Help:IPA for Mandarin

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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.

Consonants
IPA Pinyin English approximation
p b span
p pan
m m moon
f f fan
t d stand
t tan
n n noon
l l leaf
k g scan
k cup
x h loch (Scottish English), often weakened to /h/ as in English hit
j like edgy, pronounced further forward toward the teeth (always followed by /i/ or /y/)
tɕʰ q like cheat, pronounced further forward toward the teeth (always followed by /i/ or /y/)
ɕ x like she, pronounced further forward toward the teeth (always followed by /i/ or /y/)
ʈʂ zh like jaw, with tongue curled back (retroflex pronunciation)
ʈʂʰ ch like church, with tongue curled back (retroflex pronunciation)
ʂ sh like show, with tongue curled back (retroflex pronunciation); Russian Ш
ɻ -r air (American English)
ts z roughly like seeds
tsʰ c tsunami (with t pronounced)
s s see
j y-, -i- you
w w-, -u- water
ŋ -ng song
ɥ yu-, -ü-[a] (simultaneous y and w); French nuit
ʐ r- like pleasure, with tongue curled back (retroflex pronunciation); Russian Ж
Vowels
IPA Pinyin English approximation
a a, an, ang, er car (short vowel)
æ yan/-ian, yuan/-üan roughly like trap
e ye/-ie roughly like yes
ə en[b], eng[c] about
ɤ e roughly like American sir
i yi/-i, yin/-in see (short vowel)
ɨ si, zi, ci, shi, zhi, chi, ri roughly like glasses[d]
ø yue/-üe German ö
o o war (short vowel)
u wu/-u, ong shoe (short vowel)
y yu/-ü,[a] yun/-ün French tu; German ü
Diphthongs
ai bye
ao now
əɪ ei, -ui[b] day
əʊ ou, -iu[b] no
Nasal vowels[e]
ã angr French croissant
ə̃ engr roughly like uh-huh
ũ ongr roughly like own
Tones
IPA Pinyin Description
á ā tone 1: high: ˥
ǎ á tone 2: mid rising: ˧˥
à ǎ tone 3: medially, low: ˩
initially, mid falling: ˧˩
finally, low rising: ˩˧
in isolation, dipping: ˧˩˧
â à tone 4: high falling: ˥˩
a a "toneless":
low after the high falling tone ˥˩;
mid after other tones

Vowel quality[edit]

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.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b ü ([y], [ɥ]) is spelled u after j, q, x as [u], [w] cannot occur after these consonants.
  2. ^ a b c wei, you, wen are spelled ui, iu, un respectively in pinyin, but pronounced identically, when preceded by a consonant.
  3. ^ While the rime ying/-ing is spelled with an i, it is actually pronounced [jəŋ], although many speakers use the spelling pronunciation [iŋ]
  4. ^ 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].
  5. ^ Only occurs in erhua and generally not considered part of the main vowel inventory.

External links[edit]