Learn Hanyu Pinyin in 24 Days

Learn Hanyu Pinyin
in 24 Days

-- A Guide for Beginners --
BY Min Min
http://www.learnchineseeveryday.com

PREFACE

Chinese is not a phonetic language. The pronunciation is not
related to the writing of Chinese characters. In general,
pronunciation cannot be derived from looking at Chinese
characters, although sometimes characters with common parts
have similar pronunciation.

Pinyin is a way to represent Chinese characters and
express the sounds in the Chinese language using the Roman
alphabet. means to join together, or spell out sounds. It is
a way to transcribe Chinese characters so people can pronounce
it. It serves the same purpose as the international phonetic
symbols used in dictionaries which show how English words
are pronounced.

Pinyin was adopted as the official system in China in 1958, and
has since become a standard form used by news agencies as
well as educational institutions. It is now generally recognized
as the standard for Romanization of Chinese throughout most of
the world. There are other systems that have been devised for
transcribing Chinese sounds into the Roman alphabet, but
Pinyin is the most accepted and widely used.

Pinyin is the basic foundation of your Chinese study. It teaches
you how to pronounce Chinese through phonetic spelling with
the English alphabet. (Although Pinyin and English both use the
Roman alphabet, many letters are not expressed with the same
sounds that English uses. About half the time letters in pinyin
Learn Hanyu Pinyin in 24 Days LearnChineseEveryday.com
2

represent different sounds from what they would in a typical
English word.) Without any knowledge of Pinyin, you won't be
able to learn how to pronounce Chinese characters properly, so
this is the absolute must-do course for those starting to learn
Chinese. Besides pronunciation, Pinyin is also the most
common method to input Chinese characters into a computer.

I dont think this can be over emphasized enough how
important these early stages of pronunciation practice are. As
once you have developed a bad pronunciation habit, it will be
very hard for you to break. You will be very glad you spent the
time you did practicing the basic and correct pronunciation of
Chinese.

HOW TO USE THIS AUDIO E-BOOK

This is a well-organized audio e-book and is a great
introduction of Hanyu Pinyin for the beginners. This e-book
consists of 24 lessons which are broken down into 5 main
sections:

Section 1 : Tones
Section 2 : Simple Vowels
Section 3 : Initials
Section 4 : Compound and Nasal Vowels
Section 5 : Pinyin Rules

This PDF e-book contains audios for Pinyin pronunciation. For
the audios to work, you need to open this e-book with Acrobat
Reader 9 or above. You can download the reader here:
( http://get.adobe.com/reader/ )

These are the audio icons:

In order to play the audio, click on these icons. For first time
playing the audio, you will be prompted with a security warning:
Some features have been disabled to avoid potential security
risks. Only enable these features if you trust this document.
You have to trust this document always in order for the audio
to work.

Ok, lets get started with Chinese Pinyin course! I hope you find
this audio e-book helpful!

NOTICE OF RIGHTS

Most of the content of this book are in the public domain. I
hereby waive all claim of copyright in this work; it may be used
or altered in any manner without attribution or notice to me.

3

While you are under no obligation to do so, I would appreciate
it if you give me credit for any work of mine that you use, and
ideally, link back to the original. If you feel like spreading a
copy of this book, you may do so without payment.

NOTICE OF LIABILITY

The author has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the
information herein. However, the information contained in this
book is distributed without warranty, either express or implied.

4

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

Day 1 : Tones . 6
Day 2 : Rules of Tone Marks . 10
Day 3 : a o e 13
Day 4 : i u 15
Day 5 : b p m f .. 19
Day 6 : d t n l 23
Day 7 : g k h ... 26
Day 8 : j q x 29
Day 9 : zh ch sh r . 31
Day 10 : z c s 34
Day 11 : y w . 37
Day 12 : ai ei ui 41
Day 13 : ao ou iu . 43
Day 14 : ie e 45
Day 15 : er . 48
Day 16 : an en .. 51
Day 17 : in un n .. .. 53
Day 18 : ang eng ing ong . 56
Day 19 : ia iao .. 58
Day 20 : ian iang iong . .. 60
Day 21 : ua uo uai .. 62
Day 22 : uan uang an .. 64
Day 23 : Spelling Rules .. 68
Day 24 : Changes of Tones 73

5

Section 1

Tones
()

6

DAY 1
Tones

In English, tones are used to indicate whether a sentence is a
general statement, a request or a command. Changing the tone in
English will change the mood or the emphasis of the sentence, but
not the meaning of the sentence. In Chinese, each word has a tone.
If you do not use the right tone, it could completely change the
meaning of the word.
Chinese tones () are especially difficult for Western learners.
Comparing to English which only has rising tone and falling tone,
Chinese has four tones, including upper tone (), lower even
(), falling-rising tone () and falling tone (). There is
one more neutral tone, referred to by the Chinese as light sound
(). Each tone has a distinctive pitch contour which can be
graphed using the Chinese 5-level system as shown.
The reason for having these tones is probably that the Chinese
language has only very few possible syllables, approximately
400, while English has about 12,000. For this reason, there are
more homophones, words with the same sound expressing
different meanings, in Chinese than in English.

Relative pitch changes of the four tones

Chinese is a tonal language. Mastering the tones is the key to
speaking Chinese. Every Chinese character is a syllable with a
fixed tone. If the tone is wrong, the meaning is changed right away,
and in some cases corresponds with no existing Chinese character.

7

Lets see an example. While you are reading a book and your
brother (or sister or child) keeps on interrupting you. You are
likely to become annoyed and say Im trying to read a book!. In
English, this would be said with an emphatic falling tone at the end.

I am trying to read a book

In Chinese, (book) has a flat tone.

I want to read a book.

w yo kn sh

But if you use a falling tone for (book), as in English, the
meaning changes completely.

I want to see the tree.

w yo kn sh

The Pinyin system uses diacritics to mark the four tones. The
diacritic marks are placed over finals ( o e i u ). Table below
describes all the Chinese tones in details.
Tone Mark Description
1 st Tone
()

Flat or High Level Tone.
Like the reciting A B C D

2 nd Tone
()

Rising or High-Rising Tone
Like a surprised Huh?

3 rd Tone
()

Falling-Rising or Low Tone
Like an indecisive Well

4 th Tone
()

Falling or High-Falling Tone
Like a purposeful Yes!

5 th Tone
()
Neutral Tone
o e i u

Notes:
The tone marks are placed over the vowels. If the letter i has
a tone mark over it, the dot is omitted.

8

Tone Drills
Below are a few characters that have the same pinyin but with 4
different tones. Try to read each character aloud and make sure you
can pronounce them correctly.
Sound Characters

y y y y

w w w w

yn yn yn yn

m m m m

b b b b

xu xu xu xu

fi fi fi fi

d d d d

d d d d

tng tng tng tng

yo yo yo yo

qing qing qing qing

9

Neutral tones
Some syllables in Chinese are toneless or occur in the neutral tone.
i. Particles are always in the neutral tone.
e.g.: ( le ) ( de )
ii. The second half of a reduplicated word is often in the
neutral tone.
e.g.: gge(elder brother) mma
(mum) bba (dad) mimei
(younger sister).
iii. Syllables such as zi that only have a fill-in function
(i.e. to make the word disyllabic) are toneless.
e.g.: bizi(cup), zhuzi(table),
yzi(chair).
iv. The second syllable in compound words is sometimes
toneless and is so indicated in the text. In another
context it may have a full tone. Some people may
pronounce certain words with a tone, some without, as
in the word east side which may also be pronounced
as , particularly when r is added:
Tones are one of the biggest challenges for Chinese learners, but
they are indispensable for speaking and understanding Chinese.
Therefore it is very important to make sure that you get the tones
right before you start learning Chinese. So practice your tones!

Exercise 1.1:
Listen to the tongue twisters below. Try to mimic the sound as
closely as possible.
Tongue Twister 1:
A mother who is riding on a horse thinks that it is slow and so
she curses it.

m ma q m , m mn , m ma m
m

Tongue Twister 2:
A little girl who is herding a cow finds it stubborn and so she
pinches it.

ni ni gn ni ni nng ni ni
ni ni

10

DAY 2
Rules for Tone Marks

Tone marks () in Hanyu Pinyin should always be placed over
finals ( o e i u ), not initials. When there is only one vowel in
a syllable, the tone mark is put above the final. However, when
there is more than one final in a row, you may be uncertain about
which final should take the tone mark. For example, if you are
given (tiao), is it tao, tio, or tia ?
Here are a few very simple guidelines that help to find the correct
final letter for the tone mark (when there is more than one):
1. If there is an , it will always take the tone mark.
2. If there is no , o or e will take the tone mark. (There are
no Chinese syllables in Pinyin that contain both o and e.)
3. Otherwise, the second vowel takes the tone mark.

The possible vowel combinations are listed below, with the vowel
that receives the tone marked as second tone.
a e i o u
a ai ao
e ei
i ia, iao ie io iu
o ou
u ua, uai ue u uo
e

11

Exercise 2.1:
Put a correct tone mark on the following syllables:

1. bao - 4
th
tone
2. guo - 3
rd
tone
3. tie - 3
rd
tone
4. ke - 3
rd
tone
5. jiao - 4
th
tone
6. mou - 3
rd
tone
7. que - 4
th
tone
8. qiu - 2
nd
tone
9. gui - 1
st
tone

12

Section 2

Single Finals
()

There are 6 single finals ( ):

a o e i u

13

DAY 3
a o e
a

Open your mouth widely with the
tongue in the lowest vertically. The
lips are not rounded.
Like a in father.

o

Contract the tongue toward the root
direction and at the same time raise
the tongue to the half-high position
and round your lips. The mouth is half
open.
Like oor in poor.

e

Contract the tongue toward the root
direction and at the same time raise
the tongue to the half-high position.
Stretch the corners of the mouth
towards two sides slightly. The lips
are not rounded. The mouth is half
open.
Like ir in girl.

Examples 3.1:

Word Pinyin Meaning

ah

oh

goose

14

Examples 3.2:

Word Pinyin Meaning

gge

(elder) brother

bba

dad

ppo

mother-in-law;
(dialect) grandmother

Exercise 3.1:
Choose the correct pinyin for each word:

Word Meaning Choose One

forehead

1).
2).
3).

evil

1).
2).
3).

crocodile

1).
2).
3).

15

DAY 4
i u
i

Place your tongue in the high position
and the tongue should touch the back
of the lower front teeth, at the same
time, stretch the corners of the mouth
towards two sides.
Like ea in beat.

u

Contract your tongue toward the root
and keep the tongue tip in the low
position. Make your mouth shape
rounded.
Like oo in wood.

Use the same tongue position as in
pronouncing Chinese i, then draw
your lips in to form a perfect circle as
small as possible.

Examples 4.1:

Word Pinyin Meaning

y

clothes

w

crow

y

fish

16

Examples 4.2:

Word Pinyin Meaning

j

chicken

b

cloth

l

donkey

Exercise 4.1:
Fill in the blank:


stomach

d __

pear

l __

girl

n __

17

Notes:
1. is written as u (without the 2 dots above) when it is used
with initial j, q, x, or y. Tough it is written as u, it is pronounced
as .
Examples:
j

j ( )
q

q ( )
x

x ( )
y

y ( )

2. In Chinese Pinyin system, there is no syllable with initial j, q,
x or y combines with final u.

18

Section 3

Initials
()

There are 21 initials ( ) (excluding y and w ):

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

19

DAY 5
b p m f
b

Completely close both lips and then
release the compressed air in the
mouth suddenly, keep the shape of
your lips as in pronouncing "o".
Like b in bore but voiceless.

p

Begin as pronouncing "b". But when
pronouncing "p", release the
compressed air in the mouth to make
an aspirated sound.
Like p in put, but is invariably
produced with a strong puff of air.

m

It is pronounced by keeping the lips
tightly closed and the soft palate drops
to let the air out through the nose.
Like m in money.

f

The upper front teeth touch the lower
lip lightly and let the air escape
between them.
Like f in five.

Examples 5.1: ( b p )

Word Pinyin Meaning

b

pen

b

eight

p

break

20

Examples 5.2: ( b p )

Word Pinyin Meaning

p

steal

b

pull up

b

nose

Examples 5.3: ( m f )

Word Pinyin Meaning

m

rice

f

axe

m

scold

21

Examples 5.4: ( m f )

Word Pinyin Meaning

fm

parents

mm

rocking horse

ff

husband and wife

Exercise 5.1:
For each Chinese character, select the correct answer from the
box below:

f f p m p

Word Meaning Answer

hair

Buddha

22

Word Meaning Answer

climb

wood

slope

23

DAY 6
d t n l
d

Put the tongue tips against the upper
teeth ridge to block the air and then
put it down to release the air suddenly.
Like d in door but voiceless.

t

It is pronounced in the same position
for "d", but explodes with a strong
puff of air. It is an aspirated equivalent
of "d".
Like t in team.

n

When producing this sound, the tip of
the tongue presses against the upper
gum to completely block the air
stream from the oral cavity and let the
air out through the nose.
Like n in need.

l

When producing this sound, the
tongue tip is a little behind the
position for "n" to allow the air to run
out from both sides of the tongue.
Like l in look.
Examples 6.1: ( d t )

Word Pinyin Meaning

d

read

t

rabbit

t

ladder

24

Examples 6.2: ( d t )

Word Pinyin Meaning

t

cocks crow

d

poison

t

pagoda

Examples 6.3: ( n l )

Word Pinyin Meaning

l

donkey

n

women

l

pear

25

Examples 6.4: ( n l )

Word Pinyin Meaning

l

deer

l

pull

li

six

Exercise 6.1:

Word Meaning Answer

road

1). l
2). n

spit

1). t
2). d

angry

1). l
2). n

26

DAY 7
g k h
g

Raise the root of the tongue and let it
touch the soft palate so that the air
stream is stopped, lower your tongue
quickly and let the air out.
Like g in girl but voiceless.

k

The tongue position of producing this
sound is the same as "g", but explodes
with a strong puff of air.
Like k in kick.

h

It is pronounced by raising the back of
the tongue to the soft palate to make a
narrow passage for the air to be
expelled with friction.
Like h in heart.

Examples 7.1:

Word Pinyin Meaning

g

drum

k

cough

h

tiger

27

Examples 7.2:

Word Pinyin Meaning

h

river

k

cry

g

bone

Exercise 7.1:

Word Meaning Answer

pigeon

1). g
2). k
3). h

card

1). g
2). k
3). h

drink

1). g
2). k
3). h

28

Extra Activity: Tongue Twisters ro ku lng
Listen and practice each phrase slowly, then practice them quickly.
Here are the 3 words that you need to pay attention to:
(t zi) rabbit
(k zi) pants
(d zi) stomach; belly

Meaning:
A little rabbit was making pants. He measured out the fabric for
the pants and measured his waist, made the pants, but can't pull it
up. The little rabbit looked at the pants, and doesn't know if he
measured the pants wrong or measured his waist wrong.

xio t zi zu k zi

ling le k zi ling d zi

zu ho k zi t b shng d zi

xio t zi kn k zi

b zh sh mi ling zhn k zi

hi sh mi ling zhn d zi
29

DAY 8
j q x
j

Raise the front part of the tongue to
touch the hard palate, then let the tip
of your tongue touch the back of the
lower teeth and produce this sound by
letting the air squeeze out between the
surface of the tongue and the palate.
Like j in jeep.

q

The manner and place of articulation
are the same as in pronouncing the "j",
however, "q" is an aspirated sound.
Like cheek, with the lips spread wide
with ee.

x

The place of articulation is the same as
in producing "j" and "q". However, for
"j" and "q", the air stream initially is
blocked and then forced out, while for
x, the air stream is not blocked
during the whole pronouncing process.
Like she, with the lips spread and the
tip of your tongue curled downwards
and stuck to the back of teeth when
you say ee.
Examples 8.1:

Word Pinyin Meaning

j

saw

q

flag

x

mat

30

Examples 8.2:

Word Pinyin Meaning

jq

lift up

hx

beard

mj

hen

Exercise 8.1:
Fill in the blank with the correct Pinyin

Word Sentence

mimei ____ mm

mma ____ d

31

DAY 9
zh ch sh r
zh

Turn up the tongue tip against the
front part of the hard palate to block
the air and then release the air through
the narrow air passage between the
tongue tip and the hard palate.
Like dge in judge.

ch

The place of articulation is very
similar to "zh", but the air should be
forced out through the narrow
passage. It is an aspirated equivalent
of "zh".
Like ch in teach.

sh

It is pronounced by turning up the
tongue tip close to the hard palate to
make a narrow passage through which
the air escapes with friction.
Like sh in English.

r

The sound is produced by rolling up
the tip of tongue toward the front end
of the hard palate. Then let the
tongue tip touch the hard palate
lightly. Finally, let the air squeeze
out between the tongue tip and the
hard palate while vibrating the vocal
cords.
Like r in round.

32

Examples 9.1:
Word Pinyin Meaning

zh sh

bamboo

rch

hot tea

shch

bookcase

Examples 9.2:
Word Pinyin Meaning

zhzh

spider

rch

sunrise

shsh

stone carving lion

33

Exercise 9.1:

Word Meaning Answer

paper

1). zh
2). ch
3). sh
4). r

car

1). zh
2). ch
3). sh
4). r

sand

1). zh
2). ch
3). sh

Notes:
1. These 4 sounds are retroflexed, so make sure you feel your
tongue curled when you read them.
2. For r, please be noted that in English when you pronounce
something like rain, your tongue is hung in your mouth without
touching anywhere inside. But to pronounce the Pinyin r, you just
make the front surface of your tongue close to the roof of your
mouth, as well as the curling advice.

34

DAY 10
z c s
z

It is pronounced by putting forward
the tongue to block the air with its tip
against the teethridge, and then drop
the tip to release the air with friction
through the narrow passage.
Like ds in clouds

c

The manner of articulation is very
similar to "z", but "c" is aspirated.
Like ts in cats.

s

It is produced by putting forward the
tongue tip to a position close to the
lower gum to make a narrow passage
between the tongue and the teethridge
for the air to run out with friction.
Like s in sound.

Examples 10.1:
Word Pinyin Meaning

cx

clean / scrub

zj

footprint

ps

bodhisattva

35

Examples 10.2:
Word Pinyin Meaning

sj

driver

cq

porcelain

zm

letter

Exercise 10.1:

Word Sentence

t b sh ______ le

______ de t g c d

36

Extra Activity: Tongue Twisters ro ku lng
Listen and practice each phrase slowly, then practice them quickly.
Here are the 3 words that you need to pay attention to:
(s) four
(sh) ten
(sh) is

Meaning:
Four is four, ten is ten. Four is not ten, ten is not four. Four times
ten is forty. Four plus ten is fourteen.

s sh s sh sh sh

s b sh sh

sh b sh s

s chng sh sh s sh

s ji sh sh sh s

37

DAY 11
y w
y

Like y in yesterday, but it can be
produced with slight friction.

w

Like w in wood, but it can be
produced with slight friction.

Examples 11.1:
Word Pinyin Meaning

wy

crow

yy

dentist

y w

ants nest

38

Examples 11.2:
Word Pinyin Meaning

yy

Mallard duck

w w

roof tiles

yy

raincoat

Exercise 11.1:

Word Sentence

____ zi

____ ____

39

Notes:
1. y and w are special sign in Hanyu Pinyin. When acting as
initials, they retain their sounds or are silent in the cases of yi
and wu. When they act as the first part of a final, w is
represented as u, and y is represented as i or .
2. When there is no initial before finals starting with i, y shall be
added as initial.
i. If there is another vowel after i, i should be changed to y.
Example:
with vowel(s) after i
Final -ie -iou -ian -ia -iang -iao -iong
Syllable ye you yan ya yang yao yong
Word

ii. If there is no other vowel after i, add y before i. Example:
without vowel after i
Final -i -in -ing
Syllable yi yin ying
Word

3. When there is no initial before finals starting with u, w shall be
added as initial.
i. If there is another vowel after u, change u to w.

with vowel(s) after u
Final -ua -uo -uai -uei -uan -uen -uang -ueng
Syllable wa wo wai wei wan wen wang weng
Word

ii. If there is no other vowel after u, add w before u.
without vowel after u
Final -u
Syllable wu
Word

4. In column of finals, when the syllable is in zero initial,
whether there is another vowel after the u or not, add y before ,
and the two dots on the must be omitted.

Final
- -e -an -n
Syllable yu yue yuan yun
Word

40

Section 4

Compound &
Nasal Finals
( & )

Compound finals ( ):

ai ei ui

ao ou iu

ie e

er

ia iao

ua uo uai

Nasal finals ( ):

an en

in un n

ang eng ing ong

ian iang iong

uan uang

41

DAY 12
ai ei ui
ai

Like eye or vowel sound in fly

ei

Like the long a in English vowel as
in pay and eight.

ui

Like ay in way.

Examples 12.1:
Word Pinyin Meaning

pidu

queue up

kishu

boiling water

gi bi

cover oneself with quilt

42

Examples 12.2:
Word Pinyin Meaning

gu

tortoise

hi

sea

fi

fly

Exercise 12.1:

Word Sentence

mma q shchng
______

bba zi ______

43

DAY 13
ao ou iu
ao

Like ow in cow.

ou

Like oa in boat.

iu

Like yo in yo-yo.

Examples 13.1:
Word Pinyin Meaning

yotu

shake one's head

niru

beef

zoco

morning exercises

44

Examples 13.2:
Word Pinyin Meaning

yushu

the right hand

tozu

run away

chono

din; hubbub

Exercise 13.1:

Word Sentence

t ______ hn du lw

yu ______ zi ch co

45

DAY 14
ie e
ie

Like ye in yellow or yes.

e

Nothing really close in English. Listen
and repeat.

Examples 14.1:
Word Pinyin Meaning

bixu

white snow

hdi

butterfly

yuy

moonlight night

46

Examples 14.2:
Word Pinyin Meaning

mqu

sparrow

dli

hunt

jido

street

Exercise 14.1:

Word Sentence

Ddi i ch ______

T ______ zid

47

Notes:
1. e is written as ue (without the 2 dots above) when it is used
with initial j, q, x, or y.
Examples:
j

ju ( )
q

qu ( )
x

xu ( )
y

yu ( )

2. There is no final ue in Pinyin system.

48

DAY 15
er
er

Put your tongue and lip in position as
when pronouncing Chinese e, then
raise the middle part of your tongue
slightly and at the same time roll up
the tip of your tongue backward.
Like er in butter in American English
pronunciation.

Examples 15.1:
Word Pinyin Meaning

rj

ear phone

t r

rabbit

d'r

number 2

49

Examples 15.2:
Word Pinyin Meaning

rduo

ear

c'r

ear-piercing

n'r

daughter

Exercise 15.1:


erhu

1). rh
2). rh
3). rh

bait

1). y'r
2). y'r
3). y'r

donkey

1). l r
2). l r
3). l r

50

Notes:
1. The final er is different from initial r.
2. The final er cannot follow any initial, but it can be a syllable by
itself.
e.g.:
r ( , son ) and
r ( , ear ).

3. The final er can be combined with another final in the preceding
syllable to form a retroflex ending. A retroflex final is indicated by
the letter r at the end of a syllable. The Chinese character for
retroflex final is (r).

4. (r) can be added to a noun to give the meaning lovely,
small or friendly, or it can totally change the meaning of the noun.
e.g. :
nior - a small bird,
hur- lovely flowers
tur- leader.
( means head. When is added to , it totally changes the
meaning of the word)

51

DAY 16
an en
an

The a sound with an n.

en

The e sound with an n.

Examples 16.1:
Word Pinyin Meaning

hitn

beach

knmn

guard the entrance/door

bnwn

stripe

52

Examples 16.2:
Word Pinyin Meaning

shn

the root of a tree

qshn

set out

chzhn

bus stop

Exercise 16.1:

Word Sentence

T r de ______ sh hn

T zhn de hn ______

53

DAY 17
in un n
in

Like in in bin.

un

Like oon in spoon, but said faster.

n

Nothing really close in English. Listen
and repeat.

Examples 17.1:
Word Pinyin Meaning

shujn

handkerchief

jihn

get married

bi yn

white clouds

54

Examples 17.2:
Word Pinyin Meaning

gn

stick

qn

skirt

ln

wheel

Exercise 17.1:

Word Sentence

Gg zi shu ______

T zi l d ______

55

Notes:
1. n is written as un (without the 2 dots above) when it is used
with initial j, q, x, or y. Tough it is written as un, it is
pronounced as n.

Examples:

j

jn ( )
q

qn ( )
x

xn ( )
y

yn ( )

x or y combines with final un.

56

DAY 18
ang eng ing ong
ang

Pronounce a first and then ng.

eng

Pronounce e first and then ng.

ing

Pronounce i first and then ng.

ong

Pronounce o first and then ng.

Examples 18.1:
Word Pinyin Meaning

dnglong

lantern

shngbng

fall ill

tnglng

mantis

57

Examples 18.2:
Word Pinyin Meaning

ngzng

dirty

cngying

fly

chng

worm

Exercise 18.1:

Word Sentence

kite. ______

clank. __________

58

DAY 19
ia iao
ia

Combination of i and a.
Like ya in Yahoo.

iao

Combination of i and ao.
Like eow in meow.

Examples 19.1:
Word Pinyin Meaning

ji

house

ji

plus

xi

shrimp

59

Examples 19.2:
Word Pinyin Meaning

xio

laugh

tio

jump

nio

bird

Exercise 19.1:


watch

1). shubio
2). shubio
3). shupio

shout

1). jiohn
2). jiohn
3). jiohn

summer

1). xitin
2). xitin
3). xitin

60

DAY 20
ian iang iong
ian

Like the Japanese currency
word Yen.

iang

Combination of i and ang.
Like young.

iong

Combination of i and ong.

Examples 20.1:
Word Pinyin Meaning

xingji

homesick

mintio

noodles

xingxing

fierce look

61

Examples 20.2:
Word Pinyin Meaning

qing

gun

din

electricity

qing

poor

Exercise 20.1:

Word Pinyin

little bear. ______

elephant. ______

62

DAY 21
ua uo uai
ua

Like wah.

uo

Like war.

uai

Combination of u and ai.
Like why.

Examples 21.1:
Word Pinyin Meaning

hudu

flower

shui hui

break

shuhu

talk

63

Examples 21.2:
Word Pinyin Meaning

zu

sit

gu

melon

shui

handsome

Exercise 21.1:
Fill in the blank:

Word Meaning Pinyin

table

zh ____ zi

claw

zh ____

happy

k ____ l

64

DAY 22
uan uang an
uan

Combination of u and an.
Like wan in wand.

uang

Combination of u and ang.

an

Combination of and an.

Examples 22.1:
Word Pinyin Meaning

gungung

go sightseeing

yunqun

circle

kungung

broad

65

Examples 22.2:
Word Pinyin Meaning

hunyng

welcome

hungzhng

nervous

chungku

window

Exercise 22.1:

Word Pinyin

ship. ____

bed. ____

66

Notes:
1. an is written as uan (without the 2 dots above) when it is
used with initial j, q, x, or y. Tough it is written as uan, it is
pronounced as an.
Examples:
j

jan ( )
q

qan ( )
x

xan ( )
y

yan ( )

x or y combines with final uan.

67

Section 5

Pinyin Rules

68

DAY 23
Spelling Rules

In 1988, Basic Spelling Rules for Pinyin Orthography (
) (ZhengCiFa) was jointly promulgated by the
National Education Commission and National Language
Commission of China. By the spelling rules, spacing in pinyin is
based on whole words, not single syllables.
Example :
Chinese words

Pinyin based on Spelling Rules
(ZhengCiFa)
mma de shudi

Pinyin with syllable by syllable m ma de shu di

English meaning
Mom's handbag

Admittedly, word segmentation is not an easy task. There are often
ambiguities in partitioning a word and grouping the syllable.
Although several manuals for word segmentation have been
published, [ including RLG Chinese Aggregation Guidelines (The
Research Libraries Group, Inc., 1987), Basic Rules of Chinese
Pinyin Orthography (State Education Commission and State
Language Commission, 1988), and Contemporary Chinese
Language Word Segmentation Specification for Information
Processing (National Standard, PRC, 1992) ], none of them would
cover every single detail in this process, due to the complex nature
of modern Chinese morphology and syntax.
In principle, it's possible to write Pinyin texts syllable by syllable. I
have been using non-ZhengCiFa method (syllable by syllable) for
Pinyin writing on my website (www.learnchineseeveryday.com). I
believe it is easier to read and understand for beginners who just
started learning Chinese.
If you dont like rules, you can just skip this long-winded lesson.
You can use syllable by syllable for you pinyin writing.

69

Rules of Pinyin Orthography
1. General
i. Single meaning:
Words with a single meaning are written together and not
capitalized. Examples:
rn ( , person )
pngyou ( , friend )
qiokl ( , chocolate )
ii. Combined meaning (2 characters):
Words combined of two words to one meaning are written
together. Examples:
hifng ( , sea breeze );
wnd ( , Q&A );
qungu ( , the whole nation )
iii. Combined meaning (4 or more characters):
Words with four or more characters having one meaning
are split up with their original meaning if possible.
Examples:
wfng gnggun ( , seamless steel-tube);
hunjng boh guhu ( , environmental
protection planning)

2. Duplicated Words
i. AA:
Duplicated characters (AA) are written together. Examples:
rnrn ( , everybody );
knkn ( , to have a look );
ninnin ( , every year )
ii. ABAB:
Two characters duplicated (ABAB) are written separated.
Examples:
ynji ynji ( , to study, to research );
xubi xubi ( , snow-white )
iii. AABB:
A hyphen is used with the schema AABB. Examples:
lili-wngwng ( , go back and forth );
qinqin-wnwn ( , numerous )

3. Nouns and Names
Nouns are written in one. Example:
zhuzi ( , table );
mtou ( , wood )
i. Even if accompanied by a prefix and suffix. Examples:
fbzhng ( , vice minister )
chngwyun ( , conductor );
hizimen ( , children )
ii. Words of position are separated. Examples:
mn wi ( , outdoor );
h li ( , in the river );
huch shngmian ( , on the train)
iii. Surnames are separated from the given name. Examples:
L Hu ( );
Wng Jinggu ( );
70

iv. Titles following the name are separated and are not
Wng bzhng ( , minister Wang );
L xinsheng ( , Mr. Li );
Tin zhrn ( , director Tian )

v. The forms of addressing people with Lo ( ), Xio
(), D () and A () are capitalized. Examples:
Xio Li ( , [young] Ms./Mr. Liu );
D L ( , [great;elder] Mr. Li );
A Sn ( , Ah San );
Lo W ( , [senior] Mr. Wu )

vi. Proper names and general geographical names of places are
separated and the first letter of each of the names is
Bijng Sh ( , City of Beijing ),
Hbi Shng ( , Province of Hebei )

vii. Non-Chinese names translated back from Chinese are
written either in the original language or transcribed in
Roman letters. Example:
instn ( , Einstein );
Lndn ( , London )

4. Verbs
Verbs and their suffixes (-zhe (), -le () and -guo ()) are
written as one. Example:
knzhe/knle/knguo ( //, to see/saw/seen );
jnxngzhe ( to implement )

Note: le () as it appears in the end of a sentence is separated
though. Example:
Huch do le ( , The train [has] arrived).
i. Verbs and their objects are separated. Examples:
kn xn ( , read a letter );
ch y ( , eat fish);
ki wnxio ( , to be kidding)
ii. If verbs and their complements are each monosyllabic, they
are written together, if not, separated. Examples:
gohui ( , "to make broken" );
ds ( , hit to death );
huwi ( , "to become damp" );
zhngl ho ( , to straighten out );
gixi wi ( , rewrite a screenplay );

5. Adjectives
A monosyllabic adjective and its reduplication are written as
one. Example:
mngmngling ( , daybreak );
lingtngtng ( , shining bright )

71

i. Complements of size or degree (as xi ( ), yxi (
), dinr (), ydinr ()) are written separated.
Examples:
d xi ( , a little bigger );
kui ydinr ( , a bit faster )

6. Pronouns ()
i. The plural suffix -men () directly follows up. Examples:
wmen ( , we );
tmen ( , they )
ii. The demonstrative pronoun zh ( , this), n ( , that)
and the question pronoun n ( , which) are separated.
Examples:
zh rn ( , this person );
n c huy ( , that meeting );
n zhng bozh ( , which newspaper)

Note: Exeptions are: nli ( there), zhbian ( ,
over here), zhge ( , this piece), zhme ( , so),
zhmeyng ( , that way), and similar ones.

7. Numerals and Measure Words ()
i. Words like g /mi ( , every / , each), mu ( ,
any), bn ( , that), gi ( , that), w ( , mine, our), are
separated from the measure words following them.
Examples:
g gu ( , every nation );
g g ( , everyone );
mi nin ( , every year );
mu gngchng ( , a certain factory );
w xio ( , our school ).

8. Function Words
Function words, like , are separated from
other words. Examples:
hn ho ( , be good/fine );
zu d ( , be the biggest );
zi qinmin ( , in the front );
n h w ( , you and I );
mnmn de zou ( , walk slowly );
N zhdo ma? ( , Do you know? );
A, zhn mi! ( , Ah, Its really beautiful! );

9. Set Phrases / Idioms
i. Four-character Set Phrases that can be divided into two
halves are linked by a hyphen. Examples:
cngch-bqing ( , happened endlessly);
gungmng-lilu ( , be righteous )
ii. All other four-character set phrases and well-known
expressions that cannot be readily segmented are linked.
Examples:
72

bylh ( , Isnt it a happy thing? );
imnngzh ( , Sorry that I cant help you )

10. Capital Letters
i. The letter at the beginning of a sentence is capitalized.
Examples:
Mngtian n q ma? ( , Are you going
tomorrow? )
ii. The first letter of a proper noun is capitalized. Examples:
Bijng Dxu ( , Peking University );
Hung H ( , Yellow River )

11. Hyphenations
Care should be taken to hyphenate only between the syllables
of words and other linked expressions at the ends of lines of
running texts.

12. Apostrophes
In order to avoid confusion, an apostrophe is used before any
syllable that begins with a, e, or o, unless that syllable comes at
the beginning of a word or immediately follows a hyphen or
other dash. Examples:
Chng'n ( , Chang'an );
cho' ( , above quota );
d-r ( , number two )

73

DAY 24
Changes of Tones

In Chinese, it happens that sometimes the tones of words change
depending on the tone of the word that precedes or comes after it.
We change the tones of certain Pinyin syllable to improve the
pronunciation clarity. Today, we will learn when we need to make
those changes. Here are some rules and examples.

Rule #1
1. If a 3rd tone is followed by a 3rd tone, the first 3rd tone
becomes a 2nd tone.

Examples:
Sound Words / Prases
Meaning

n (n) ho

hello

hn (hn) ho

very good

ho (ho) ji

good wine

shu (shu) gu

fruit
2. Although the first syllable is read in second tone, both of the
syllables are still written with third tones

74

Rule #2
1. The word (b)no / not is pronounced in the 2nd tone
(b) when it is put before a syllable in the 4th tone. (or a
syllable in neutral tone developed from 4th tone.)

Example:
Meaning

b xi

dont mention it.

b sh

no, it isnt.

b cu

not bad

b du

wrong
2. is still pronounced in the 4th tone (b) when it precedes a
syllable in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd tone.
Example:
Meaning

b xn

not new

b li

not come

b ho

not good
3. To simplify, is marked in the fourth tone b in Chinese
dictionary entries. In some Chinese textbooks, on the other
hand, it is marked according to the actual pronunciation.

75

Rule #3
1. The word (y) (one) is pronounced in the 2nd tone (y) when
it precedes a syllable in the 4th tone. (or a syllable in the
neutral tone developed from the 4th tone.)

Example:
Meaning

y kui

a block

y g

a piece

y c

one time

y wn

ten thousand

2. The word (y) (one) is pronounced in the 4th tone (y) when
it precedes a syllable in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd tone.

Example:
Meaning

y tin

one day

y nin

one year

y bi

one hundred
76

3. The word (y) (one) is pronounced in the first tone (y) when
i. y comes at the end of a word.
Example:
Meaning

wn y

in case

wi y

only
ii. it acts as an ordinal number to indicate the number one.
Example:
Meaning

y nin j

first grade

y ho

the first day of
month

d y mng

the first place
4. To simplify, is marked in the first tone y in Chinese
dictionary entries. In some Chinese textbooks, on the other
hand, it is marked according to the actual pronunciation.

77

ANSWER

Exercise 2.1:
1. bo
2. gu
3. ti
4. k
5. jio
6. mu
7. qu
8. qi
9. gu
Exercise 3.1:

Exercise 4.1:
d
l
n
Exercise 5.1:
f
f
p
m
p
Exercise 6.1:
l
t
n
Exercise 7.1:
g
k
h
Exercise 8.1:
q
x
Exercise 9.1:
zh
ch
sh
Exercise 10.1:
sp
shz
Exercise 11.1:
yz
wwa
Exercise 12.1:
mici
kihu
Exercise 13.1:
shudo
y tu ni
Exercise 14.1:
xugo
dido
Exercise 15.1:
rh
yr
lr
Exercise 16.1:
mnshn
78

nnkn
Exercise 17.1:
jnxn
tqn
Exercise 18.1:
fngzheng
dngdng
Exercise 19.1:
shubio
jiohn
xitin
Exercise 20.1:
xio xing
d xing
Exercise 21.1:
zhu z
zhu
kui l
Exercise 22.1:
chun
chung
79

REFERENCES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin/
http://mandarin.about.com/
http://pinyin.info/
http://www.pinyinpractice.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/chinese/real_chinese/
http://www.pinyinology.com/zhengcifa/zhengcifa.html

Learn Hanyu Pinyin in 24 Days

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