| ‘Pinyin | IPA | Explanation | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| b | [p] | unaspirated p, as in spit | 宝贝 baǒbeì, baby; treasure |
| p | [pʰ] | as in English | 炮弹 pàodàn, bomb |
| m | [m] | as in English | 马车 mǎ chē, cart |
| f | [f] | as in English | 发财 fācaí, make fortune |
| d | [t] | unaspirated t, as in stand | 伟大 wěidà, great |
| t | [tʰ] | as in English | 太平 taìpíng, peaceful |
| n | [n] | as in English | 男人 nánren, man |
| l | [l] | as in English | 老人 lǎorén, old people |
| g | [k] | unaspirated k, as in skill | 格式 géshì, format |
| k | [kʰ] | as in English | 客人 kèren, guest |
| h | [x] | like the English h if followed by “a”; otherwise it is pronounced more roughly (not unlike the Scots ch) | 喝水 hēshuǐ, drinking water |
| j | [tɕ] | like q, but unaspirated. (To get this sound, first take the sound halfway between joke and check, and then slowly pass it backwards along the tongue until it is entirely clear of the tongue tip.) While this exact sound is not used in English, the closest match is the j in ajar, not the s in Asia; this means that “Beijing” is pronounced like “bay-jing”, not like “beige-ing”. | 教堂 jiàotáng, Eglise, church; 家 jiā, home or family |
| q | [tɕʰ] | like church; pass it backwards along the tongue until it is free of the tongue tip | 生气 shēngqì, angry |
| x | [ɕ] | like sh, but take the sound and pass it backwards along the tongue until it is clear of the tongue tip; very similar to the final sound in German ich, Portuguese enxada, luxo, xícara, puxa, and to huge or Hugh in some English dialects | 小孩 xiǎohaí, child |
| zh | [tʂ] | ch with no aspiration (take the sound halfway between joke and church and curl it upwards); very similar to merger in American English, but not voiced | 着火 zháohǔo, on fire |
| ch | [tʂʰ] | as in chin, but with the tongue curled upwards; very similar to nurture in American English, but strongly aspirated | 吃饭 chīfàn, eat dinner; 吵架 chǎojià, dispute |
| sh | [ʂ] | as in shinbone, but with the tongue curled upwards; very similar to undershirt in American English | 沙漠 shāmò, desert |
| r | [ɻ] | similar to the English r in rank, but with the lips spread and with the tongue curled upwards | 日 r(ì),sun; 热情 rèqíng, passion |
| z | [ts] | unaspirated c (halfway between beds and bets), (more common example is suds) | 妻子 qīzi, wife; 章子怡 Zhāng Zǐyí, Name of a Chinese actress. |
| c | [tsʰ] | like ts, aspirated (more common example is cats) | 小草 xǐaocǎo, grass; 次 cì, one time |
| s | [s] | as in sun | 拉萨 Lāsà, Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region; 苏州 sūzhoū, capital of the province of Jiansu, near Shanghai |
| y | [j] | as in English | 月亮 yuèliang, moon |
| w | [w] | as in English | 外国人 wàiguórén, foreigner |