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Official Hanyu Pinyin Scheme

Complete Chinese Pinyin Chart: 23 Initials, 24 Finals, 16 Whole Syllables & 4 Tones

Hanyu Pinyin (汉语拼音) is the official phonetic system for transcribing Standard Mandarin pronunciation. Every Mandarin syllable consists of three parts: an optional Initial consonant (声母), a Final vowel or nasal rhyme (韵母), and a lexical Tone contour (声调).

Open Printable Pinyin Practice Worksheet

1. The Four Mandarin Tones & Neutral Tone (声调)

Tone changes meaning completely in Mandarin. When placing tone marks over multi-vowel finals, follow the vowel priority order: a > o > e > i/u/ü (in iu and ui, always mark the second vowel).

TonePinyinPitch (1–5)Example HanziArticulation & Orthography Rule

1st Tone (High Level)

第一声 · 阴平

ā (mā)55 (───)妈 (mā · mother)High, flat, steady pitch held at level 55 without dropping.

2nd Tone (Rising)

第二声 · 阳平

á (má)35 (╱)麻 (má · hemp / numb)Rises crisply from middle pitch (3) to high pitch (5), like asking "What?"

3rd Tone (Dipping / Low)

第三声 · 上声

ǎ (mǎ)214 (╲╱)马 (mǎ · horse)Dips from low-mid (2) to bottom (1) then rises to (4). Before another 3rd tone, it changes to 2nd tone (nǐ hǎo → ní hǎo).

4th Tone (Falling)

第四声 · 去声

à (mà)51 (╲)骂 (mà · scold)Falls sharply and decisively from highest pitch (5) to lowest (1).

Neutral Tone (Light & Short)

轻声

a (ma)· (Neutral)吗 (ma · question particle)Unstressed, short, and light; written without any tone mark above the vowel.

2. The 23 Pinyin Initials by Point of Articulation (声母表)

Grouped into 7 articulatory positions from the lips to the tongue root.

1. Labials & Labiodentals (b, p, m, f)

PinyinIPAExample HanziArticulation & Orthography Rule
b[p]爸 (bà · father)Unaspirated [p] like "sp" in "spin" (no puff of air).
p[pʰ]朋 (péng · friend)Strongly aspirated [pʰ] like "p" in "pack" with a sharp puff of air.
m[m]妈 (mā · mother)Bilabial nasal [m] like "m" in "mother".
f[f]风 (fēng · wind)Upper teeth touch lower lip [f] like "f" in "fan".

2. Alveolars / Tongue-Tip (d, t, n, l)

PinyinIPAExample HanziArticulation & Orthography Rule
d[t]大 (dà · big)Unaspirated [t] like "st" in "stop".
t[tʰ]他 (tā · he / him)Aspirated [tʰ] like "t" in "top" with a strong breath.
n[n]你 (nǐ · you)Alveolar nasal [n] like "n" in "no".
l[l]来 (lái · come)Clear lateral [l] like "l" in "light".

3. Velars / Tongue-Root (g, k, h)

PinyinIPAExample HanziArticulation & Orthography Rule
g[k]高 (gāo · tall / high)Unaspirated [k] like "sk" in "sky".
k[kʰ]看 (kàn · look / read)Strongly aspirated [kʰ] like "k" in "kite".
h[x]好 (hǎo · good)Velar fricative [x] with slight throat friction like "ch" in Scottish "loch".

4. Palatals / Tongue-Surface (j, q, x)

PinyinIPAExample HanziArticulation & Orthography Rule
j[tɕ]家 (jiā · home / family)Tongue tip rests behind lower teeth while middle blade rises; unaspirated.
q[tɕʰ]请 (qǐng · please / invite)Same tongue position as j, but with a sharp puff of air.
x[ɕ]学 (xué · study / learn)Soft palatal hiss [ɕ] with corners of lips slightly spread.

5. Retroflex / Curled-Tongue (zh, ch, sh, r)

PinyinIPAExample HanziArticulation & Orthography Rule
zh[ʈʂ]中 (zhōng · middle / China)Curl tongue tip back toward hard palate; unaspirated.
ch[ʈʂʰ]吃 (chī · eat)Curled tongue like zh, but strongly aspirated.
sh[ʂ]书 (shū · book)Curled-tongue "sh" sound like "sh" in "shirt".
r[ʐ]人 (rén · person)Voiced retroflex continuant (no lip rounding, tongue curled back).

6. Dental Sibilants / Flat-Tongue (z, c, s)

PinyinIPAExample HanziArticulation & Orthography Rule
z[ts]字 (zì · character / word)Like "ds" in "kids" with flat tongue touching the back of upper teeth.
c[tsʰ]菜 (cài · vegetable / dish)Like "ts" in "cats" with a crisp puff of air.
s[s]三 (sān · three)Crisp flat-tongue [s] like "s" in "sun".

7. Orthographic Semi-Vowels (y, w)

PinyinIPAExample HanziArticulation & Orthography Rule
y[j] / [ɥ]一 (yī · one (1))Leading marker for i- and ü- finals when no consonant precedes them.
w[w]我 (wǒ · I / me)Leading marker for u- finals when no consonant precedes them.

3. The 24 Pinyin Finals: Simple, Compound & Nasal (韵母表)

Includes 6 simple vowels, 8 diphthongs/triphthongs, 1 retroflex er, 5 front nasals (-n), and 4 back nasals (-ng).

1. Six Simple Finals (单韵母: a, o, e, i, u, ü)

PinyinIPAExample HanziArticulation & Orthography Rule
a[ä]妈 (mā)Open central vowel; always receives the tone mark first if present.
o[uɔ]我 (wǒ)Rounded vowel; after b, p, m, f it has a slight [u] glide (bo, po, mo, fo).
e[ɤ]喝 (hē)Unrounded back vowel [ɤ], articulated further back in the mouth.
i[i] / [ʅ]米 (mǐ)High front [i] after b/p/m/d/t/n/l/j/q/x; buzzed vowel after z/c/s/zh/ch/sh/r.
u[u]书 (shū)High back rounded [u]; written as "wu" when standing alone.
ü[y]女 (nǚ)Say [i] with rounded lips; keeps umlaut dots in nü/lü, drops dots after j, q, x, y (ju, qu, xu, yu).

2. Nine Compound & Retroflex Finals (复韵母: ai, ei, ui, ao, ou, iu, ie, üe, er)

PinyinIPAExample HanziArticulation & Orthography Rule
ai[aɪ]爱 (ài)Glide from open [a] to [ɪ]; tone mark sits on "a".
ei[eɪ]杯 (bēi)Glide like "ei" in "eight"; tone mark sits on "e".
ui (uei)[weɪ]水 (shuǐ)Shortened spelling of "uei"; in "ui" the tone mark goes on the SECOND vowel (shuǐ).
ao[ɑʊ]好 (hǎo)Glide like "ow" in "how"; tone mark on "a".
ou[oʊ]口 (kǒu)Glide like "o" in "go"; tone mark on "o".
iu (iou)[joʊ]六 (liù)Shortened spelling of "iou"; tone mark goes on the SECOND vowel "u" (liù, jiǔ).
ie[jɛ]写 (xiě)Front glide [jɛ] like "ye" in "yes"; standalone written as "ye".
üe (ue)[ɥœ]月 (yuè)Drops umlaut dots after j, q, x, y (xue, que, jue, yue); keeps dots in nüe, lüe.
er[ɐɚ]二 (èr)Standalone retroflex vowel; never combines with an initial consonant.

3. Nine Front & Back Nasal Finals (鼻韵母: an, en, in, un, ün / ang, eng, ing, ong)

PinyinIPAExample HanziArticulation & Orthography Rule
an[an]山 (shān)Front nasal ending with tongue tip touching upper alveolar ridge.
en[ən]门 (mén)Schwa + front nasal [-n] like "en" in "taken".
in[in]心 (xīn)High front [i] + [-n]; standalone written as "yin".
un (uen)[wən]春 (chūn)Shortened spelling of "uen"; standalone written as "wen".
ün (un)[yn]云 (yún)Drops umlaut dots after j, q, x, y (jun, qun, xun, yun).
ang[ɑŋ]羊 (yáng)Back nasal [-ŋ] with open mouth and retracted tongue root.
eng[ɤŋ]风 (fēng)Back nasal [-ŋ]; after b, p, m, f often heard with slight lip rounding.
ing[iŋ]星 (xīng)Clear [iŋ]; standalone written as "ying".
ong[ʊŋ]中 (zhōng)Rounded back nasal [ʊŋ]; combines with y as "yong".

4. The 16 Whole-Syllable Readings (整体认读音节)

These 16 syllables are read directly as a single unit without spelling initial + final separately.

zhi知zhīRetroflex vocalic syllablechi吃chīRetroflex aspirated syllableshi十shíRetroflex fricative syllableri日rìVoiced retroflex syllablezi字zìFlat-tongue vocalic syllableci词cíFlat-tongue aspirated syllablesi四sìFlat-tongue sibilant syllableyi一yīStandalone i syllablewu五wǔStandalone u syllableyu鱼yúStandalone ü syllable (dots dropped)ye也yěStandalone ie syllableyue月yuèStandalone üe syllableyuan圆yuánStandalone üan syllableyin音yīnStandalone in syllableyun云yúnStandalone ün syllableying英yīngStandalone ing syllable