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20 <h2 id="a-quick-guide-to-pronouncing-chinese-words">A quick guide to pronouncing Chinese words</h2>
21 <p>2018-05-12 00:00</p>
22 <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>
23 <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>
24 <h3 id="where-can-i-apply-this-guide">Where can I apply this guide?</h3>
25 <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>
26 <aside class="border">
27 <p>
28 <strong>Note</strong>: Pinyin does not work with Cantonese or any other dialects of Chinese.
29 </p>
30 </aside>
31 <h3 id="how-can-i-learn-pronunciation-from-text">How can I learn pronunciation from text?</h3>
32 <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>
33 <aside class="border">
34 <p>
35 <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.
36 </p>
37 </aside>
38 <h3 id="quick-reference-guide">Quick reference guide</h3>
39 <table>
40 <caption>
41 Pinyin consonants
42 </caption>
43 <thead>
44 <tr>
45 <th>
46 Pinyin consonant
47 </th>
48 <th>
49 Similar English sound
50 </th>
51 </tr>
52 </thead>
53 <tbody>
54 <tr>
55 <td>
56 B
57 </td>
58 <td>
59 <strong>B</strong>oy
60 </td>
61 </tr>
62 <tr>
63 <td>
64 C
65 </td>
66 <td>
67 Mit<strong>ts</strong>
68 </td>
69 </tr>
70 <tr>
71 <td>
72 D
73 </td>
74 <td>
75 <strong>D</strong>og
76 </td>
77 </tr>
78 <tr>
79 <td>
80 F
81 </td>
82 <td>
83 <strong>F</strong>un
84 </td>
85 </tr>
86 <tr>
87 <td>
88 G
89 </td>
90 <td>
91 <strong>G</strong>ood
92 </td>
93 </tr>
94 <tr>
95 <td>
96 H
97 </td>
98 <td>
99 <strong>H</strong>at
100 </td>
101 </tr>
102 <tr>
103 <td>
104 J
105 </td>
106 <td>
107 <strong>J</strong>ohn
108 </td>
109 </tr>
110 <tr>
111 <td>
112 K
113 </td>
114 <td>
115 <strong>C</strong>at
116 </td>
117 </tr>
118 <tr>
119 <td>
120 L
121 </td>
122 <td>
123 <strong>L</strong>ove
124 </td>
125 </tr>
126 <tr>
127 <td>
128 M
129 </td>
130 <td>
131 <strong>M</strong>other
132 </td>
133 </tr>
134 <tr>
135 <td>
136 N
137 </td>
138 <td>
139 <strong>N</strong>o
140 </td>
141 </tr>
142 <tr>
143 <td>
144 P
145 </td>
146 <td>
147 <strong>P</strong>eople
148 </td>
149 </tr>
150 <tr>
151 <td>
152 Q
153 </td>
154 <td>
155 <strong>Ch</strong>icken
156 </td>
157 </tr>
158 <tr>
159 <td>
160 R
161 </td>
162 <td>
163 <strong>J</strong>aune (from French)
164 </td>
165 </tr>
166 <tr>
167 <td>
168 S
169 </td>
170 <td>
171 <strong>S</strong>un
172 </td>
173 </tr>
174 <tr>
175 <td>
176 Sh
177 </td>
178 <td>
179 <strong>Sh</strong>ower
180 </td>
181 </tr>
182 <tr>
183 <td>
184 T
185 </td>
186 <td>
187 <strong>T</strong>omorrow
188 </td>
189 </tr>
190 <tr>
191 <td>
192 W
193 </td>
194 <td>
195 <strong>W</strong>hy
196 </td>
197 </tr>
198 <tr>
199 <td>
200 X
201 </td>
202 <td>
203 <strong>Sh</strong>ower
204 </td>
205 </tr>
206 <tr>
207 <td>
208 Y
209 </td>
210 <td>
211 <strong>Y</strong>es
212 </td>
213 </tr>
214 <tr>
215 <td>
216 Z
217 </td>
218 <td>
219 Ki<strong>ds</strong>
220 </td>
221 </tr>
222 <tr>
223 <td>
224 ZH
225 </td>
226 <td>
227 <strong>J</strong>ohn
228 </td>
229 </tr>
230 </tbody>
231 </table>
232 <table>
233 <caption>
234 Pinyin vowels
235 </caption>
236 <thead>
237 <tr>
238 <th>
239 Pinyin vowel
240 </th>
241 <th>
242 Similar English sound
243 </th>
244 </tr>
245 </thead>
246 <tbody>
247 <tr>
248 <td>
249 A
250 </td>
251 <td>
252 C<strong>a</strong>t
253 </td>
254 </tr>
255 <tr>
256 <td>
257 Ai
258 </td>
259 <td>
260 Fl<strong>y</strong>
261 </td>
262 </tr>
263 <tr>
264 <td>
265 Ang
266 </td>
267 <td>
268 S<strong>ong</strong>
269 </td>
270 </tr>
271 <tr>
272 <td>
273 E
274 </td>
275 <td>
276 F<strong>oo</strong>t
277 </td>
278 </tr>
279 <tr>
280 <td>
281 Eng
282 </td>
283 <td>
284 S<strong>ung</strong>
285 </td>
286 </tr>
287 <tr>
288 <td>
289 I in Bi, Di, Ji, Li, Mi, Ni, Pi, Qi, Ti, Xi
290 </td>
291 <td>
292 M<strong>e</strong>
293 </td>
294 </tr>
295 <tr>
296 <td>
297 I in Si, Shi, Ci, Chi, Zi, Zhi, Ri
298 </td>
299 <td>
300 F<strong>i</strong>sh
301 </td>
302 </tr>
303 <tr>
304 <td>
305 Ia
306 </td>
307 <td>
308 <strong>Ya</strong>
309 </td>
310 </tr>
311 <tr>
312 <td>
313 Iang
314 </td>
315 <td>
316 <strong>Yaw</strong>n + walki<strong>ng</strong> = <strong>Yawng</strong>
317 </td>
318 </tr>
319 <tr>
320 <td>
321 Iao
322 </td>
323 <td>
324 M<strong>eow</strong>
325 </td>
326 </tr>
327 <tr>
328 <td>
329 Ing
330 </td>
331 <td>
332 Walk<strong>ing</strong>
333 </td>
334 </tr>
335 <tr>
336 <td>
337 O
338 </td>
339 <td>
340 B<strong>o</strong>y
341 </td>
342 </tr>
343 <tr>
344 <td>
345 Ou
346 </td>
347 <td>
348 Bl<strong>ow</strong>
349 </td>
350 </tr>
351 <tr>
352 <td>
353 U
354 </td>
355 <td>
356 Tr<strong>ue</strong>
357 </td>
358 </tr>
359 <tr>
360 <td>
361 Ua
362 </td>
363 <td>
364 <strong>Wa</strong>tch
365 </td>
366 </tr>
367 <tr>
368 <td>
369 Uai
370 </td>
371 <td>
372 <strong>Why</strong>
373 </td>
374 </tr>
375 <tr>
376 <td>
377 Ue
378 </td>
379 <td>
380 <strong>We</strong>dding
381 </td>
382 </tr>
383 <tr>
384 <td>
385 Ui
386 </td>
387 <td>
388 <strong>Way</strong>
389 </td>
390 </tr>
391 </tbody>
392 </table>
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