Spelling and Pronunciation of Mandarin

Mandarin-English Simplified Pronunciation:

C - its Q - chin X - she Z - odds ZH - joe (other consonants as in English)

CI - ts/U/ SI - s/U/ ZI - dz/U/ CHI - chirr SHI - shirr ZHI - jirr

A - father AI - kite AO - how E - but EI - fade ER - are I - see IAN - ee-en IE - ee-eh O - awe ONG - /U/ng OU - joe U - zoo UE - you-eh UI - way UA - wah UO - waw UAN - wan

Notes:

1. Pronounce the boldface examples like standard American English. /U/ is the short "u" sound in (American English) "put."
2. There are many similar tables, on websites and in books, no two of them alike! Mandarin and English are so different that it is hard to decide what sounds the English speakers should use. Even educated native speakers can exhibit very different accents depending on their gender, individual background, etc.. Readers can find more information at New Concept Mandarin and similar websites.
3. The older Wade-Giles (soft "g," as in "jam") system of romanization is still (2006) used on Taiwan and in many books and articles. The following tables describe the differences between Wade-Giles and Pinyin. For example, the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, "Chung Ch'iu Chieh" in Wade-Giles, is spelled "Zhong Qiu Jie" in Pinyin.

Consonants Wade-Giles Pinyin Pronunciation p, p' b, p bee, pee t, t' d, t dee, tee k, k' g, k goo, koo ch, ch' zh, ch (before ih, a,o,u,e) jar, char ch, ch' j, q (before i, in, ing, ien, ü) gin, chin ts, ts' z, c dzoo, tsoo tzu, tz'u zi, ci dz/U/, ts/U/ ssu si soot j r run hs x shun final "h" (drop) (drop) hyphens (drop) (drop)

Vowels Wade-Giles Pinyin Pronunciation ien, yen ian, yan yen ü u zoo uei ui way ung ong /U/ng i (alone) yi yee

Dynasty Names Wade-Giles Pinyin Pronunciation Shang Shang shahng Chou Zhou Joe Ch'in Qin chin Han Han hahn Sui Sui sway T'ang Tang tahng Sung Song s/U/ng Chin Jin gin Yüan Yuan you-uhn Ming Ming ming Ch'ing Qing ching