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Accueil / Langues / Chinois mandarin / Sons

Chinois mandarin : orthographe → son

Every Mandarin syllable is (initial) + final + TONE, and pinyin spells it almost perfectly — once you know that the letters don't have their English values. b d g are unaspirated /p t k/ and p t k are aspirated /pʰ tʰ kʰ/; c is /t͡sʰ/, z is /t͡s/, q/j/x are the 'palatal' series (tongue flat behind the lower teeth), zh/ch/sh/r the 'retroflex' series (tongue curled back). The letter i after z/c/s and zh/ch/sh/r is not a vowel at all but a buzz on the consonant (zi, shi). u after j/q/x/y is really ü. The four tones — high level ˥, rising ˧˥, dip-rise ˨˩˦, falling ˥˩ — are not decoration: mā 妈 mother, má 麻 hemp, mǎ 马 horse, mà 骂 scold. A fifth 'neutral' tone is short and unmarked. Tracer: type pinyin with marks (hǎo) or numbers (hao3).

Suivre un mot

Chaque case est une règle qui se déclenche. Survolez une case (ou ouvrez le tableau) pour voir pourquoi. Les règles s'appliquent dans l'ordre, la première qui correspond gagne — et cet ordre est le système orthographique. Type pinyin — with tone marks (nǐ hǎo) or numbers (ni3 hao3).

→
n
n
i
i
3
˨˩˦
␣
·
h
x
ao
ɑʊ
3
˨˩˦
Why each segment sounds like that
LettresSonRule
nn ↗default mapping
ii ↗default mapping
3˨˩˦ ↗tone 3: dip and rise (just low before another syllable)
hx ↗default mapping
aoɑʊ ↗default mapping
3˨˩˦ ↗tone 3: dip and rise (just low before another syllable)

Consonnes et semi-voyelles

IPASpelledExample
pb bā 八 pa˥
eight — Pinyin b is an UNaspirated p, never voiced.
pʰp pà 怕 pʰa˥˩
to fear
mm mā 妈 ma˥
mother
ff fàn 饭 fan˥˩
rice / meal
td dà 大 ta˥˩
big
tʰt tā 他 tʰa˥
he
nn nǐ 你 ni˨˩˦
you
ll lái 来 lai˧˥
to come
kg gǒu 狗 koʊ˨˩˦
dog
kʰk kàn 看 kʰan˥˩
to look
xh hǎo 好 xɑʊ˨˩˦
good — Rougher than English h — like German ach, lightly.
t͡ɕj jiā 家 t͡ɕja˥
home — Only before i/ü. Tongue flat, tip down.
t͡ɕʰq qù 去 t͡ɕʰy˥˩
to go
ɕx xiè 谢 ɕjɛ˥˩
thanks
ʈ͡ʂzh zhōng 中 ʈ͡ʂʊŋ˥
middle — Tongue curled back.
ʈ͡ʂʰch chī 吃 ʈ͡ʂʰɻ̩˥
to eat
ʂsh shì 是 ʂɻ̩˥˩
to be
ʐr rén 人 ʐən˧˥
person
t͡sz zài 在 t͡sai˥˩
at
t͡sʰc cài 菜 t͡sʰai˥˩
vegetable / dish
ss sān 三 san˥
three
jy, i + vowel yào 要 jɑʊ˥˩
to want
ww, u + vowel wǒ 我 wo˨˩˦
I
ɥyu + vowel, ü + vowel yuè 月 ɥɛ˥˩
moon / month
ŋng máng 忙 mɑŋ˧˥
busy

Voyelles

IPASpelledExample
aa mǎ 马 ma˨˩˦
horse
oo, uo wǒ 我 wo˨˩˦
I
ɤe hē 喝 xɤ˥
to drink — Not English e. Say 'o' and unround the lips.
ɛie, üe, ian (the a) xiè 谢 ɕjɛ˥˩
thanks
ii, yi yī 一 i˥
one
ɹ̩i after z c s sì 四 sɹ̩˥˩
four — Not /i/! Hold the s and voice it.
ɻ̩i after zh ch sh r shí 十 ʂɻ̩˧˥
ten — Not /i/! Hold the retroflex and voice it.
uu, wu wǔ 五 u˨˩˦
five
yü, u after j q x y nǚ 女 ny˨˩˦
woman — French u / German ü.
əen, eng (the e), un (wen) mén 门 mən˧˥
door
ɚer èr 二 ɚ˥˩
two — Also the Beijing -r suffix: nàr 那儿.
aiai ài 爱 ai˥˩
love
eiei, ui hēi 黑 xei˥
black
ɑʊao hǎo 好 xɑʊ˨˩˦
good
oʊou, iu dōu 都 toʊ˥
all
ʊong (the o) zhōng 中 ʈ͡ʂʊŋ˥
middle
ɑang (the a), ao (the a) máng 忙 mɑŋ˧˥
busy

Les règles, dans l'ordre

83 règles. La colonne de gauche est un motif (expression régulière) testé à la position courante dans le mot ; (?=…) regarde devant, (?<=…) regarde derrière, $ est la fin du mot.

#PatternSoundWhy
1zhʈ͡ʂzh = retroflex, unaspirated
2chʈ͡ʂʰch = retroflex, aspirated
3shʂsh = retroflex
4yuanɥɛn
5yueɥɛ
6yunyn
7yuyyu = ü
8yingiŋ
9yinin
10yiiyi = i (y is just a spelling prop)
11yongjʊŋ
12youjoʊ
13yangjɑŋ
14yanjɛnyan = /jɛn/, the a is raised by the i
15yaojɑʊ
16yejɛ
17yaja
18yj
19wuuwu = u
20ww
21(?<=[jqx])uanɥɛnafter j/q/x, u is ü
22(?<=[jqx])ueɥɛafter j/q/x, u is ü
23(?<=[jqx])unynafter j/q/x, u is ü
24(?<=[jqx])uyafter j/q/x, u is ü
25(?:üan|van)ɥɛn
26(?:üe|ve)ɥɛ
27(?:ün|vn)yn
28[üv]yü (typed v on many keyboards)
29iangjɑŋ
30iongjʊŋ
31uangwɑŋ
32uengwəŋ
33ianjɛnian = /jɛn/ — the i raises the a
34iaojɑʊ
35uaiwai
36uanwan
37angɑŋ
38engəŋ
39ingiŋ
40ongʊŋ
41aiai
42eiei
43aoɑʊ
44ouoʊ
45anan
46enən
47inin
48unwənun = uen with the e swallowed
49iaja
50iejɛ
51iujoʊiu = iou with the o swallowed
52uawa
53uowo
54uiweiui = uei with the e swallowed
55erɚ
56(?<=zh|ch|sh|r)iɻ̩i after zh/ch/sh/r is a buzzed retroflex, not /i/
57(?<=[zcs])iɹ̩i after z/c/s is a buzzed continuation of the consonant, not /i/
58aa
59oo
60eɤe alone = /ɤ/, an unrounded o
61ii
62uu
63ngŋ
64bpb = unaspirated p
65ppʰp = aspirated
66dtd = unaspirated t
67ttʰt = aspirated
68gkg = unaspirated k
69kkʰk = aspirated
70jt͡ɕ
71qt͡ɕʰ
72xɕ
73zt͡s
74ct͡sʰc = ts with a puff, never /k/ or /s/
75ss
76rʐ
77hx
78[fmnl]same letter
791˥tone 1: high level
802˧˥tone 2: rising
813˨˩˦tone 3: dip and rise (just low before another syllable)
824˥˩tone 4: falling
83[05]∅neutral tone: short and light