How to read Pinyin (Phonetics) -II

All rules given here in terms of English pronunciation are approximate, as several of these sounds do not correspond directly to sounds in English,So you still need to pactice with your teacher.

1. Consonants

There are 24 consonants in pinyin which are pronounced a lot like in English.

b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l, g, k, ng, h, j, q, x, zh, ch, sh, r, z, c, s, y, w

Chinese pronunciation of Consonants

b as in boy

p as in pine

m as in mother

f as in food

d as in dig

t as in talk

n as in none

l as in loud

g as in good

k as in kid

ng as in song

h as in hot

j as in jeep

q like “ch” in cheat

x like a sound between the “s” in see and the “sh” in she

zh like “dg” in sludge

ch as in children

sh as in shake

r as in raw

z like “ds” in words

c like “ts” in eats

s as in son

y as in Yao Ming

w as in we

2. Vowels

There are 6 simple vowels: a, o, e, i, u, ü

Chinese pronunciation of Vowels

a as in mama

o as in drop

e as in earn

i as in sit

u as in look

ü like the u in the French rue