Pinyin was created in the 1950s by a team led by linguist Zhou Youguang, and China adopted it in 1958. It became the international standard for romanising Chinese in 1982, which is why you see “Beijing” today and not the older “Peking”.<\/p>\n

Free to start \u00b7 Only 5 minutes a day<\/p>\n

Learn pinyin the easy way: in a real story at your level<\/p>\n

Each story is written for your level, so you understand it from day one. Stuck on a word? Tap it for pinyin, meaning, examples and native audio. No textbooks, no flashcards.<\/p>\n

Read my first story free \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

How a pinyin syllable works<\/h2>\n
Every Chinese character is one syllable. In pinyin, a syllable has up to three parts:<\/p>\n
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Initial:<\/strong> the consonant at the start (the m<\/strong> in m\u01ce)<\/li>\n
Final:<\/strong> the vowel part (the a<\/strong> in m\u01ce)<\/li>\n
Tone:<\/strong> the pitch, shown by the mark (the \u02c7<\/strong> in m\u01ce)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Mandarin has only about 400 syllables, before tones. Learn the initials and finals below and you can read any of them.<\/p>\n
Pinyin initials chart (the consonants)<\/h2>\n
There are 21 initials, plus y and w, which behave like initials in spelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Initial<\/th>\n Sounds like<\/th>\n Example<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
b<\/td>\n p in “spin” (no puff of air)<\/td>\n b\u0101 \u516b eight<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
p<\/td>\n p in “pie” (with a puff of air)<\/td>\n p\u00e0 \u6015 afraid<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
m<\/td>\n m in “me”<\/td>\n m\u0101 \u5988 mum<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
f<\/td>\n f in “far”<\/td>\n f\u00e0n \u996d rice, meal<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
d<\/td>\n t in “stop” (no puff)<\/td>\n d\u00e0 \u5927 big<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
t<\/td>\n t in “top” (with a puff)<\/td>\n t\u0101 \u4ed6 he<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
n<\/td>\n n in “no”<\/td>\n n\u01d0 \u4f60 you<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
l<\/td>\n l in “love”<\/td>\n l\u00e1i \u6765 come<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
g<\/td>\n k in “skip” (no puff)<\/td>\n g\u00e8 \u4e2a (measure word)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
k<\/td>\n k in “kite” (with a puff)<\/td>\n k\u00e0n \u770b look<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
h<\/td>\n h in “hot”, a little throatier<\/td>\n h\u01ceo \u597d good<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
j<\/td>\n j in “jeep”, tongue flat behind the lower teeth<\/td>\n ji\u0101 \u5bb6 home<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
q<\/td>\n ch in “cheap”, tongue flat<\/td>\n q\u00f9 \u53bb go<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
x<\/td>\n sh in “sheep”, tongue flat, lips spread<\/td>\n xi\u00e8 \u8c22 thank<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
zh<\/td>\n j in “judge”, tongue curled back<\/td>\n zh\u014dng \u4e2d middle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ch<\/td>\n ch in “church”, tongue curled back<\/td>\n ch\u012b \u5403 eat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sh<\/td>\n sh in “shirt”, tongue curled back<\/td>\n sh\u00ec \u662f is<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
r<\/td>\n between r in “run” and s in “pleasure”<\/td>\n r\u00e9n \u4eba person<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
z<\/td>\n ds in “kids”<\/td>\n z\u00e0i \u5728 at<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
c<\/td>\n ts in “cats”, with a puff<\/td>\n c\u00e0i \u83dc dish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
s<\/td>\n s in “sun”<\/td>\n s\u0101n \u4e09 three<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
The 3 groups that confuse everyone:<\/strong> j\/q\/x (tongue flat), zh\/ch\/sh (tongue curled back) and z\/c\/s (tongue behind the front teeth). Say x\u012b (\u897f) and sh\u012b (\u8bd7) one after the other and feel your tongue move.<\/p>\n
Pinyin finals chart (the vowels)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Group<\/th>\n Finals<\/th>\n Tips<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Simple<\/td>\n a, o, e, i, u, \u00fc<\/td>\n a as in “father”. e is like “uh”. \u00fc: say “ee” with rounded lips.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Compound<\/td>\n ai, ei, ao, ou<\/td>\n ai = “eye”, ei = “hey”, ao = “now”, ou = “go”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nasal<\/td>\n an, en, ang, eng, ong<\/td>\n -n is short and light; -ng sits at the back, as in “sing”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Starting with i<\/td>\n ia, ie, iao, iu, ian, in, iang, ing, iong<\/td>\n ian sounds like “yen”, not “yan”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Starting with u<\/td>\n ua, uo, uai, ui, uan, un, uang<\/td>\n ui sounds like “way”, uo like “war” without the r<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Starting with \u00fc<\/td>\n \u00fce, \u00fcan, \u00fcn<\/td>\n Only after j, q, x, y and l\/n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Special<\/td>\n er<\/td>\n Like “are” in American English<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
A trap:<\/strong> after z, c, s, zh, ch, sh and r, the letter i isn’t “ee”. In s\u00ec (\u56db) and sh\u00ec (\u662f), it’s a buzzy sound that just carries on from the consonant.<\/p>\n
The 4 tones (plus one)<\/h2>\n
Tones change meaning. The same syllable “ma” can be five different words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Tone<\/th>\n Mark<\/th>\n How it sounds<\/th>\n Example<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
1st<\/td>\n m\u0101<\/td>\n High and flat, like holding a note<\/td>\n \u5988 mum<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2nd<\/td>\n m\u00e1<\/td>\n Rising, like asking “huh?”<\/td>\n \u9ebb hemp<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3rd<\/td>\n m\u01ce<\/td>\n Low, dips then rises<\/td>\n \u9a6c horse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4th<\/td>\n m\u00e0<\/td>\n Sharp and falling, like “No!”<\/td>\n \u9a82 scold<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Neutral<\/td>\n ma<\/td>\n Short and light, no mark<\/td>\n \u5417 (question word)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Where the tone mark goes:<\/strong> on a or e if there is one (h\u01ceo, xi\u00e8). In ou, on the o (d\u014du). Otherwise on the last vowel (gu\u00ec, li\u00f9).<\/p>\n
3 tone changes nobody tells you about<\/h2>\n
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Two 3rd tones in a row:<\/strong> the first becomes a 2nd tone. \u4f60\u597d is written n\u01d0 h\u01ceo but said n\u00ed h\u01ceo.<\/li>\n
\u4e0d (b\u00f9) before a 4th tone<\/strong> becomes b\u00fa: \u4e0d\u662f b\u00fa sh\u00ec.<\/li>\n
\u4e00 (y\u012b)<\/strong> becomes y\u00ed before a 4th tone (\u4e00\u4e2a y\u00ed g\u00e8) and y\u00ec before the other tones (\u4e00\u5929 y\u00ec ti\u0101n). When counting, it stays y\u012b.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Spelling rules that look strange at first<\/h2>\n
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When i, u or \u00fc start a syllable, they’re written yi, wu, yu (or y-, w-).<\/li>\n
After j, q, x and y, \u00fc is written plain u: ju, qu, xu, yu are all \u00fc sounds.<\/li>\n
iu, ui and un are short for iou, uei and uen. Say them with the hidden vowel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
How to type in pinyin<\/h2>\n
Add a Chinese (Pinyin) keyboard on your phone or computer, type the letters without tones (nihao), and pick the characters you want. See our guide to the Chinese keyboard and how to type in Chinese<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Don’t stay on pinyin too long<\/h2>\n
Pinyin gets you started, but real Chinese (menus, messages, books) is written in characters. The learners who progress fastest read characters early with pinyin as a backup, then turn the backup off. Reading short stories at your level is the easiest way to make that switch, because the context tells you what a character means before you’ve memorised it.<\/p>\n
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Read real Chinese in 5 minutes a day<\/p>\n
Tell us your level (or take a quick test) and get a short story written for it every day. Native audio, tap-to-translate and a 1-minute quiz, so you can see it’s sticking.<\/p>\n
Get my free story \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Pinyin FAQ<\/h2>\n
Is pinyin a language?<\/strong>
\nNo. It’s a way of writing Mandarin sounds with Latin letters. The language is Mandarin.<\/p>\n
How long does it take to learn pinyin?<\/strong>
\nMost learners can read pinyin in 1\u20132 weeks of short daily practice. The tones take longer to hear and say reliably.<\/p>\n
Do Chinese people use pinyin?<\/strong>
\nYes, mainly for typing, children’s books, dictionaries and street signs. Everyday reading is in characters.<\/p>\n
Is pinyin used in Taiwan?<\/strong>
\nTaiwan adopted Hanyu Pinyin for romanisation in 2009, but children learn Zhuyin (bopomofo), not pinyin, and older spellings like “Taipei” are still common.<\/p>\n
Can I learn Chinese with only pinyin?<\/strong>
\nYou can learn to speak, but you won’t be able to read. Pair pinyin with characters from the start.<\/p>\n

How to type in pinyin<\/h2>\nAdd a Chinese (Pinyin) keyboard on your phone or computer, type the letters without tones (nihao), and pick the characters you want. See our guide to the Chinese keyboard and how to type in Chinese<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How to type in pinyin<\/h2>\n
Add a Chinese (Pinyin) keyboard on your phone or computer, type the letters without tones (nihao), and pick the characters you want. See our guide to the Chinese keyboard and how to type in Chinese<\/a>.<\/p>\n