Pronunciation Reference

Pinyin Table

pīnyīn biǎo

Pinyin is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese. This complete table shows every valid combination of initials and finals — the building blocks of all Mandarin syllables. Each syllable can be spoken in four tones (plus a neutral tone), giving Chinese its distinctive melodic quality.

May 27, 2026

24Initials

36Finals

448Valid Syllables

4+1Tones

The Four Tones

Every Mandarin syllable is spoken with a specific tone that changes the meaning of the word. The same syllable "ma" can mean "mother" (mā), "hemp" (má), "horse" (mǎ), or "scold" (mà) depending on the tone.

1ˉ

First tone

第一声

High and level

2ˊ

Second tone

第二声

Rising

3ˇ

Third tone

第三声

Falling-rising

4ˋ

Fourth tone

第四声

Falling

5·

Neutral tone

轻声

Light and short

Initials by Group

Mandarin has 21 initials (consonant sounds that begin a syllable) plus two semivowels. They are grouped by their place and manner of articulation. Hover over a group to highlight those rows in the table.

Zero Initial∅

Labials (b, p, m, f)b, p, m, f

Alveolars (d, t, n, l)d, t, n, l

Velars (g, k, h)g, k, h

Palatals (j, q, x)j, q, x

Retroflexes (zh, ch, sh, r)zh, ch, sh, r

Sibilants (z, c, s)z, c, s

Semivowels (y, w)y, w

Complete Pinyin Table

Each cell shows a valid syllable. Empty cells mean that combination does not exist in standard Mandarin. Click or hover on a cell to highlight it.

Initial ↓ / Final →	a	o	e	i	u	ü	ai	ei	ao	ou	an	en	ang	eng	ong	ia	ie	iao	iu	ian	in	iang	ing	iong	ua	uo	uai	ui	uan	un	uang	ue	üe	üan	ün	er
∅	a	o	e	yi	wu	yu	ai	ei	ao	ou	an	en	ang	eng		ya	ye	yao	you	yan	yin	yang	ying	yong	wa	wo	wai	wei	wan	wen	wang	yue	yue	yuan	yun	er
b	ba	bo		bi	bu		bai	bei	bao		ban	ben	bang	beng		bia	bie	biao		bian	bin		bing
p	pa	po		pi	pu		pai	pei	pao	pou	pan	pen	pang	peng		pia	pie	piao		pian	pin		ping
m	ma	mo	me	mi	mu		mai	mei	mao	mou	man	men	mang	meng		mia	mie	miao	miu	mian	min		ming
f	fa	fo			fu			fei		fou	fan	fen	fang	feng
d	da		de	di	du		dai	dei	dao	dou	dan	den	dang	deng	dong	dia	die	diao	diu	dian			ding			duo		dui	duan	dun
t	ta		te	ti	tu		tai		tao	tou	tan		tang	teng	tong		tie	tiao		tian			ting			tuo		tui	tuan	tun
n	na		ne	ni	nu	nü	nai	nei	nao	nou	nan	nen	nang	neng	nong	nia	nie	niao	niu	nian	nin	niang	ning			nuo			nuan				nüe
l	la		le	li	lu	lü	lai	lei	lao	lou	lan		lang	leng	long	lia	lie	liao	liu	lian	lin	liang	ling			luo			luan	lun			lüe
g	ga		ge		gu		gai	gei	gao	gou	gan	gen	gang	geng	gong										gua	guo	guai	gui	guan	gun	guang
k	ka		ke		ku		kai	kei	kao	kou	kan	ken	kang	keng	kong										kua	kuo	kuai	kui	kuan	kun	kuang
h	ha		he		hu		hai	hei	hao	hou	han	hen	hang	heng	hong										hua	huo	huai	hui	huan	hun	huang
j				ji	ju	ju										jia	jie	jiao	jiu	jian	jin	jiang	jing	jiong					juan	jun		jue	jue	juan	jun
q				qi	qu	qu										qia	qie	qiao	qiu	qian	qin	qiang	qing	qiong					quan	qun		que	que	quan	qun
x				xi	xu	xu										xia	xie	xiao	xiu	xian	xin	xiang	xing	xiong					xuan	xun		xue	xue	xuan	xun
zh	zha		zhe	zhi	zhu		zhai	zhei	zhao	zhou	zhan	zhen	zhang	zheng	zhong										zhua	zhuo	zhuai	zhui	zhuan	zhun	zhuang
ch	cha		che	chi	chu		chai		chao	chou	chan	chen	chang	cheng	chong										chua	chuo	chuai	chui	chuan	chun	chuang
sh	sha		she	shi	shu		shai	shei	shao	shou	shan	shen	shang	sheng											shua	shuo	shuai	shui	shuan	shun	shuang
r	ra		re	ri	ru				rao	rou	ran	ren	rang	reng	rong										rua	ruo		rui	ruan	run
z	za		ze	zi	zu		zai	zei	zao	zou	zan	zen	zang	zeng	zong											zuo		zui	zuan	zun
c	ca		ce	ci	cu		cai		cao	cou	can	cen	cang	ceng	cong											cuo		cui	cuan	cun
s	sa		se	si	su		sai		sao	sou	san	sen	sang	seng	song											suo		sui	suan	sun
y	ya		ye	yi	yu				yao	you	yan		yang		yong						yin		ying						yuan	yun		yue
w	wa	wo			wu		wai	wei			wan	wen	wang	weng

Key Spelling Rules

ü → u after j, q, x

When ü follows j, q, or x, the dots are dropped and it is written as "u". For example: jü → ju, qüe → que, xüan → xuan. This never causes ambiguity because j, q, x never combine with plain u.

Standalone i, u, ü

When there is no initial consonant: i → yi, u → wu, ü → yu. Similarly: ia → ya, uo → wo, üe → yue. These are spelling conventions, not different sounds.

Tone mark placement

The tone mark goes on the main vowel, following this priority: a, e, or the second vowel in a pair. In practice: ā and ē always get the mark; in "ou" it goes on ǒ; in "ui" and "iu" it goes on the second letter.

Third tone sandhi

When two third tones appear in sequence, the first changes to second tone in speech: nǐ + hǎo → ní hǎo. This is the most important tone change rule. The written pinyin usually keeps the original tone mark.

dú wàn juǎn shū, xíng wàn lǐ lù

"Read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand miles."

Chinese Proverb

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