Pinyin Chart 拼音
Pinyin is the official romanisation of Mandarin Chinese: every syllable = an initial + a final + one of four tones. The charts below cover all initials, finals, whole-read syllables and tones — tap any cell to hear native audio.
Initials (声母)
The 23 initials are the consonant sounds a syllable can start with. Tricky pairs: zh/ch/sh vs z/c/s (retroflex vs flat tongue), and j/q/x (always followed by i/ü sounds).
Finals (韵母)
Finals are the vowel (+ nasal) part of a syllable. Watch the pairs an/ang, en/eng, in/ing, and the umlaut ü (like French “u” / German “ü”).
Whole syllables (整体认读)
16 syllables are read as a unit instead of being spelled initial + final — zhi, chi, shi, yi, wu, yu and friends. Memorise them directly.
The four tones (声调)
Same syllable, different tone, different word: mā 妈 mother · má 麻 hemp · mǎ 马 horse · mà 骂 scold · ma 吗 (question particle). Tap each cell to hear the difference.
FAQ
How many pinyin initials and finals are there?
There are 23 initials (including y and w) and 24 common finals, plus 16 whole-read syllables. Combined with the four tones they cover every Mandarin syllable — about 400 base syllables.
What are the four Mandarin tones?
Tone 1 is high and flat (mā), tone 2 rises (má), tone 3 dips then rises (mǎ), tone 4 falls sharply (mà); there is also a light neutral tone (ma). Tones change meaning, so practise them with audio from day one.
How long does it take to learn pinyin?
Most learners read pinyin comfortably within one to two weeks. The spelling is mostly familiar; focus on zh/ch/sh vs z/c/s, j/q/x, the ü sound, and daily tone-pair listening drills.