1. Hui-Ju Chuang University of Hawaii-Manoa
Chinese sound system
Hui-Ju Chuang
University of Hawaii-Manoa

2. Pronunciations of initials and finals Chinese tones Spelling rules
Overview
Pronunciations of initials and finals
Chinese tones
Spelling rules
Numbers
Hui-Ju Chuang

3. Syllabic structure One character one syllable σ σ σ
σ σ σ
initial final initial final initial final
Ø a f a j iang
e.g. 啊, 阿 e.g. 發, 伐 e.g. 江, 將
Hui-Ju Chuang

4. Finals There are six simple finals There are thirty complex finals
a o e i u ü
There are thirty complex finals
ai ei ao ou
an en ang eng ong
ia iao ie iu (iou) ian in iang ing iong
ua uo uai ui (uei) uan un (uen) uang ueng
üe üan ün er
Hui-Ju Chuang

5. Initials There twenty-one initials b p m f d t n l Labial g k h j q x
z c s
zh ch sh r
Labial
Alveolars
Velars
Palatals
Dental Sibilants
Retroflexes
Hui-Ju Chuang

6. Initials There twenty-one initials b p m f Labial d t n l Alveolars
g k h Velars
j q x Palatals
z c s Dental Sibilants
zh ch sh r Retroflexes
Hui-Ju Chuang

7. Combination of initials and finals
Not every initial can combine with every final
There are only 413 combinations are used to represent thousands of Chinese characters
Hui-Ju Chuang

8. Pronunciations of initials and finalse
Hui-Ju Chuang

9. Finals i u ü
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10. Combination of finals ai ei ao ou an en
ang
eng
ong
Hui-Ju Chuang

11. Initials mo fo bo po ne de te le
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12. Initials ge ke he ji qi xi
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13. Initials zi ci si
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14. Initials
zhi
chi
shi ri
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15. Practice
Initials and finals practice
Pinyin song
Hui-Ju Chuang

16. Practice
gai kai
mu fu
zha cha
Ji qi
ba pa
Zi ci
nei lei
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17. Chinese Tones Four tones Neutral tone
A neutral tone is pronounced briefly and softly, and the pitch value is determined by the stressed syllable
e.g Māma ‘mother’-- when occurs after the first tone, the tone value is 2
Hui-Ju Chuang

18. Tone marks Four tones First tone (¯) Second tone (´) Third tone (ˇ)
Fourth tone (ˋ)
Neutral tone
No tone marks on the neutral tone
Hui-Ju Chuang

19. Continue… Tone basically marks on the main vowel of a syllable.
Main vowel sequence: a  o  e  i  u  ü
Exception: when i and u are combined into a syllable, the tone marks on the second vowel e.g iù , uì
Hui-Ju Chuang

20. Practice tong 痛 Xian 先 ban 板 Jiu 就 nao 腦 chong 從 lei 累 tòng xiān bǎn
nǎo
chóng
lèi
Hui-Ju Chuang

21. Spelling rules 2. ü is written as yu without any initial
1. i and u will be written as y and w when they are in isolation
2. ü is written as yu without any initial
3. ü is written as u after j, q and x but remains the same after n and l
4. ueng is written as ong when preceded by an initial whereas change to weng in isolation
Hui-Ju Chuang

22. Continue…
iou, uei and uen are written as iu, ui, and un when preceded by an initial
er is written as r when it is in final position
Apostrophe is used when two syllables with connecting vowels, e.g nǚ‘ér(daughter) , xī’an (a city in China)
Hui-Ju Chuang

23. Numbers 一 yī 二 èr 三
sān 四 sì 五 wǔ
Hui-Ju Chuang

24. 六
liù 七 qī 八 bā 九
jiǔ 十
shí
Hui-Ju Chuang