Pinyin Chart with Audio
Click any syllable to hear it. The chart has all 402 standard Mandarin syllables, and each one plays in any of the four tones. It uses the same neural voices as the Mandarin Mosaic app, and shows a common character for each tone where there is one.
How to Read the Pinyin Chart
Pinyin splits every Mandarin syllable into two parts, and the chart lays them out as a grid:
- Initials run across the top. They're the consonant at the start of a syllable: b, p, m, f, and so on. Some syllables have no initial, and they're in the first column.
- Finals run down the side. They're everything after the initial: a vowel, sometimes with a glide before it (the i, u or ü in ia, ua, üe) or an n or ng after it.
Where a row and a column meet, you get the syllable they make: m + a is ma, x + üe is xue. An empty square means Mandarin has no syllable with that combination. That's why the whole language only has about 400 syllables before tones, and roughly 1,300 once you count the tones actually in use.
The squares show each syllable as it's written, which isn't always initial + final joined together. The panel above the chart explains when a spelling rule changes it, and the rules are listed further down.
The Four Tones (and the Neutral Tone)
Every syllable carries a tone, a pitch pattern that changes its meaning. Mā (妈) is "mum" and mǎ (马) is "horse". The little line on each tone button above traces its pitch, using the five-level scale linguists use to describe tones (5 is the top of your voice, 1 the bottom):
| Tone | Mark | Pitch | What it sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | ā | 55 | High and level, held steady | mā 妈 mum |
| Second | á | 35 | Rises from the middle to the top, like asking "what?" | má 麻 hemp |
| Third | ǎ | 214 | Dips to the bottom of your voice, then rises if it's said on its own | mǎ 马 horse |
| Fourth | à | 51 | Falls sharply from the top to the bottom, like a firm "No!" | mà 骂 to scold |
| Neutral | none | short | Light and quick, with its pitch set by the tone before it | ma 吗 question particle |
The chart plays each syllable on its own, which is how dictionaries teach tones. In real speech, tones shift. A third tone before another third tone turns into a second tone (nǐ hǎo is said ní hǎo), and the third tone usually stays low without rising at the end. Bù (不) and yī (一) change too. Our guide to tones in Chinese covers these rules with examples.
Spelling Rules the Chart Shows
A few rules explain every square where the spelling doesn't match the row and column labels:
- y and w when there's no initial. A final starting with i, u or ü is written with y or w: i becomes yi, ia becomes ya, u becomes wu, uo becomes wo, and ü becomes yu.
- ü loses its dots after j, q, x and y. Those initials are never followed by a plain u, so ju, qu, xu and yu are all said with ü. Only n and l can take both, so they keep the dots: nü (女, woman) and nu (努) are different syllables.
- Three finals are shortened after an initial. iou is written iu (liu), uei is written ui (gui), and uen is written un (lun). The hidden vowel is still faintly there, especially in the third and fourth tones.
- The -i after zh, ch, sh, r, z, c and s isn't "ee". In zhi, chi, shi, ri, zi, ci and si, the i stands for a buzzing vowel that carries on the consonant. Compare shi with xi in the chart.
- Where the tone mark goes. It sits on a or e if the syllable has one, on the o of ou, and otherwise on the last vowel: guì, liù.
The Sounds English Speakers Find Hardest
Pinyin uses the Latin alphabet, but several letters don't sound the way they do in English. These are worth playing over and over in the chart:
- b, d and g vs p, t and k. The difference is a puff of air, not voicing. b sounds like the p in "spin", and p like the p in "pin", with a clear puff. Hold your hand in front of your mouth to feel it.
- j, q and x. Keep the tip of your tongue behind your lower teeth. q is close to the "ch" in "cheese" and x falls between "s" and "sh". Try qi and xi.
- zh, ch, sh and r. Curl the tip of your tongue back towards the roof of your mouth. The r is somewhere between an English r and the s in "pleasure".
- z, c and s. z is like the "ds" in "kids", and c like the "ts" in "cats" with a puff of air. Compare zi, ci and si with zhi, chi and shi next to them.
- ü. Say "ee", then round your lips without moving your tongue. Compare lü and lu.
- e. On its own and in de, ge or he, it's a sound from the back of the mouth, like "uh" with your lips spread. In ie and üe, it's closer to the e in "yes".
- ian. It rhymes with "yen", not "yan": listen to tian and xian.
Tongue twisters are good practice for these contrasts once you can hear them: try our collection of Chinese tongue twisters.
How to Practise with the Chart
- Go one column at a time. Play every syllable under one initial, and repeat each one out loud straight after the audio.
- Drill one syllable through all four tones. Pick a syllable, choose "All four", and copy the pattern until the four sound clearly different.
- Compare neighbours. The pairs learners mix up sit close together: zhi and zi, qu and chu, xi and shi, lü and lu.
- Test yourself. Play a square without looking at it, say what you heard, then check.
- Move on to words. Syllables are the building blocks, but tones settle in through words and sentences. Our guide to learning pinyin lays out a full plan.
Once you know how pinyin sounds, you can type with it too. Our free online Chinese keyboard turns pinyin into characters as you type. When you're ready to learn words in context, Mandarin Mosaic shows pinyin with every sentence and reads it aloud with these same voices, so you hear the tones in real phrases rather than on their own.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many pinyin syllables are there?
Standard Mandarin has about 400 syllables without tones. This chart has 402, leaving out interjections and a few rare or dialect-only sounds. With tones, only about 1,300 combinations are actually used, which is why so many characters share a pronunciation.
Why are some squares empty?
Mandarin doesn't use every initial with every final. For example, j, q and x only go with finals that start with i or ü, and zh, ch and sh never do. An empty square is a combination you won't hear.
Is pinyin the same as pronunciation?
Pinyin is a spelling system for standard Mandarin pronunciation, but its letters have their own values. q, x, c, z and the -i in shi don't sound like English. That's why it's worth learning pinyin by ear, with audio, rather than reading it as English.
Can I type Chinese with pinyin?
Yes. Pinyin is the most common way to type Chinese. You type the syllables without tone marks and pick the character you want. You can try it in our online Chinese keyboard.