The Chinese Writing System and Pinyin
Chinese is written using characters (汉字 hànzì), each representing a syllable and often a meaning. Unlike alphabetic writing systems, Chinese characters do not represent sounds in the same way as letters do.
To help learners with pronunciation, the Pinyin system was developed. Pinyin is a romanization system that uses Latin letters to approximate the sounds of Mandarin Chinese. For example, the character 你 (you) is written as “nǐ” in Pinyin.
Tip: On this site you can click on any Chinese character to see its pronunciation and pinyin!
Four Tones and Pronunciation Rules
Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language, meaning that the pitch at which a syllable is pronounced can change its meaning. There are four tones in Mandarin:
- First tone ( ˉ ): High and level (e.g., mā 妈 – “mother”)
- Second tone ( ˊ ): Rising (e.g., má 麻 – “hemp”)
- Third tone ( ˇ ): Falling then rising (e.g., mǎ 马 – “horse”)
- Fourth tone ( ˋ ): Sharp and falling (e.g., mà 骂 – “scold”)
The pronunciation of Pinyin follows standard rules, but some sounds may be challenging. For example:
- “x” sounds like “sh” in English (e.g., xī – “west”)
- “q” sounds like “ch” in English (e.g., qì – “air”)
- “zh” sounds like “j” in “jungle” (e.g., zhōng – “middle”)
Basic Greetings
Learning a few common greetings is a great way to start speaking Chinese. Here are some essential phrases:
- 你好 (nǐ hǎo) – Hello
- 再见 (zàijiàn) – Goodbye
- 谢谢 (xièxiè) – Thank you
- 不客气 (bú kèqì) – You’re welcome
- 请问 (qǐngwèn) – Excuse me (before asking a question)