shuai
ㄕㄨㄢ shuan
ㄕㄨㄤ shuang
ㄕㄨㄟ shui
ㄕㄨㄣ shun
ㄕㄨㄛ shuo
ㄙ si
ㄙㄨㄥ song
ㄙㄡ sou
ㄙㄨ su
ㄙㄨㄢ suan
ㄙㄨㄟ sui
ㄙㄨㄣ sun
ㄙㄨㄛ suo
ㄊㄚ ta
ㄊㄞ tai
ㄊㄢ tan
ㄊㄤ tang
ㄊㄠ tao
ㄊㄜ te
ㄊㄥ teng
ㄊㄧ ti
ㄊㄧㄢ tian
ㄊㄧㄠ tiao
ㄊㄧㄝ tie
ㄊㄧㄥ ting
ㄊㄨㄥ tong
ㄊㄡ tou
ㄊㄨ tu
ㄊㄨㄢ tuan
ㄊㄨㄟ tui
ㄊㄨㄣ tun
ㄊㄨㄛ tuo
ㄨㄚ wa
ㄨㄞ wai
ㄨㄢ wan
ㄨㄤ wang
ㄨㄟ wei
ㄨㄣ wen
ㄨㄥ weng
ㄨㄛ wo
ㄨ wu
ㄒㄧ xi
ㄒㄧㄚ xia
ㄒㄧㄢ xian
ㄒㄧㄤ xiang
ㄒㄧㄠ xiao
ㄒㄧㄝ xie
ㄒㄧㄣ xin
ㄒㄧㄥ xing
ㄒㄩㄥ xiong
ㄒㄧㄡ xiu
ㄒㄩ xu
ㄒㄩㄢ xuan
ㄒㄩㄝ xue
ㄒㄩㄣ xun
ㄧㄚ ya
ㄧㄢ yan
ㄧㄤ yang
ㄧㄠ yao
ㄧㄝ ye
ㄧ yi
ㄧㄣ yin
ㄧㄥ ying
ㄩㄥ yong
ㄧㄡ you
ㄩ yu
ㄩㄢ yuan
ㄩㄝ yue
ㄩㄣ yun
ㄗㄚ za
ㄗㄞ zai
ㄗㄢ zan
ㄗㄤ zang
ㄗㄠ zao
ㄗㄜ ze
ㄗㄟ zei
ㄗㄣ zen
ㄗㄥ zeng
ㄓㄚ zha
ㄓㄞ zhai
ㄓㄢ zhan
ㄓㄤ zhang
ㄓㄠ zhao
ㄓㄜ zhe
ㄓㄟ zhei
ㄓㄣ zhen
ㄓㄥ zheng
ㄓ zhi
ㄓㄨㄥ zhong
ㄓㄡ zhou
ㄓㄨ zhu
ㄓㄨㄚ zhua
ㄓㄨㄞ zhuai
ㄓㄨㄢ zhuan
ㄓㄨㄤ zhuang
ㄓㄨㄟ zhui
ㄓㄨㄣ zhun
ㄓㄨㄛ zhuo
ㄗ zi
ㄗㄨㄥ zong
ㄗㄡ zou
ㄗㄨ zu
ㄗㄨㄢ zuan
ㄗㄨㄟ zui
ㄗㄨㄣ zun
ㄗㄨㄛ zuo