Chinese sound system

Hui-Ju Chuang

University of Hawaii-Manoa

Hui-Ju Chuang

OverviewPronunciations of initials and finalsChinese tonesSpelling rulesNumbers

Hui-Ju Chuang

Syllabic structure

One character one syllable

σ σ σinitial 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

Finals

There are six simple 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

Initials

There twenty-one initials b p m f

d t n l

g k h

j q x

z c s

zh ch sh r

Labial

Palatals

Alveolars

Velars

Dental Sibilants

Retroflexes

Hui-Ju Chuang

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

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

Pronunciations of initials and finals

Finals

a o e

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Finals

i u ü

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Combination of finals

ai ei ao ou

an en ang eng

ong

Hui-Ju Chuang

Initials

bo po mo fo

de te ne le

Hui-Ju Chuang

Initials

ge ke he

ji qi xi

Hui-Ju Chuang

Initials

zi ci si

Hui-Ju Chuang

Initials

zhi chi shi ri

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Practice

Initials and finals practice

Pinyin song

Hui-Ju Chuang

Practice

gai kaimu fuzha chaJi qiba paZi cinei lei

Hui-Ju Chuang

Chinese Tones

Four tonesNeutral 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

Tone marks

Four tones

First tone (¯)

Second tone (´)

Third tone (ˇ)

Fourth tone (ˋ)Neutral tone

No tone marks on the neutral tone

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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

Practice

tong 痛Xian 先ban 板Jiu 就nao 腦chong 從lei 累

bǎn

xiān

tòng

jiù

nǎo

chóng

lèi

Hui-Ju Chuang

Spelling rules

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

Continue…

5. iou, uei and uen are written as iu, ui, and un when preceded by an initial

6. er is written as r when it is in final position

7. Apostrophe is used when two syllables with connecting vowels, e.g nǚ‘ér(daughter) , xī’an (a city in China)

Hui-Ju Chuang

Numbers

一yī二èr三sān四 sì五wǔ

Hui-Ju Chuang

六liù七qī八bā九jiǔ十shí