Pinyin chart (拼音表 pīnyīn biǎo)
The complete Mandarin pinyin table: the four tones (plus the neutral tone) and an initials × finals syllable grid. A blank cell means that combination does not exist in Mandarin.
otterdict.com — Mandarin pinyin table
The four tones
The same syllable with a different tone is a different word. The tone mark is always shown, so color is never the only signal.
- Tone 1 — high level (阴平)Held high and flat, staying at the same pitch.
- Tone 2 — rising (阳平)Rises from mid to high, like a question.
- Tone 3 — dipping (上声)Dips low, then rises back up.
- Tone 4 — falling (去声)Falls sharply from high to low.
- Neutral tone (轻声)Short, light and unstressed — carries no tone mark.
Aspirated and unaspirated
Six pairs carry the whole contrast. The two sounds of a pair are made in the same place, in the same way — the only difference is the puff of air that follows the aspirated one.
bp
no puff / puff of air
Both lips
dt
no puff / puff of air
Tongue tip at the gum ridge
gk
no puff / puff of air
Back of the tongue at the soft palate
jq
no puff / puff of air
Tongue blade at the hard palate
zhch
no puff / puff of air
Tongue tip curled back
zc
no puff / puff of air
Tongue tip behind the teeth
Hold a strip of paper in front of your mouth. The aspirated sound moves it; the plain one does not.
Syllable grid: initials × finals
Rows are initials, columns are finals; each cell is the toneless base syllable (no tone applied yet).
Scroll sideways to see the whole table.
| Initial | a | o | e | i | u | ü | ai | ei | ao | ou | an | en | ang | eng | ong |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| b | |||||||||||||||
| p | |||||||||||||||
| m | |||||||||||||||
| f | |||||||||||||||
| d | |||||||||||||||
| t | |||||||||||||||
| n | |||||||||||||||
| l | |||||||||||||||
| g | |||||||||||||||
| k | |||||||||||||||
| h | |||||||||||||||
| j | |||||||||||||||
| q | |||||||||||||||
| x | |||||||||||||||
| zh | |||||||||||||||
| ch | |||||||||||||||
| sh | |||||||||||||||
| r | |||||||||||||||
| z | |||||||||||||||
| c | |||||||||||||||
| s | |||||||||||||||
| ∅ (no initial) |
Press a syllable in the table to hear it in each tone.
ʰ in the table marks an aspirated initial.
Where each initial is made
The twenty-one initials use seven tongue positions. Each diagram looks into the mouth from the side, lips on the left: the tongue is the darker shape and the arrows show where the air comes out. Compare the tongue between two cards — that difference is the whole sound.
bpm
Both lips
- bthe air stops, then releases
- pthe air stops, then releases
- mthe air goes through the nose
f
Lip and teeth
- fa continuous hiss
dtnl
Tongue tip at the gum ridge
- dthe air stops, then releases
- tthe air stops, then releases
- nthe air goes through the nose
- lthe air passes around the sides of the tongue
gkh
Back of the tongue at the soft palate
- gthe air stops, then releases
- kthe air stops, then releases
- ha continuous hiss
jqx
Tongue blade at the hard palate
- jstops, then hisses out
- qstops, then hisses out
- xa continuous hiss
zhchshr
Tongue tip curled back
- zhstops, then hisses out
- chstops, then hisses out
- sha continuous hiss
- rthe air passes without friction
zcs
Tongue tip behind the teeth
- zstops, then hisses out
- cstops, then hisses out
- sa continuous hiss
The hardest pair for most learners
zh ch sh curl the tongue tip back; j q x keep it down behind the lower teeth and raise the blade instead. Same air, different tongue.
Tone changes
A tone can change when syllables meet. The writing never changes, so these are heard rather than read — press each one.
Third + third
- written
- nǐ hǎo
- said
- ní hǎo
The first of two third tones is said as a second tone.
你好不 before a fourth tone
- written
- bù shì
- said
- bú shì
不 is fourth tone, except in front of another fourth tone, where it rises.
不是一 takes the tone it needs
- written
- yī yàng
- said
- yí yàng
一 is second tone before a fourth tone, and fourth tone before the other three.
一样The half-third
- written
- hěn hǎo
- said
- hěn hǎo
Before any other tone, a third tone falls and stops — it never dips back up. Nothing in the writing says so.
很好The neutral tone
- written
- mā mā
- said
- mā ma
An unstressed syllable loses its tone and takes its pitch from the one before it.
妈妈
Our voice applies these changes the way a speaker does, so what you hear is the real phrase, not a demonstration of the mistake.
