Reading 1 · Pinyin vowels and initials
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 |
|---|---|
| a → 妈 | mā |
| o → 波 | bō |
| e → 哥 | gē |
| i → 米 | mǐ |
| u → 五 | wǔ |
| ü → 女 | nǚ |
| b / p | bā / pà |
| d / t | dà / tā |
| g / k | gē / kè |
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.
妈
mā
Look for: a
波
bō
Look for: o
哥
gē
Look for: e
米
mǐ
Look for: i
五
wǔ
Look for: u
女
nǚ
Look for: ü
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.
妈
mā
Look for: a
波
bō
Look for: o
哥
gē
Look for: e
米
mǐ
Look for: i
五
wǔ
Look for: u
女
nǚ
Look for: ü
Your turn
妈
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