D y k

Y yn

In Chinese, each character is a syllable. Each syllable consists of three parts: initial, final and tone.

l z
Word

shng m
Initial h

yn m
Final ao

shng dio
Tone

h o

1. The Initials

shng m

The consonant that begins a syllable is called initial. There are 21 initials in Chinese.

b d g j zh z
Special initials : y, w

p t k q ch c

m n h x sh s

f l

Some syllables only consist of final and tone, e.g.:

e , a i shngdio
Final E Tone

l z
Word

shng m
Initial -

ynm

2. The Finals

yn m

The element after the initial in a Chinese syllable is the final.

2.1 Simple Finals

a o e

dn yn m
i u S

The final with only one vowel is called simple final. There are six simple finals.

2.2 Compound Finals

f yn m

Finals made up of two or three vowels are compound finals. There are thirteen compound finals.

ai ou ei ia ua Se

ao

ie uo

iao uai

io ui

2.3 Finals with Nasal Endings

b yn m

Finals with nasal endings are finals followed by n or ng. There are sixteen finals with nasal endings.

an ong en in un Sn

ang eng ing ueng San

ian uan

iang uang

iong

Lin x

Exercise

Lng d xi bio A.
a i u S ia ua uo Se o e ie

Read the following table

ai ei ao iao uai ui uan San un Sn uang ueng ou iu an ian iong en in ang iang eng ing ong

B.
ai Se j jue q qia x z xue c zai s cai zh sai ch zhai zhei zhao zhou sh chai r shai shei shao shou rao rou shua shuo ruo shuai shui chao chou chuo chuai chui zhua zhuo zhuai zhui sao sou suo sui cao cou cuo cui zei zao zou zuo zui que xia xie xiao qie qiao ei ao ou ia ie iao ua uo uai ui

jia

jie

jiao

Lng d xi li yn ji C.
bai bei sao shao ju qu

Read the following syllables:

gui guai da ta jin jing

chan chang cui zui gu ku

3 Tones

shng dio

The Chinese putonghua has four basic tones. They are shown by the tone indicators: () the 1st tone, () the 2nd tone, () the 3rd tone and () the 4th tone.

The 1st tone ( 5 5 )

5 4 3 2 1

The 2nd tone ( 3 5 )

5 4 3 2 1

The 3rd tone ( 2 1 4 )

5 4 3 2 1

The 4th tone ( 5 1 )

5 4 3 2 1

The tone indicator is marked on the main vowel (the one pronounced the loudest and with the mouth widest open) eg m tu m tu m tu m tu

3.1 The Neutral Tone

qng shng

If a syllable preceded by another one is not stressed, it loses its tonal value and pronounced light and short. These syllables are called neutralized tones or neutral tones. In transcriptions neutral tones do not carry any tone indicators. e.g.: m ma w men t de

(mother)

(we)

(his)

Lin x

Exercise

Lng d xi li yn ji A.
b ba g ge

Read the following syllables:

ddi mi mei

Tng d xi li c y bng xi ch g yn ji de shng m B. : Listen and read the following words and phrases, and then write down the initial of each syllable:
___ n ___i ___ ___i ___ n ____ ___ i ____ in ____ ____ n ____ i ____ n

___ n ___ o ___ u ___u

Gi xi li c y bio shng dio ho D. Give tone marks to the following words and expressions.
lao shi dui bu qi qing jin (teacher) (sorry) (come in, please) ni hao xie xie zai jian (how do you do) (thank you) (good bye)