Read pinyin without English guesses
IntroducedLetters are not enough
- qī seven七 — seven and chī variant of 吃吃 — eat begin differently. Listen before attempting them.
- Pinyin q is not English q. Pinyin x is not the English ks sound.
Pinyin qī should be read by:
Pinyin represents Mandarin sounds; use the example as the model.
Practise two sound groups
- j / q / x: practise fowl鸡 jī — chicken, seven七 qī — seven, west西 xī — west. Keep the tongue relatively forward.
- zh / ch / sh: practise to know知 zhī — know, variant of 吃吃 chī — eat, teacher师 shī — teacher. The tongue position is farther back.
What tone number is qī?
The horizontal mark shows first tone.
Match the examples.
The different initials and vowels distinguish these syllables.
Notice the airflow
- Compare jī and qī: q has a stronger puff of air. A small tissue held near your mouth can make the contrast visible.
- Compare zhī and chī the same way. Copy the recording rather than adding an English r sound.
seven七 qī and variant of 吃吃 chī differ in their starting sound and the vowel quality. Practise the full syllables.
Meet ü and the missing dots
- archaic variant of 汝女 nǚ — woman uses ü: keep the tongue near an “ee” position while rounding the lips.
- After j, q, and x, written u represents this ü sound: to go去 qù — go. After n and l, the dots distinguish ü from u.
Pinyin i is not pronounced identically after every initial. Compare xī, shī, and nǐ by ear instead of forcing one English vowel onto them.
Which written syllable shows ü explicitly?
nǚ retains the dots after n.
The u in 去 qù has the same vowel as ordinary u in nù.
After q, written u represents ü.
Practise one contrast at a time
- Alternate qī / chī, then jī / qī. Listen back to a recording and choose one difference to improve.
- Next: recognise and build characters.
Pinyin letters have Mandarin sound values. Listen to whole syllables; practise tongue position, airflow, and ü.