2 Simple Finals and Initials
There are six basic simple vowels or finals in Chinese: a, o, e, i, u, ü.
| Simple Finals | Compare to English |
|---|---|
| a | similar to “ah” in the English “Ah-hah!” |
| o | as the “o” in “often” |
| e | similar to “er” in the English “her,” without the tongue curling up. |
| i | similar to “ee” in the English “see” |
| u | similar to “oo” in the English “food” |
| ü | This is a special one, because there is not an alternative in English. It’s similar to the sound “u,” but with the lips pouting up a little. |
Please watch the video below and learn how to pronounce them:
There are 21 initials/consonants in Chinese: b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l, g, k, h, j, q, x, z, c, s, zh, ch, sh, and r. In addition, there are two half-vowels: y and w. Watch the video below to learn how to pronounce them:
