Pinyin for Beginners: A Simple Guide

How pinyin works: initials, finals, tricky letters like q, x and zh, and how to read and type Chinese with it.

Pinyin (拼音) writes Mandarin sounds with the Latin alphabet. It is not English spelling, but once you know the rules you can read any pinyin aloud.

How pinyin works

Every syllable has an initial (opening consonant, sometimes absent), a final (vowel part) and a tone. In nǐ hǎo, n and h are initials; ǐ and ǎo are finals.

Pinyin letters that surprise English speakers

• c: like "ts" in "cats" (cài, dish)
• q: like "ch" with lips spread (qī, seven)
• x: like a soft "sh" (xièxie, thanks)
• zh, ch, sh: tongue tip curled back (zhōng, middle)
• r: a soft buzz between "r" and "zh" (rén, person)
• ü: say "ee" with rounded lips (nǚ, woman)

Puffs of air

The pairs b/p, d/t, g/k, z/c and zh/ch differ by a puff of air. Hold a tissue to your mouth: it should flutter for p, t, k, c, ch and q.

Spelling rules

• With no initial, i becomes y and u becomes w: yī (one), wǒ (I).
• Tone marks go on the main vowel (order: a, o, e).

Most people type Chinese by entering pinyin and choosing the character. Practice by reading menus, signs and stories with pinyin on, then off.

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