The initial is the consonant a syllable starts with. A consonant can't be said on its own, so each one is demonstrated with the support vowel Chinese schools use to name it — which is why b is read “bo” and j is read “ji”. Initials carry no tone of their own: the tone belongs to the whole syllable.
Lips
Tongue tip
Back of the mouth
Flat tongue
Curled tongue
Behind the teeth
The final is everything after the initial — the part that carries the tone.
Single vowels
Vowel pairs
Nasal endings
i- glides (ㄧ)
u- glides (ㄨ)
ü- glides (ㄩ)
Every Mandarin syllable, grouped by its initial, each with a button for all four tones.
∅ 36 syllables
16 syllables
17 syllables
19 syllables
9 syllables
21 syllables
19 syllables
23 syllables
26 syllables
19 syllables
18 syllables
19 syllables
14 syllables
14 syllables
14 syllables
20 syllables
18 syllables
19 syllables
14 syllables
17 syllables
16 syllables
16 syllables
How to use this chart
- Start with the initials. Twenty-one consonants, six mouth positions. The pairs to drill are the ones English doesn't separate: j / q / x with a flat tongue against zh / ch / sh with the tongue curled back, and the unaspirated b d g against the aspirated p t k.
- Then the finals. These carry the tone. Learn ü early (say “ee”, then round your lips) and read the spelling notes — the same final changes its written form depending on what comes before it.
- Then combine, with tones. In the full chart every syllable has four tone buttons. Play a syllable straight down — 1, 2, 3, 4 — and listen for the shape: flat, rising, dipping, falling. Then say it back before you play the next one.
Frequently asked questions
How many sounds are there in Mandarin Chinese?
Mandarin builds every syllable from just 21 initials (consonant starts) and 38 finals (vowel endings). They combine into 404 syllables, and each syllable can carry four tones — so the whole sound system of the language is a chart you can learn in a few sittings, not an open-ended list.
What is the difference between an initial and a final in pinyin?
An initial is the consonant a syllable starts with, such as b, m or zh. A final is the vowel part that follows, such as a, ao or iang. Pinyin writes the initial first and the final second: m + ao = mao. Initials are not pronounced with a tone of their own; the tone belongs to the whole syllable.
Do all Mandarin syllables exist in all four tones?
Every syllable in this chart is shown with all four tones, because any syllable can physically carry any tone. What varies is whether a common character exists for that combination: Taiwan's Ministry of Education marks those gaps with a circle in its official syllable tables, and this chart dims the few tones it has no sound for.
Does this pinyin table show zhuyin (bopomofo) as well?
Yes. Every initial, final and syllable shows its bopomofo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ) spelling alongside pinyin, and you can hide it with one button. Bopomofo is the phonetic system used in Taiwan's own schools, so if you are learning Taiwan Mandarin it is worth reading both.
Learn Chinese with Taiwan Lounge
Whether you're preparing for the TOCFL exam or looking for a step-by-step structured course, Taiwan Lounge has you covered. Book a free consultation with us.
Book a free consultationRecordings of the 37 bopomofo symbols are from The Manual of the Phonetic Symbols of Mandarin Chinese, © Ministry of Education, Republic of China (Taiwan), used under CC BY 4.0; they have been converted to MP3 and renamed, and are otherwise unaltered. Syllable and tone combinations are spoken by your own browser's speech synthesiser. Example characters and bopomofo readings are drawn from the TBCL — Taiwan Benchmarks for the Chinese Language, © National Academy for Educational Research (NAER).