Mandarin Chinese: spelling → sound
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).
Trace a word
Every box is one rule firing. Hover a box (or open the table) to see why. Rules are applied in order, first match wins — that order is the spelling system. Type pinyin — with tone marks (nǐ hǎo) or numbers (ni3 hao3).
Consonants & glides
| IPA | Spelled | Example |
|---|---|---|
| p | b | bā 八 pa˥ eight — Pinyin b is an UNaspirated p, never voiced. |
| pʰ | p | pà 怕 pʰa˥˩ to fear |
| m | m | mā 妈 ma˥ mother |
| f | f | fàn 饭 fan˥˩ rice / meal |
| t | d | dà 大 ta˥˩ big |
| tʰ | t | tā 他 tʰa˥ he |
| n | n | nǐ 你 ni˨˩˦ you |
| l | l | lái 来 lai˧˥ to come |
| k | g | gǒu 狗 koʊ˨˩˦ dog |
| kʰ | k | kàn 看 kʰan˥˩ to look |
| x | h | hǎo 好 xɑʊ˨˩˦ good — Rougher than English h — like German ach, lightly. |
| t͡ɕ | j | jiā 家 t͡ɕja˥ home — Only before i/ü. Tongue flat, tip down. |
| t͡ɕʰ | q | qù 去 t͡ɕʰy˥˩ to go |
| ɕ | x | xiè 谢 ɕjɛ˥˩ thanks |
| ʈ͡ʂ | zh | zhōng 中 ʈ͡ʂʊŋ˥ middle — Tongue curled back. |
| ʈ͡ʂʰ | ch | chī 吃 ʈ͡ʂʰɻ̩˥ to eat |
| ʂ | sh | shì 是 ʂɻ̩˥˩ to be |
| ʐ | r | rén 人 ʐən˧˥ person |
| t͡s | z | zài 在 t͡sai˥˩ at |
| t͡sʰ | c | cài 菜 t͡sʰai˥˩ vegetable / dish |
| s | s | sān 三 san˥ three |
| j | y, i + vowel | yào 要 jɑʊ˥˩ to want |
| w | w, u + vowel | wǒ 我 wo˨˩˦ I |
| ɥ | yu + vowel, ü + vowel | yuè 月 ɥɛ˥˩ moon / month |
| ŋ | ng | máng 忙 mɑŋ˧˥ busy |
Vowels
| IPA | Spelled | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a | a | mǎ 马 ma˨˩˦ horse |
| o | o, uo | wǒ 我 wo˨˩˦ I |
| ɤ | e | hē 喝 xɤ˥ to drink — Not English e. Say 'o' and unround the lips. |
| ɛ | ie, üe, ian (the a) | xiè 谢 ɕjɛ˥˩ thanks |
| i | i, yi | yī 一 i˥ one |
| ɹ̩ | i after z c s | sì 四 sɹ̩˥˩ four — Not /i/! Hold the s and voice it. |
| ɻ̩ | i after zh ch sh r | shí 十 ʂɻ̩˧˥ ten — Not /i/! Hold the retroflex and voice it. |
| u | u, wu | wǔ 五 u˨˩˦ five |
| y | ü, u after j q x y | nǚ 女 ny˨˩˦ woman — French u / German ü. |
| ə | en, eng (the e), un (wen) | mén 门 mən˧˥ door |
| ɚ | er | èr 二 ɚ˥˩ two — Also the Beijing -r suffix: nàr 那儿. |
| ai | ai | ài 爱 ai˥˩ love |
| ei | ei, ui | hēi 黑 xei˥ black |
| ɑʊ | ao | hǎo 好 xɑʊ˨˩˦ good |
| oʊ | ou, iu | dōu 都 toʊ˥ all |
| ʊ | ong (the o) | zhōng 中 ʈ͡ʂʊŋ˥ middle |
| ɑ | ang (the a), ao (the a) | máng 忙 mɑŋ˧˥ busy |
The rules, in order
83 rules. The left column is a pattern (regular expression) matched at the current position of the word; (?=…) looks ahead, (?<=…) looks behind, $ is the end of the word.
| # | Pattern | Sound | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | zh | zh = retroflex, unaspirated | |
| 2 | ch | ch = retroflex, aspirated | |
| 3 | sh | sh = retroflex | |
| 4 | yuan | ||
| 5 | yue | ||
| 6 | yun | ||
| 7 | yu | yu = ü | |
| 8 | ying | ||
| 9 | yin | ||
| 10 | yi | yi = i (y is just a spelling prop) | |
| 11 | yong | ||
| 12 | you | ||
| 13 | yang | ||
| 14 | yan | yan = /jɛn/, the a is raised by the i | |
| 15 | yao | ||
| 16 | ye | ||
| 17 | ya | ||
| 18 | y | ||
| 19 | wu | wu = u | |
| 20 | w | ||
| 21 | (?<=[jqx])uan | after j/q/x, u is ü | |
| 22 | (?<=[jqx])ue | after j/q/x, u is ü | |
| 23 | (?<=[jqx])un | after j/q/x, u is ü | |
| 24 | (?<=[jqx])u | after j/q/x, u is ü | |
| 25 | (?:üan|van) | ||
| 26 | (?:üe|ve) | ||
| 27 | (?:ün|vn) | ||
| 28 | [üv] | ü (typed v on many keyboards) | |
| 29 | iang | ||
| 30 | iong | ||
| 31 | uang | ||
| 32 | ueng | ||
| 33 | ian | ian = /jɛn/ — the i raises the a | |
| 34 | iao | ||
| 35 | uai | ||
| 36 | uan | ||
| 37 | ang | ||
| 38 | eng | ||
| 39 | ing | ||
| 40 | ong | ||
| 41 | ai | ||
| 42 | ei | ||
| 43 | ao | ||
| 44 | ou | ||
| 45 | an | ||
| 46 | en | ||
| 47 | in | ||
| 48 | un | un = uen with the e swallowed | |
| 49 | ia | ||
| 50 | ie | ||
| 51 | iu | iu = iou with the o swallowed | |
| 52 | ua | ||
| 53 | uo | ||
| 54 | ui | ui = uei with the e swallowed | |
| 55 | er | ||
| 56 | (?<=zh|ch|sh|r)i | i after zh/ch/sh/r is a buzzed retroflex, not /i/ | |
| 57 | (?<=[zcs])i | i after z/c/s is a buzzed continuation of the consonant, not /i/ | |
| 58 | a | ||
| 59 | o | ||
| 60 | e | e alone = /ɤ/, an unrounded o | |
| 61 | i | ||
| 62 | u | ||
| 63 | ng | ||
| 64 | b | b = unaspirated p | |
| 65 | p | p = aspirated | |
| 66 | d | d = unaspirated t | |
| 67 | t | t = aspirated | |
| 68 | g | g = unaspirated k | |
| 69 | k | k = aspirated | |
| 70 | j | ||
| 71 | q | ||
| 72 | x | ||
| 73 | z | ||
| 74 | c | c = ts with a puff, never /k/ or /s/ | |
| 75 | s | ||
| 76 | r | ||
| 77 | h | ||
| 78 | [fmnl] | ||
| 79 | 1 | tone 1: high level | |
| 80 | 2 | tone 2: rising | |
| 81 | 3 | tone 3: dip and rise (just low before another syllable) | |
| 82 | 4 | tone 4: falling | |
| 83 | [05] | neutral tone: short and light |