The Chinese Alphabet: Pinyin A–Z
Chinese is written with characters, not letters — there is no Chinese ABC. What learners call the Chinese alphabet is pinyin: the official system that writes Mandarin with the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet. Everything below plays a real recording.
The whole system in one box
- Letters
- 26
- Initials
- 21
- Finals
- 36
- Whole syllables
- 16
Same 26 as English, A–Z
Consonants, plus y and w in writing
24 of them in most textbooks
Memorised as one piece
Everything combines into 401 syllables, and each one can carry four tones plus the neutral tone — that is the whole sound system of Mandarin. See all of them in the chart →
The 26 letters
Three letters are the odd ones out. v is not used in pinyin at all — it only exists on keyboards as a shortcut for ü. y and w are not initials either: they are how a syllable with no initial is written (i → yi, u → wu, ü → yu). Every other letter is either an initial or part of a final.
The speaker in each row plays the call sound: b is read bō, never "bee", because a bare consonant cannot be said on its own. The name shown next to each letter is the letter name from the official alphabet table — it is a third thing again, and only needed if you are spelling out loud.
| Letter | Used as | Sounds like | Hear it | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaname: a | final | like "a" in father | ||
| Bbname: bê | initial | like "p" in spot — unaspirated, no puff of air | ||
| Ccname: cê | initial | like "ts" in cats — with a puff of air | ||
| Ddname: dê | initial | like "t" in stop — unaspirated | ||
| Eename: e | final | like "ur" in fur, without the r-colouring | ||
| Ffname: êf | initial | like "f" in fun | ||
| Ggname: gê | initial | like "k" in sky — unaspirated | ||
| Hhname: ha | initial | like "h" in hat, but rougher, from further back | ||
| Iiname: i | final | like "ee" in see; after z c s zh ch sh r it becomes a buzzing sound | ||
| Jjname: jie | initial | like "j" in jeep, tongue flat against the ridge, no puff | ||
| Kkname: kê | initial | like "k" in kite — with a puff of air | ||
| Llname: êl | initial | like "l" in love | ||
| Mmname: êm | initial | like "m" in moon | ||
| Nnname: nê | initial & final | like "n" in no; it also ends syllables (an, en, ang) | ||
| Ooname: o | final | like "o" in more, lips rounded | ||
| Ppname: pê | initial | like "p" in pin — with a puff of air | ||
| Qqname: qiu | initial | like "ch" in cheese, tongue flat and no puff | ||
| Rrname: ar | initial | like "r" in run with the tongue curled back, no trill | ||
| Ssname: ês | initial | like "s" in sun | ||
| Ttname: tê | initial | like "t" in top — with a puff of air | ||
| Uuname: u | final | like "oo" in food | ||
| Vvname: vê | keyboard only | not used in pinyin spelling — on a keyboard v is typed for ü | not used in pinyin spelling | |
| Wwname: wa | spelling rule | not an initial: written at the start of syllables with no initial (wu, wo, wang) | ||
| Xxname: xi | initial | like "sh" in she, but softer and further forward | ||
| Yyname: ya | spelling rule | not an initial: written before i and ü syllables (yi, ye, yu) | ||
| Zzname: zê | initial | like "ds" in kids — unaspirated |
Initials — 21 consonants
An initial is the consonant a syllable starts with. They are grouped below by where the sound is made, which is the order Chinese textbooks use — it makes the pairs obvious: b/p, d/t, g/k, j/q, zh/ch and z/c are the same mouth shape, once without and once with a puff of air.
The speaker plays the call sound of each initial: bō, pō, mō — never "bee", because a consonant alone is not audible.
Bilabial
Both lips together. b and p use the same mouth shape — p pushes air out, b does not.
Alveolar
Tongue tip on the ridge behind the upper teeth. n lets the air out through the nose, l around the sides.
Velar
Back of the tongue against the soft palate — the same aspirated/unaspirated pair as b and p.
Palatal
Front of the tongue close to the hard palate. j, q and x only combine with i and ü.
Retroflex
Tongue tip curled up towards the ridge, with the blade hollowed — the "hard" version of z, c and s.
Dental sibilant
Tongue tip behind the lower front teeth — the "flat" version of zh, ch and sh.
y and w
Not initials. Chinese textbooks list 23 of them, but y and w only appear in writing: a syllable with no initial is spelled with y or w (i → yi, u → wu, ü → yu).
Finals — 36 vowel sounds
The final is the vowel part of a syllable. Most textbooks list 24 of them; the complete set is 36 — the other 12 are written as one piece but are really a glide (i, u or ü) plus another final, which is why our chart has 36 columns.
A few finals cannot be said on their own: i, u and ü are written yi, wu, yu when they form a syllable, and eng and ong only exist inside a syllable. Where that happens the button plays the closest real syllable and the row says which one.
Simple finals
One letter, one steady sound: the mouth shape does not move while you say it.
Compound finals
Two letters gliding into one sound. Note that ui is u + ei and iu is i + ou.
- ai
like "y" in my
- ei
like "ay" in day
- ui
u + ei, like "way" without the w
- ao
like "ow" in how
- ou
like "o" in go
- iu
i + ou, like "yo" in yoga + u
- ie
like "ye" in yes
- üe
ü + e, like "yue" in yule
- er
like "er" in her (American), tongue curled back
Front nasal finals
Ends in -n: the tongue tip touches the ridge behind the upper teeth.
Back nasal finals
Ends in -ng: the back of the tongue lifts against the soft palate.
The other 12: glide + final
These make up the difference between the 24 finals of a textbook and the 36 in the full chart. They are written as one piece but read as a glide (i, u, ü) sliding into the final that follows it.
- ia
i + a, like "ya" in yard
- iao
i + ao, like "yow" in yowl
- ian
i + an, sounds like "yen"
- iang
i + ang
- iong
i + ong, sounds like "yoong"
- ua
u + a, like "wa" in wander
- uo
u + o, like "wo" in wonder
- uai
u + ai, like "why"
- uan
u + an, like "wan" in wander
- uang
u + ang, like "wang" in wangle
- ueng
u + eng, like "wung"
- üan
ü + an, like "ywen" said in one beat
Whole syllables — 16 you memorise as one piece
In a Chinese primary school these 16 syllables are taught whole, without blending the letters: you do not say "z-h-i", you simply say zhī. It is a teaching device rather than a separate sound system — every one of them is in the chart (zhī sits in the zh row, yī in the i column).
只zhǐ
吃chī
是shì
日rì
子zǐ
次cì
四sì
一yī
物wù
于yú
也yě
月yuè
员yuán
因yīn
运yùn
应yīng
The four tones
Every syllable above can carry one of four tones, plus the neutral tone. The tone mark sits over the main vowel, in the order a → o → e → last vowel. Same syllable, four meanings:
- 妈
first tone
mā
high and level
- 麻
second tone
má
rising
- 马
third tone
mǎ
dipping
- 骂
fourth tone
mà
falling
- 吗
neutral tone
ma
short and unstressed
Tones are not decoration — mā (mother) and mà (to scold) are different words. Record yourself and watch your pitch curve, or drill the 16 tone combinations in tone pairs.
Your browser has no Chinese voice installed. Almost everything here still plays — it uses our recorded audio — but the one entry without a recording (the call sound of f) will be silent.
Put it to use
- Pinyin chart All 401 syllables, arranged by initial and final.
- Tone trainer Say a syllable and compare your pitch curve with a native speaker.
- Minimal pairs zh/z, j/q, an/ang and 15 more pairs your ear has to separate.
- Shadowing Repeat after a recording and get scored on your pitch.
Characters that start with each letter
Every Chinese character whose pinyin begins with that letter, most common first.
Common questions
- Does Chinese have an alphabet?
- Chinese is written with characters, not letters, so there is no Chinese alphabet in the ABC sense — you cannot spell a Chinese word. What learners call the Chinese alphabet is pinyin: the official system that writes Mandarin pronunciation with the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet. Every character page on this site shows its pinyin.
- How many letters are in the Chinese alphabet?
- Pinyin uses 26 letters — the same 26 as English, in the same order, A to Z. Three of them work differently: v is only a keyboard shortcut for ü, and y and w are not consonants but the way a syllable with no initial is written (i becomes yi, u becomes wu). The sounds themselves come in 21 initials, 36 finals and four tones.
- Is pinyin pronounced like English?
- No. The letters are the same but most of the sounds are not: c is "ts" as in cats, q is "ch" as in cheese with the tongue flat, x is "sh" as in she but softer, z is "ds" as in kids, and i after z, c, s, zh, ch, sh or r is a buzzing vowel, not "ee".
- Should I learn pinyin before characters?
- Yes — pinyin is how you look words up, how you type Chinese on a phone, and the only reliable way to note pronunciation. Most courses spend the first two weeks on it. Start with the initials and finals above, then drill tones until they are automatic.