Mandarin Pinyin

English Equivalent

zh

In this sound, the tongue is thrown forward from the curled back position. Rather similar to the “dj”-sound in “jam”, “jewels”, “George“.

ch

In this sound, the tongue is thrown forward from the curled back position. Rather similar to the “tch”-sound in “church“, “chain”.

sh

This sound is pronounced with the tongue resting in the curled back position. Somewhat similar to the “sh”-sound in “wash“, “shower”.

r

This sound is pronounced with the tongue vibrating in the curled back position. Somewhat similar to the “r”-sound in “war“, “raw”.

Mandarin Pinyin

English Equivalent

w

As in English. Special case: the syllable “wu” is pronounced as the Pinyin “u” (the letter “w” is in this case used to mark the beginning of a new syllable. See the following descriptions of simple finals!

y

As in the words “yes”, “yet”. Special cases: the syllable “yi is pronounced as the Pinyin “i” #1 and the syllable “yu” is pronounced as the Pinyin “ü” (the letter “y” is in these cases used to mark the beginning of new syllables). See the following descriptions of simple finals!