Post by Qinai de Jerry on Oct 4, 2004 3:28:56 GMT -5
Initial Sounds:
These initial letters have the same pronunciation as in English:
M-- (as in "man")
N-- (as in "no")
L-- (as in "letter")
F-- (as in "from")
S-- (as in "sheep")
W-- (as in "woman")
Y-- (as in "yes")
The following initial letters have slight differences as noted below. If the comment calls for a strong puff of breath, old your open hand several inches from your mouth and make certain that you can actually "feel" the breath as you pronounce the letter.
P-- (as in "pun") note: use a strong puff of breath
K-- (as in "cola") note: use a strong puff of breath
T-- (as in "tongue") note: use a strong puff of breath
B-- (as in "bum") note: no puff of breath
D-- (as in "dung") note: no puff of breath
G-- (as in "good") note: no puff of breath
H-- (as in "hot") note: slightly more aspirated than in English
The following initial letters are the more difficult for English speakers:
ZH-- (as in "jeweler")
CH-- (as in ZH above, but with a strong puff of breath)
SH-- (as in "shoe")
R-- (as in "run")
C-- (like the "ts" in "it's high", but with a strong puff of breath)
J-- (as in "Jeff")
Q-- (like the "ch" in "cheese")
X-- (like the "sh" in "sheep")
Final (Ending) Sounds:
The finals connect with the Intitial sounds to create the one syllable words that are the basis of the Chinese language.
Although all Chinese words are one syllable, they are often combined to create terms made from several words.
-a (as in father)
-an (like the sounds of "John" or "ahn")
-ang (like the sound of "an" above (ahng) with the addition of "g")
-ai (as in "high")
-ao (as in "how")
-ar (as in "bar")
-o (like "aw")
-ou (like the "ow" in "low")
-ong (like the "ung" in "jungle" with a slight "oo" sound)
-e (sounds like "uh")
-en (like "un" in "under")
-eng (like the "ung" in "lung")
-ei (like a long "a" or the "ei" in "eight")
-er (like the "er" in "herd")
-i (like a long "e" or the "i" in "machine")
-in (as in "bin")
-ing (like "sing")
-u (like the "oo" in "loop")
-un (as in "fun")
Putting It All Together (Initial and Final Sounds):
Try some of these words. You can refer to the individual "Intitial" and "Final" descriptions above if you need. Also, these words are used as examples in our phrases popup page (see link below)
Ni (sounds like "knee")
Hao (sounds like "how" with a little more aspiration)
Dong (sounds like "doong")
Qi (sounds like "chee")
Gong (sounds like "gung")
Tai (sounds like "tie")
Ji (sounds like "gee")
Quan (sounds like "chwan")
These initial letters have the same pronunciation as in English:
M-- (as in "man")
N-- (as in "no")
L-- (as in "letter")
F-- (as in "from")
S-- (as in "sheep")
W-- (as in "woman")
Y-- (as in "yes")
The following initial letters have slight differences as noted below. If the comment calls for a strong puff of breath, old your open hand several inches from your mouth and make certain that you can actually "feel" the breath as you pronounce the letter.
P-- (as in "pun") note: use a strong puff of breath
K-- (as in "cola") note: use a strong puff of breath
T-- (as in "tongue") note: use a strong puff of breath
B-- (as in "bum") note: no puff of breath
D-- (as in "dung") note: no puff of breath
G-- (as in "good") note: no puff of breath
H-- (as in "hot") note: slightly more aspirated than in English
The following initial letters are the more difficult for English speakers:
ZH-- (as in "jeweler")
CH-- (as in ZH above, but with a strong puff of breath)
SH-- (as in "shoe")
R-- (as in "run")
C-- (like the "ts" in "it's high", but with a strong puff of breath)
J-- (as in "Jeff")
Q-- (like the "ch" in "cheese")
X-- (like the "sh" in "sheep")
Final (Ending) Sounds:
The finals connect with the Intitial sounds to create the one syllable words that are the basis of the Chinese language.
Although all Chinese words are one syllable, they are often combined to create terms made from several words.
-a (as in father)
-an (like the sounds of "John" or "ahn")
-ang (like the sound of "an" above (ahng) with the addition of "g")
-ai (as in "high")
-ao (as in "how")
-ar (as in "bar")
-o (like "aw")
-ou (like the "ow" in "low")
-ong (like the "ung" in "jungle" with a slight "oo" sound)
-e (sounds like "uh")
-en (like "un" in "under")
-eng (like the "ung" in "lung")
-ei (like a long "a" or the "ei" in "eight")
-er (like the "er" in "herd")
-i (like a long "e" or the "i" in "machine")
-in (as in "bin")
-ing (like "sing")
-u (like the "oo" in "loop")
-un (as in "fun")
Putting It All Together (Initial and Final Sounds):
Try some of these words. You can refer to the individual "Intitial" and "Final" descriptions above if you need. Also, these words are used as examples in our phrases popup page (see link below)
Ni (sounds like "knee")
Hao (sounds like "how" with a little more aspiration)
Dong (sounds like "doong")
Qi (sounds like "chee")
Gong (sounds like "gung")
Tai (sounds like "tie")
Ji (sounds like "gee")
Quan (sounds like "chwan")
