Chinese Phonetics

Tables of the Combinations of the Initials and Finals in Common Speech

            Table 1   Combinations of initials and those finals that begin with "a," "o," "e," or "-i"
            Table 2   Combinations of initials with those finals that begin with "i"
            Table 3   Combinations of initials and those finals that begine with "u" or "ü

Initials are in the color of blue.
Finals are in the color of red.
Half vowels/half consonants are in the color of green.

To hear the pronunication of the syllable in each cell, just click it. For purpose of practicing, each syllable is pronounced with four tones for you to listen to, although some syllables with certain tones are meaningless in Chinese.

Table 1 Combinations of initials and those finals that begin with "a," "o," "e," or "-i."

Finals

a

o

e

ê

-i

-i

er

ai

ei

ao

ou

an

en

ang

eng

ong

Initials

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

b

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

p

*

*

*

*

*

*

m

*

*

*

*

*

*

f

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

d

*

*

*

*

*

*

t

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

n

*

*

*

*

*

l

*

*

*

*

*

*

z

*

*

*

*

c

*

*

*

*

s

*

*

*

*

zh

*

*

*

*

ch

*

*

*

*

*

sh

*

*

*

*

*

r

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

j

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

q

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

x

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

g

*

*

*

*

*

k

*

*

*

*

*

*

h

*

*

*

*

*

ø

*

*

*

*

*

Table 2 Combinations of initials with those finals that begin with "i"

Finals	i	ia	iao	ie	iou	ian	in	iang	ing	iong
Initials	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
b	bi	*	biao	bie	*	bian	bin	*	bing	*
p	pi	*	piao	pie	*	pian	pin	*	ping	*
m	mi	*	miao	mie	miu	mian	min	*	ming	*
f	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
d	di	*	diao	die	diu	dian	*	*	ding	*
t	ti	*	tiao	tie	*	tian	*	*	ting	*
n	ni	*	niao	nie	niu	nian	nin	*	ning	*
l	li	*	liao	lie	liu	lian	lin	liang	ling	*
z	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
c	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
s	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
zh	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
ch	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
sh	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
r	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
j	ji	jia	jiao	jie	jiu	jian	jin	jiang	jing	jiong
q	qi	qia	qiao	qie	qiu	qian	qin	qiang	qing	qiong
x	xi	xia	xiao	xie	xiu	xian	xin	xiang	xing	xiong
g	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
k	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
h	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
ø	yi	ya	yao	ye	you	yan	yin	yang	ying	yong

Table 3 Combinations of initials and those finals that begine with "u" or "ü"

Finals

u

ua

uo

uai

ue

uan

un

uang

ueng

ü

üe

üan

ün

Initials

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

b

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

p

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

m

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

f

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

d

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

t

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

n

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

l

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

z

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

c

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

s

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

zh

*

*

*

*

*

ch

*

*

*

*

*

*

sh

*

*

*

*

*

r

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

j

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

q

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

x

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

g

*

*

*

*

*

k

*

*

*

*

*

h

*

*

*

*

*

ø

Copyright © 1999 by John Jinghua Yin
Please report any problems to John Jinghua Yin
Created on August 28, 1998
Last revised on September 05, 1999