Basic Chinese Pinyin Rules

* Make sure you set your browser encoding correctly to read Chinese words in this article. Chinese Simplified GB2312 is recommended. Please find detail instruction from this page: http://www.learn-chinese-language-online.com/read-chinese-online.html

Talking about Chinese Pinyin rules, let's start by looking at the following different scenarios:

1. Tone Mark Placement

The tone mark is placed over the vowel if there is only one vowel, e.g. wo, or on the main vowel of a syllable where they are two or three vowels, e.g. hao.

1.1 Syllable with one vowel letter, tone mark is always placed over the vowel letter. For examples:

笔 bǐ ( pen ) , 山 shān ( mountain )

车 chē ( car ), 信 xìn ( letter )

1.2 Syllables with two or three vowel letters: If the first vowel letter is a medial , e.g. "i", "u", or " ü ", the tone mark is placed over the vowel letter after the medial.

For example:

学 xué ( study ) , 贵 guì ( expensive)

小 xiao ( small ) , ? lüè ( strategy)

1.3 If the first vowel letter is not a medial, the tone mark is always placed on the first vowel letter.

For example:

靠 kào ( rely ) , 要 yào ( ask )

好 hǎo ( good ) , 北 běi ( north )

2. Syllables With an Initial

Write down the initial and then the final with no space between them.

For example:

客kè ( guest ) , 桌 zhuō ( desk ) 忙 máng ( busy ) , 飞 fēi ( fly )

Exceptions:

If and only if "uo" follows "b", "p", "m", or "f", "u" is dropped, resulting in "bo", "po", "mo", or "fo". If and only if "ü" follows "j", "q", "x", ü is changed to "u", resulting in "ju", "qu" and "xu"

3. Syllables Without an Initial

3.1 Syllables starting with "a", "o" or "e", just write down the final.

For example:

安 ān ( safe ), 鸥 ōu ( seagull ) 恩 en 恩 ( favor ), 昂 áng ( raise )

3.2 Syllables starting with "i", replace "i" with "y". For example:

严 yán ( strict ), 也 yě ( too )

Exceptions:

For the single vowel "i", and the nasals "in" and "ing", "y" is added before "i", resulting in "yi", "yin", and "ying";

Spell "you" for "iu", 有 yǒu ( have )

3.3 Syllables starting with "u", replace "u" with "w".

For example:

完 wán ( finish ), 外 wài ( outside )

王 wáng ( king ), 网 wǎng ( net )

Exceptions:

For the single vowel "u", "w" is added before "u", resulting in "wu";

Spell "wen" for "un";

Spell "wei" for "ui".

3.4 Syllables starting with "ü", replace "ü" with "yu".

For example:

雨 yǔ ( rain ), 孕 yùn ( pregnant )

园yuán ( circle ), 约 yuē ( appointment )

4. R-ending

The "er" (儿) sound can follow finals to form retroflection, add "r" at the end of the syllable in this case.

For example:

小孩儿 xiǎo hái er ( little kids )

雨点儿 yǔ diǎn er ( rain drops )

树枝儿 shù zhī er ( tree branch )

Again, it is good to know these rules to understand how to spell a character from Pinyin, but don't be intimidated by these Pinyin rules.

The more you practice, the more you will feel comfortable when speaking Chinese. You will eventually learn these rules without even realizing they exist, like most Chinese people do.

Rosie From Learn Chinese Language Online (http://www.learn-chinese-language-online.com )

The goal of Learn Chinese Language Online (LCLO) is to reduce the Mandarin Learning curve, promote and introduce the most efficient way to grasp the broad foundation of Chinese language.

---

Family, Incest, and Law

Family Values in Ancient Times:Many people of the present make... Read More

Sir Francis Drake

FRANCIS DRAKE: - It is my perspective that history has... Read More

Amber Mysteries Revealed

Amber, the gem of a stone that's not really a... Read More

The New Age Movement

What is the New Age Movement? It is similar to... Read More

The Red Violin - Film Review

The film portrays the creation, fate, and redemption of a... Read More

Building Catapults Required Engineering Know How

When building catapults, armies had to include in their ranks... Read More

Last Chance to See: Grove Mill, Mitcham

Grove Mill, Mitcham; where in 1934 many of the iron... Read More

Bohemian Grove

"Bohemian Grove is 'the greatest men's party on Earth', according... Read More

Sixties: The Decade of Rebellion

It is safe to say that in ... Read More

Amaterasu The Goddess of the Sun

Amaterasu is a shining example of how adversity can help... Read More

The Saga of Puffed Wheat Anderson, A Minnesota Legend

I have no idea how old I was when I... Read More

The American Melting Pot Myth

Most myths have some element of truth in them. The... Read More

The Automatic Champion

"Babe" Didrickson Zaharias was a phenomenal athlete. This Texan ran,... Read More

When We Was Kids In Chicago

Radio was the big communicator, back when I was a... Read More

A Defense of Cultural Intelligence

When humans set off to address fundamental issues about what... Read More

Learn How To Draw Faces Realistically

Drawing a face isn't as hard as it looks. To... Read More

Mythology and Parables in Modern Communication - Part 3

Our Self is the true center of our being and... Read More

Josephine the Merovingian

I cannot emphasize enough the dearth of information, or the... Read More

Fancy Dress Parties

Fancy dress parties have been around since for centuries and... Read More

Hello I Must Be Going: The Vanishing Twin

They walk among us. By the mid nineties, science had... Read More

Bits of Heritage, Whose Heritage

Change is the only inevitably constant aspect of life in... Read More

Man and His Machines

A woman creates life from her womb, and man tries... Read More

Sun Tzu: The Art of War

The Art of War is an ancient Chinese text on... Read More

Working With The Generations

For the first time in history, there are four generations... Read More

Feng Shui Monsters Under Your Bed

Good feng shui often requires making wise decisions based on... Read More

Astrology Signs and Planets Reveal Who You Are

But people are starting to take a new look at... Read More

Mexican Living: The Unexplained

The inexplicable bothers me. It always has. You know, the... Read More

Are You Embarassed by Your Civil War Uniform Impression?

"Authentic," "authentic," "authentic" is all you hear if you are... Read More

Conceptual Art: Who Appreciates It?

Art is sometimes overwhelming. Life as a whole can become... Read More

Christopher Columbus

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: - It seems a mystery to most academics... Read More

To Quote or Not to Quote

"By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote."... Read More

What To Expect From A Feng Shui Consultation

If you are wishing to harmonize or balance your house... Read More

Nessie, the Beast of the Loch

They were fierce hill tribes in what is now Scotland,... Read More