!

!
!
!
!
!
!

gio
!
pnynl i n x
ag
/b

m
co
lki.
.ita
ww

Pinyin Practice
//w
p:

!
htt

Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !1

 Table of contents
Part I: Introduction! 3!
How to use this guide 6

Fundamental trivia 11

Consonants () 12

Vowels () 13

Standalone sounds () 14

Part II: Unit Exercises! 15!

b 16

gio
p 17

ag
m 18

/b
f 19

d m 20
co
t 21

n 22
lki.

l 23
.ita

g 24
ww

k 25

h 26
//w
p:
htt

Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !2

 !
!
!
!
!
!
!

gio
!

ag
!

/b
! m
Part I: Introduction
co
lki.
.ita
ww
//w
p:
htt

Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !3

Organisation of this guide
This is how this guide is organised:
Part I: Introduction
We introduce the structure of Chinese pronunciation in
this part and include three charts that comprise all the
sounds that make up all Chinese characters.
!

gio
Part II: Unit practice

ag
There are sample words for you to practice, along with

/b
their denition that fall under that particular sound. If
m
you are unsure as to the pronunciation of a word, I
co
recommend this website for sample clips:
lki.

!
.ita

http://nciku.com/
ww

!
//w

If you would like to know how each sentence is used (i.e.

p:

example sentences), you can use nciku, but I also

htt

recommend another resource:

!
http://dict.baidu.com/
!
Part III: Integrated exercises
Here, there are complete sentences using some of the
words covered in Part II for revision.
!
Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !4
Part IV: Tongue twisters
These are some of the most dicult to pronounce
sentences, phrases or paragraphs. Try these out to take
your pronunciation one level higher.
!

gio
ag
/b
m
co
lki.
.ita
ww
//w
p:
htt

Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !5

How to use this guide
This guide is designed to help improve your pinyin
pronunciation - there are two parts in doing that: (1) the
sound (of each word), and (2) the tone.
!
It s important to get the basic sounds right - the more
accurate you pronounce these fundamental sounds, the

gio
more uent and native your Chinese will sound.
!

ag
/b
In order to do that, I recommend that you practice each
m
group of sounds on a repetitive basis. For instance, you
co
might decide to practice a group of sounds once a
lki.

week, and your timetable might look something like this:

.ita

!
ww

!
//w

!
!
p:

!
htt

!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !6
Day Learning Revising

1 b -

2 p -

3 m -

4 f -

5 d -

6 Rest Rest

7 Rest Rest

8 t b

gio
9 n p

ag
10 l m

/b
11 g f

12 k m d

13 Rest Rest
co
14 Rest Rest
lki.

15 j t, b
.ita

16 q n, p
ww

17 x l, m

18 zh g, f
//w

19 chi k, d

20 Rest Rest
p:

21 Rest Rest
htt

!
And you only have to spend about 20 minutes / day
doing this every day (just reading out loud, and perhaps
checking that your pronunciation is correct) to get good
results.
!

Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !7

Through well spaced repetition, I hope this pdf will help
guide you in your journey to improve your spoken
Chinese, whether you re a beginner or on a near native
level (yup, it s important sometimes to get back to the
basics).
!
s u w i z h y o yuhngxn t i z h m chngzhn ziczh n xuxj n b
-

gio
tintinxingshng

ag
m /b
co
lki.
.ita
ww
//w
p:
htt

Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !8

Tips for accurate pronunciation
Here, I want to discuss a couple of caveats when
practicing to sound more native in Chinese:
!
1. Do NOT rush. When you get excited, it s easy to lose
track of the tones. Personally, I prefer to sound accurate
than to speak very rapidly during a sudden bout of

gio
exaltation, only to leave the listener confused.

ag
!

/b
2. Pronounce each tone clearly. If you forget the tone of
m
a word, then that s ne - if you feel like it, just check it
co
up in the dictionary to ascertain the correct
lki.

pronunciation.
.ita

!
ww

One thing you should strive to avoid is to go somewhere

//w

in between . A common mistake I hear, for example, is

p:

the second tone. It can sometime transform into

htt

something that seems somewhere in between the rst

and second tones, but neither, when not pronounced
well.
!
So take your time and strive for accuracy!
!
!
!
Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !9
3. Talk simple. Choose simple words to express yourself
- that way, you ll be more certain of the words you re
using and are less likely to make mistakes.
!
4. Remember context. In informal situations, you might
wanna to pick up the speed a little insofar as not to
hinder your ability to be understood.

gio
!

ag
In formal situations, however, note that Chinese people

/b
generally DON T talk very quickly. Try listen to formal
m
speeches given by the heads of states or important
co
political gures - they talk very slowly and enunciate
lki.

clearly, when compared to, for instance, American

.ita

politicians of equivalent statuses.

ww
//w
p:
htt

Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !10

Fundamental trivia
shngm ynm
1. There are 23 consonants (), 24 vowels () and
zhngt p n d d e y n
16 standalone sounds () in Chinese

pinyin.

!
2. There are four tones in Chinese, which are called
ynpng yngpng shngshng qshng

gio
, plus a silent tone.

ag
!

/b
3. Every word has a unique sound - the implications of
m
co
this is that you either pronounce a word correctly or
lki.

wrongly. Pronunciation is exceptionally important in

.ita

Chinese on the word level.

ww
//w

Conclusion: If you manage to pronounce the

p:

consonants, vowels and the four tones correctly, you will

htt

be able to speak Chinese that s close to being accent

less.

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Consonants ()
The consonants are shown below (+ sample words):

b p m f
b p m f

d t n l
d t n l

gio

ag
g k h

/b
g k h

m
co
j q x
lki.

j q x
.ita

ww

zh ch sh
zh ch sh
//w

p:

r
htt

z c s
z c s

y w
y w

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Vowels ()
The vowels are shown below (+ sample words):

a o e

i u
y w y

gio
ai ei ui

ag
/b
i i wi

m
co
ao ou iu
lki.

o u yu

.ita

ie e er
ww

y yu r
//w

p:

an en in un
htt

n n yn wn

n
yn

ang eng ing ong
ng wng yng gng

Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !13

Standalone sounds ()
Finally, the standalone sounds (+ sample words):

zhi chi shi ri

zh ch sh r

zi ci si
z c s

gio
yi wu yu

ag
/b
y w y

m
co
ye yue yuan
lki.

y yu yun

.ita

yin yun ying

ww

yn yn yng
//w

p:
htt

Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !14

 !
!
!
!
!
!
!

gio
!

ag
!

/b
! m
Part II: Unit Exercises
co
lki.
.ita
ww
//w
p:
htt

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b
!
b j
to involve, to spread to
!
bb
father s elder brother, uncle
!
bk
blog

gio
!
bp

ag
father s aunt
!
/b
m
bm
stripping of the membrane
co
!
lki.

bh
mint
.ita

!
ww

bsh
doctor (someone who has a Ph.D.)
//w

!
bci
spinach
p:

!
htt

b sn
the spreading of, dissemination
!
!

Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !16

p
!
pp
husband s mother (grandmother)
!
pm
garrulous
!
pjng
broken mirror (usually couple s separation)

gio
!
pm

ag
cryptanalysis

/b
!
psn
damaged
m
co
!
lki.

pg
break the rules
.ita

!
ww

pmn
break the door
//w

!
!
p:
htt

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m
!
mm
silently
!
mm
to touch (with childish undertones)
!
m l
magic power

gio
!
m l

ag
jasmine
!
/b
m
m l
to experience hardship
co
!
lki.

mrn
default
.ita

!
ww

mshng
stranger
//w

!
mrn
magical person
p:

!
htt

m rn
magical blade
!
!

Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !18

f
!
frn
a Buddhist (a believer of Buddhism)
!
fxn
a Buddha s heart, benevolence
!
fxing
a statute of Buddha

gio
!
fshn

ag
Foshan, name of a place
!
/b
m
co
lki.
.ita
ww
//w
p:
htt

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d
!
dzh
to learn (that something has happened)
!
dzh
successful, blossoming (in one s career esp)
!
dxng
moral conduct

gio
!
d y

ag
to crow over oneself
!
/b
m
dgu
Germany
co
!
lki.

d x
learn about, learn of
.ita

!
ww

d y
benets (positive connotations)
//w

!
d t
one who comports oneself properly
p:

!
htt

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t
!
tbi
special
!
t y
especially (do something for a purpose)
!
t y
psychic

gio
!
txng

ag
trait
!
/b
m
txng
special shape
co
!
lki.

t ho
especially good
.ita

!
ww

t b
especially good (for the body)
//w

!
tzhng
special feature
p:
htt

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n
!
nixing
introverted
!
nihn
connotation
!
nib
insides

gio
!
nihn

ag
containing
!
/b
m
ni y
undergarments
co
!
lki.

nihng
internal strife
.ita

!
ww

nix
internal demand (in the country)
//w
p:
htt

Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !22

l
!
libi
type
!
lishu
tears
!
lim
teary eyes

gio
!
lig

ag
ribs
!
/b
m
litu
headhunting
co
!
lki.

lchng
mileage
.ita

!
ww

l z h
lichee (fruit)
//w

!
l z h
rational
p:

!
htt

l z h
resign
!
l z h
self-help

Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !23

g
!
gg
brother
!
gg
(ancient) honoric for princess
!
gmng
revolution

gio
!
gmng

ag
name of a song
!
/b
m
g z
each (person)
co
!
lki.

g z i
squares (in a grid)
.ita

!
ww

g z i fng w g z i
pigeon (also blow a date, )
//w

!
g r
insulation from heat
p:

!
htt

g ru
to slice o meat

Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !24

k
!
k k
strict
!
kko
reliable
!
km
subject

gio
!
kmo

ag
exchange of scientic achievements

/b
!
k mng

m
an alliance (of some group?)
co
!
lki.

krn
guest
.ita

!
ww

krng
soluble
//w

!
k lin
pitiable
p:

!
htt

klng
clone

Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !25

h
!
hh
lol
!
h i
approachable
!
h n
riverside

gio
!
h b

ag
why (in a rhetoric question)

/b
!
h ch

m chlu
drink tea (OR to dine in a , a type of
co
Guangdong restaurant with dim sum)
lki.

!
.ita

hch
verify
ww

!
h l
//w

reasonable
!
p:

hm
htt

hippopotamus
!
hpng
peaceful
!
!
!

Baggio Wong (http://italki.com/baggio) !26