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105 <h2 id="a-quick-guide-to-pronouncing-chinese-words">A quick guide to pronouncing Chinese words</h2>
106 <p>2018-05-12 00:00</p>
107 <p>Below is a quick write-up and reference guide for anyone who wants to get an idea of how to pronounce chinese words, names, etc.</p>
108 <p>I’ve written this guide because I’ve heard too many people mispronounce Chinese words and names throughout my entire university life. Most of the time, the pronunciations were so off that it was not recognized by the Chinese speaker. I’ve heard professors, employers, friends and professionals alike all struggle with trying to figure out how a Chinese name or word should be pronounced based on their <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transliteration">transliterated</a> spelling in English.</p>
109 <h3 id="where-can-i-apply-this-guide">Where can I apply this guide?</h3>
110 <p>The tips that I will be giving you in this guide will not only be applicable to words and names, but they can also be applied to restaurant names, food items, signs, and anything that is using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin">Pinyin</a>.</p>
111 <aside class="border">
112 <p>
113 <strong>Note</strong>: Pinyin does not work with Cantonese or any other dialects of Chinese.
114 </p>
115 </aside>
116 <h3 id="how-can-i-learn-pronunciation-from-text">How can I learn pronunciation from text?</h3>
117 <p>You will learn how to pronounce the sounds via Pinyin, it is the standard pronunciation for Mandarin Chinese, which is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingua_franca">lingua franca</a> of Mainland China. The Pinyin will then be referenced to a similar sound in English (plus one French sound), as seen in the table below.</p>
118 <aside class="border">
119 <p>
120 <strong>Note</strong>: These sounds are not perfect equivalents; they are only approximations. If you want to be able to pronounce Chinese more accurately, I advise you to study the actual native Chinese sounds and tones associated with the Pinyin on your own time.
121 </p>
122 </aside>
123 <h3 id="quick-reference-guide">Quick reference guide</h3>
124 <table>
125 <caption>
126 Pinyin consonants
127 </caption>
128 <thead>
129 <tr>
130 <th>
131 Pinyin consonant
132 </th>
133 <th>
134 Similar English sound
135 </th>
136 </tr>
137 </thead>
138 <tbody>
139 <tr>
140 <td>
141 B
142 </td>
143 <td>
144 <strong>B</strong>oy
145 </td>
146 </tr>
147 <tr>
148 <td>
149 C
150 </td>
151 <td>
152 Mit<strong>ts</strong>
153 </td>
154 </tr>
155 <tr>
156 <td>
157 D
158 </td>
159 <td>
160 <strong>D</strong>og
161 </td>
162 </tr>
163 <tr>
164 <td>
165 F
166 </td>
167 <td>
168 <strong>F</strong>un
169 </td>
170 </tr>
171 <tr>
172 <td>
173 G
174 </td>
175 <td>
176 <strong>G</strong>ood
177 </td>
178 </tr>
179 <tr>
180 <td>
181 H
182 </td>
183 <td>
184 <strong>H</strong>at
185 </td>
186 </tr>
187 <tr>
188 <td>
189 J
190 </td>
191 <td>
192 <strong>J</strong>ohn
193 </td>
194 </tr>
195 <tr>
196 <td>
197 K
198 </td>
199 <td>
200 <strong>C</strong>at
201 </td>
202 </tr>
203 <tr>
204 <td>
205 L
206 </td>
207 <td>
208 <strong>L</strong>ove
209 </td>
210 </tr>
211 <tr>
212 <td>
213 M
214 </td>
215 <td>
216 <strong>M</strong>other
217 </td>
218 </tr>
219 <tr>
220 <td>
221 N
222 </td>
223 <td>
224 <strong>N</strong>o
225 </td>
226 </tr>
227 <tr>
228 <td>
229 P
230 </td>
231 <td>
232 <strong>P</strong>eople
233 </td>
234 </tr>
235 <tr>
236 <td>
237 Q
238 </td>
239 <td>
240 <strong>Ch</strong>icken
241 </td>
242 </tr>
243 <tr>
244 <td>
245 R
246 </td>
247 <td>
248 <strong>J</strong>aune (from French)
249 </td>
250 </tr>
251 <tr>
252 <td>
253 S
254 </td>
255 <td>
256 <strong>S</strong>un
257 </td>
258 </tr>
259 <tr>
260 <td>
261 Sh
262 </td>
263 <td>
264 <strong>Sh</strong>ower
265 </td>
266 </tr>
267 <tr>
268 <td>
269 T
270 </td>
271 <td>
272 <strong>T</strong>omorrow
273 </td>
274 </tr>
275 <tr>
276 <td>
277 W
278 </td>
279 <td>
280 <strong>W</strong>hy
281 </td>
282 </tr>
283 <tr>
284 <td>
285 X
286 </td>
287 <td>
288 <strong>Sh</strong>ower
289 </td>
290 </tr>
291 <tr>
292 <td>
293 Y
294 </td>
295 <td>
296 <strong>Y</strong>es
297 </td>
298 </tr>
299 <tr>
300 <td>
301 Z
302 </td>
303 <td>
304 Ki<strong>ds</strong>
305 </td>
306 </tr>
307 <tr>
308 <td>
309 ZH
310 </td>
311 <td>
312 <strong>J</strong>ohn
313 </td>
314 </tr>
315 </tbody>
316 </table>
317 <table>
318 <caption>
319 Pinyin vowels
320 </caption>
321 <thead>
322 <tr>
323 <th>
324 Pinyin vowel
325 </th>
326 <th>
327 Similar English sound
328 </th>
329 </tr>
330 </thead>
331 <tbody>
332 <tr>
333 <td>
334 A
335 </td>
336 <td>
337 C<strong>a</strong>t
338 </td>
339 </tr>
340 <tr>
341 <td>
342 Ai
343 </td>
344 <td>
345 Fl<strong>y</strong>
346 </td>
347 </tr>
348 <tr>
349 <td>
350 Ang
351 </td>
352 <td>
353 S<strong>ong</strong>
354 </td>
355 </tr>
356 <tr>
357 <td>
358 E
359 </td>
360 <td>
361 F<strong>oo</strong>t
362 </td>
363 </tr>
364 <tr>
365 <td>
366 Eng
367 </td>
368 <td>
369 S<strong>ung</strong>
370 </td>
371 </tr>
372 <tr>
373 <td>
374 I in Bi, Di, Ji, Li, Mi, Ni, Pi, Qi, Ti, Xi
375 </td>
376 <td>
377 M<strong>e</strong>
378 </td>
379 </tr>
380 <tr>
381 <td>
382 I in Si, Shi, Ci, Chi, Zi, Zhi, Ri
383 </td>
384 <td>
385 F<strong>i</strong>sh
386 </td>
387 </tr>
388 <tr>
389 <td>
390 Ia
391 </td>
392 <td>
393 <strong>Ya</strong>
394 </td>
395 </tr>
396 <tr>
397 <td>
398 Iang
399 </td>
400 <td>
401 <strong>Yaw</strong>n + walki<strong>ng</strong> = <strong>Yawng</strong>
402 </td>
403 </tr>
404 <tr>
405 <td>
406 Iao
407 </td>
408 <td>
409 M<strong>eow</strong>
410 </td>
411 </tr>
412 <tr>
413 <td>
414 Ing
415 </td>
416 <td>
417 Walk<strong>ing</strong>
418 </td>
419 </tr>
420 <tr>
421 <td>
422 O
423 </td>
424 <td>
425 B<strong>o</strong>y
426 </td>
427 </tr>
428 <tr>
429 <td>
430 Ou
431 </td>
432 <td>
433 Bl<strong>ow</strong>
434 </td>
435 </tr>
436 <tr>
437 <td>
438 U
439 </td>
440 <td>
441 Tr<strong>ue</strong>
442 </td>
443 </tr>
444 <tr>
445 <td>
446 Ua
447 </td>
448 <td>
449 <strong>Wa</strong>tch
450 </td>
451 </tr>
452 <tr>
453 <td>
454 Uai
455 </td>
456 <td>
457 <strong>Why</strong>
458 </td>
459 </tr>
460 <tr>
461 <td>
462 Ue
463 </td>
464 <td>
465 <strong>We</strong>dding
466 </td>
467 </tr>
468 <tr>
469 <td>
470 Ui
471 </td>
472 <td>
473 <strong>Way</strong>
474 </td>
475 </tr>
476 </tbody>
477 </table>
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