The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Standard Chinese (also called Mandarin) pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. The representations of these sounds in the standard romanization (pinyin) are also shown.
See Standard Chinese phonology for more detail on the sounds of the language. Please note that English equivalents given in this page may only represent loose approximations to the original pronunciations.
This key does not represent the full range of vowel allophones and instead represents a compromise between the underlying phonemes and the actual vowels produced in speech. For example, the vowels [a], [ə] and [u] can be fronted or backed depending on coda but are not reflected here for simplicity. See Standard Chinese phonology for more information.
^ abü ([y], [ɥ]) is spelled u after j, q, x as [u], [w] cannot occur after these consonants.
^ abcwei, you, wen are spelled ui, iu, un respectively in pinyin, but pronounced identically, when preceded by a consonant.
^While the rime ying/-ing is spelled with an i, it is actually pronounced [jəŋ], although many speakers use the spelling pronunciation [iŋ]
^Slightly "buzzing" vowels, and the frication of the preceding consonant may continue through the vowel. In si, zi, ci, the vowel may be a further back [ɯ].
^Only occurs in erhua and generally not considered part of the main vowel inventory.