Finals (vowels)
PINYIN
Similar sound of English
Characteristics / Phonetic features
a
father
the front of the tongue down, lips are unrounded
i
feet
high, front, lips unrounded *the tongue is in the high-font position while the lips remain unrounded
ei
ray
mid-font, unrounded vowel gliding to a high-font unrounded vowel (the tongue moves from the mid-front position to a high-front one)
ai
eye
a low-front, unrounded vowel gliding to a high-front unrounded one
u
sue
the tongue is in the high-back position while the lips are rounded *to pronounce a pure vowel without making a slight glide as in an English 'u' vowel
ou
go
the tongue is in the mid-back position gliding to the high-back position.The lips are rounded slightly
ao
out
the tongue glides from a low-central position to a high-back position while the lips change from unrounded to rounded
an
front
this sound is a combination of two sounds. The 'n' is held lightly in position until the sound has been completely finished
ang
tongue
the 'ng' is a voiced, velar nasal. Remember to open your mouth wide to produce a clear 'a'. The 'ng' sound is held lightly in position until the sound has been completed
ong
own
the pinyin 'o' in this phonetic environment is pronunced like the mandarin 'u'. The 'ng' is held lightly in position until the sound has been completed
wu
wood
the lips aren't as tightly rounded as 'u', and aren't pushed as far forward as in 'u'
yi
each
lips unrounded and the tongue in the front-high position
uo
world
not to move the lips and tongue until the 'o' sound has been completed
en
pen
this sound is a combination of the Manderin 'e' and 'n'
eng
pen+g
the 'e' is unstressed; also, the position of the tongue is very important whant making this sound
e
melisa
the tongue is in the mid-back position while the lips are unrounded. The back of the tongue in this vowel is slightly further back than in the pronunciation of the Mandarin 'e' in 'en'
yu
u+shoo
tongue is in the high-front position while the lips are rounded. Once you ae making this vowel sound, round your lips as in a 'u' vowel. Be careful not to move your jaw or tongue when rounding your lips.
yun
U+wound
remember to round your lips in producing these sounds. Pronunce like u+oun in English
yue
u+a
this glide is a combination of the English 'u' and 'a'
yuan
u+an
don't forget to round your lips when producing this sound
咖啡誌 (4)