Reading 4 · From pinyin to characters
Pinyin represents Mandarin sounds; do not read it as English. Compare the air in b/d/g and p/t/k. ü differs from u. Learn characters, meanings and pinyin together.
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Examples
Find a form in the table, then spot it in an example word. Try reading, listen, and read again with the hint covered.
| Written form | Reading hint |
|---|---|
| 人 | rén |
| 口 | kǒu |
| 日 | rì |
| 月 | yuè |
| 山 | shān |
| 水 | shuǐ |
Hints are aids. Slashes enclose IPA; other Latin text is a reading guide for that language. Spelling does not predict every detail of speech.
New examples use the matching device voice. Listening may be unavailable without it. Synthetic speech is a reference; native-speaker review is pending.
人
rén
Look for: 人
口
kǒu
Look for: 口
日
rì
Look for: 日
月
yuè
Look for: 月
山
shān
Look for: 山
水
shuǐ
Look for: 水
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Listen to the sounds.
Read without the hint
Read the original first, then open it to check the hint and meaning.
人
rén
Look for: 人
口
kǒu
Look for: 口
日
rì
Look for: 日
月
yuè
Look for: 月
山
shān
Look for: 山
水
shuǐ
Look for: 水
Your turn
人
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