How to pronounce Chinese words: a pinyin guide for English speakers
Chinese words are written in English letters with pinyin, but several letters do not sound like English. Read q like the ch in “cheese”, x like a soft sh, j like the j in “jeep”, c like the ts in “cats”, z like the ds in “kids”, zh like the j in “jump” with the tongue curled back, and r close to the s in “pleasure”. After z, c, s, zh, ch, sh and r the letter i is a buzz, not “ee”: sì is not “see”. Then give every syllable its tone (high, rising, dipping or falling), because the tone changes the word.
Checked · Standard Mandarin (Putonghua) · Hear every syllable on the pinyin chart with audio
The pinyin consonants that trick English speakers
Most pinyin consonants (m, f, n, l, s, w, y) sound much as they do in English. These do not. The quickest wins are q, x and c, which English readers almost always get wrong on sight.
| Pinyin | Sounds like | Example | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|---|
| q | “ch” in “cheese”, tongue tip behind the lower teeth, with a puff of air | 七 qī ≈ “chee”, 去 qù ≈ “chü” | Reading it as the “kw” of “queen”. |
| x | “sh” in “sheep”, tongue tip behind the lower teeth, lips spread | 小 xiǎo ≈ “shyow”, 谢 xiè ≈ “shyeh” | Reading it as “ks” or “z”. |
| j | “j” in “jeep”, tongue tip down, no puff | 鸡 jī ≈ “jee”, 见 jiàn ≈ “jyen” | The French “j” of “Jacques”. |
| zh | “j” in “jump” with the tongue tip curled back | 中 zhōng ≈ “joong” | Reading it as “z” or as the s in “pleasure”. |
| ch | “ch” in “church”, tongue curled back, with a puff | 吃 chī ≈ “chr” | Saying it with a flat tongue, like q. |
| sh | “sh” in “shirt”, tongue curled back | 是 shì ≈ “shr” | shì said as “she”: that is closer to 戏 xì (a play). |
| r | between the r of “run” and the s of “pleasure”, tongue curled, lips not rounded | 日 rì ≈ “rr”, 人 rén ≈ “ren” | An English r with rounded lips. |
| z | “ds” in “kids” | 在 zài ≈ “dzai”, 字 zì ≈ “dz” | A buzzing English z. |
| c | “ts” in “cats”, with a strong puff | 菜 cài ≈ “tsai”, 词 cí ≈ “tsz” | Reading it as “k” or “s”. |
| h | “ch” in Scottish “loch”, but lighter | 好 hǎo ≈ “how”, with a little friction | A silent or breathy English h (fine to be understood; natives add friction). |
| b d g | “p” in “spin”, “t” in “stop”, “k” in “skin”: no voice, no puff | 爸 bà, 大 dà, 哥 gē | Hearing them as English b/d/g. The contrast with p/t/k is the puff, not the voice. |
| p t k | “p” in “pin”, “t” in “top”, “k” in “kin”, with a strong puff | 怕 pà ≈ “pah” (to fear) vs 爸 bà (dad) | No puff: 怕 pà turns into 爸 bà. |
The pinyin vowels that trick English speakers
Pinyin vowels change with the letters around them. The traps are e, o, the three values of i, ü hiding behind u after j, q, x and y, and the shortened spellings -ian, -ui, -iu and -un.
| Pinyin | Sounds like | Example | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|---|
| e | “uh” in “duh”, lips spread, back of the tongue raised | 喝 hē ≈ “huh”, 饿 è ≈ “uh” | Reading it as “ee” or “eh”. In ie, üe and ei it is the e of “yes”: 谢 xiè ≈ “shyeh”, 黑 hēi ≈ “hay”. |
| o | after b, p, m, f and in wo: “aw” with a light w | 我 wǒ ≈ “waw”, 波 bō ≈ “bwaw” | An English “oh”. In ou it is “oh” (都 dōu ≈ “doe”); in ong it is “oo” (东 dōng ≈ “doong”). |
| i (after z c s) | a buzz: hold the z, c or s and voice it | 四 sì ≈ “sz”, 字 zì ≈ “dz” | “see”, “zee”: 四 sì said as “see” is closer to 戏 xì (a play). |
| i (after zh ch sh r) | a buzzing, r-coloured vowel with the tongue still curled | 是 shì ≈ “shr”, 吃 chī ≈ “chr” | “she”, “chee”. |
| i (elsewhere) | “ee” in “see” | 你 nǐ ≈ “nee” | The short i of “sit”. |
| ü (and u after j q x y) | say “ee”, keep the tongue still and round the lips (French “tu”, German “über”) | 女 nǚ, 绿 lǜ, 去 qù, 鱼 yú | “oo”: after j, q, x and y the u is always ü, even without the dots. |
| -ian | “yen”, not “yan” | 天 tiān ≈ “tyen”, 钱 qián ≈ “chyen”, 烟 yān ≈ “yen” | Rhyming it with “Ian” or “fan”. |
| -ui | “way” (it is short for uei) | 对 duì ≈ “dway”, 水 shuǐ ≈ “shway”, 贵 guì ≈ “gway” | Reading it as “oo-ee” or “wee”. |
| -iu | “yo” (short for iou) | 六 liù ≈ “lyoh”, 九 jiǔ ≈ “jyoh” | “ee-oo” or “you”. |
| -un | “wun” after most initials; “ün” after j, q, x, y | 春 chūn ≈ “chwun”, 军 jūn ≈ “jün” | Rhyming it with “sun”. |
| -uo | “waw” | 国 guó ≈ “gwaw”, 多 duō ≈ “dwaw” | “goo-oh”. |
| -eng / -ong | -eng is “ung” in “sung”; -ong is “oong” | 风 fēng ≈ “fung”, 龙 lóng ≈ “loong” | “feng” rhyming with “length”, “long” rhyming with “song”. |
| -ao / -ai / -ei / -ou | “ow” in “cow” / “eye” / “ay” in “day” / “oh” | 好 hǎo ≈ “how”, 买 mǎi ≈ “my”, 美 měi ≈ “may”, 狗 gǒu ≈ “go” | Reading ao as “ay-oh”. |
| er | American “are” said lightly | 二 èr ≈ “ar” | Two syllables (“eh-r”). |
Common Chinese words, written the English way
English-letter spellings are a starting point only: they leave out the tone, which is written in the pinyin column.
| Chinese | Pinyin | Say it roughly like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 你好 | nǐ hǎo | “nee how (said ní hǎo)” | hello |
| 谢谢 | xièxie | “shyeh-shyeh” | thank you |
| 再见 | zàijiàn | “dzai-jyen” | goodbye |
| 中国 | Zhōngguó | “joong-gwaw” | China |
| 北京 | Běijīng | “bay-jing” | Beijing |
| 上海 | Shànghǎi | “shahng-high” | Shanghai |
| 是 | shì | “shr” | to be |
| 四 | sì | “sz” | four |
| 日 | rì | “rr” | sun, day |
| 去 | qù | “chü” | to go |
| 学 | xué | “shüeh” | to study |
| 女 | nǚ | “nü” | woman |
| 钱 | qián | “chyen” | money |
| 水 | shuǐ | “shway” | water |
| 菜 | cài | “tsai” | dish; vegetable |
| 吃 | chī | “chr” | to eat |
| 熊猫 | xióngmāo | “shyoong-mao” | panda |
| 功夫 | gōngfu | “goong-foo” | kung fu |
The four tones, in English terms
English uses pitch for emotion; Mandarin uses it for meaning. Each syllable has one of four tones or the neutral tone, shown by the mark over the vowel.
mā 妈 (mother)
1st tone: high and level
Hold one high note, as if singing “la”.
má 麻 (hemp)
2nd tone: rising
Rise like a surprised “what?”.
mǎ 马 (horse)
3rd tone: low, dipping
Go low, like a doubtful “well…”; in a sentence it usually just stays low.
mà 骂 (to scold)
4th tone: falling
Drop sharply, like a firm “No!”.
ma 吗 (question word)
Neutral tone
Short and light, like an unstressed English syllable.
Tones also change in context: two third tones in a row become rising + third (你好 nǐ hǎo is said ní hǎo), and 不 and 一 change before a fourth tone. The tone sandhi checker shows which tones change in any sentence, and the Mandarin tones test scores yours.
Where English sound-alikes stop working
- English has no ü, no buzzing -i and no curled-tongue series exactly like zh, ch, sh and r. The sound-alikes put you near the sound, not on it.
- Respellings like “shyeh-shyeh” drop the tone, and in Mandarin the tone is part of the word: mā (mother) and mǎ (horse) differ only in pitch.
- English ears hear Mandarin b, d and g as p, t and k. The difference Mandarin uses is the puff of air, not voicing.
- Older spellings follow other systems, not pinyin: Peking (Beijing), Tsingtao (Qingdao), kung fu (gōngfu), Tao (dào). Read them as pinyin and they come out wrong.
- This guide follows Standard Mandarin (Putonghua). Many speakers in southern China and Taiwan say zh, ch, sh like z, c, s, and are still understood.
- A guide cannot hear you. Listen to the audio, say the word, and check what you actually produced.
Say it and check it
Record 谢谢 below. TonePerfect scores each syllable’s tone, initial and final from 0 to 100, so you see whether the x, the -ie or the tone slipped. Free in the browser, no signup, three tries a day per word. To check another phrase use the Mandarin pronunciation checker, or type any text on the practice page.
Questions English speakers ask about Chinese pronunciation
How do you write Chinese words in English letters?+
With pinyin, the official romanisation of Mandarin, adopted in China in 1958 and an ISO standard (ISO 7098) since 1982. Each syllable is written with Latin letters and a tone mark: 你好 is nǐ hǎo. The letters have Mandarin values, so q, x, c, z, zh and r do not sound like English.
How do you pronounce q and x in Chinese?+
q is close to the ch in “cheese” and x close to the sh in “sheep”, both with the tip of the tongue resting behind the lower front teeth and the lips spread. 七 qī sounds like “chee” and 小 xiǎo like “shyow”. They never sound like the q of “queen” or the x of “box”.
Why does “shi” not sound like “she”?+
After zh, ch, sh and r the letter i is not “ee” but a buzzing vowel made with the tongue still curled back, so 是 shì is closer to “shr”. After z, c and s it is a buzz too: 四 sì is close to “sz”. “She” is closer to xi (西 xī, 戏 xì).
Is Chinese pronunciation hard for English speakers?+
It is different more than hard. Mandarin has only about 400 base syllables and pinyin spells them consistently. The parts English speakers find hardest are the tones, the puff of air that separates b from p, the three hissing series (zh ch sh, j q x, z c s) and ü.
Do I need to learn the tones?+
Yes. Tones are part of each word, not an accent added on top: mā (mother), má (hemp), mǎ (horse) and mà (to scold) differ only in tone. Learning the tone with every new word from the start is easier than fixing it later.
How can I check my Chinese pronunciation for free?+
Record the word on this page: TonePerfect scores each syllable’s tone, initial and final from 0 to 100, in the browser, with no signup and three tries a day per word. The Mandarin pronunciation checker and the practice page score other phrases and any text you type.
Keep going
- Pinyin chart with audio →Every Mandarin syllable in all four tones, with the spelling rules.
- Chinese pronunciation guide →The four tones, every sound and the mistakes learners make.
- Chinese pronunciation test →Twelve prompts, scored for tone, initial and final.
- Chinese alphabet →The pinyin letters from a to z, each with audio.
The TonePerfect app turns the sounds you miss into a few minutes of daily practice. Free to start.