Mandarin Pinyin

English Equivalent

ai

As the “ai”-sounds in “byes”, “bike”, “high“.

uai / wai

English “w” + Pinyin “ai“. Compare with the English word “why“. The spelling “wai” is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.

ei

As the “ay”-sounds in “cake”, “say“.

uei / ui / wei

The spelling “uei” is never used, but describes the sound best. Compare with the initial sounds in “waiter”, “wage”. Try to pronounce the “ê“, even if it is not explicitly written a syllable such as “hui”. The spelling “wei” is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.

ao

As the “ow” in “how“, “down”.

iao / yao

As the “ya”-sounds in “maya“, “playa” followed by an English “w”. The spelling “yao” is used when there is no consonant in the beginning of a syllable.