Mandarin

Pinyin

Initial Pronunciation

Learning Objectives


The initials themselves can be pronounced in “real voice”. However, the real voice is extremely weak in nature.


For the sake of the convenience of teaching Mandarin Chinese, we put initials with vowel

that is finals to make them pronounce louder and clearer.


The sounds produced by the initials combined with the finals are the “breath sounds”.


Here they are, let’s pronounce the initials one by one.

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Learning Video

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Listen Again

1. Labial Initials

b  p  m  f

00:00 / 00:07

2. Dental Initials

d  t  n  l

00:00 / 00:07

3. Velar Initials

g  k  h

00:00 / 00:06

4. Palatal Initials

j  q  x

00:00 / 00:05

5. Flat Tongue Initials

z  c  s

00:00 / 00:05

6. Curled Tongue Initials

zh  ch  sh  r

00:00 / 00:07

Additional Notes

Recap we have the following initials:


* Labial Initials: b, p, m, f


* Dental Initials: d, t, n, l


* Velar Initials: g, k, h


* Palatal Initials: j, q, x


* Flat Tongue Initials: z, c, s


* Curled Tongue Initials: zh, ch, sh, r