Pinyin Sound Chart
Every Mandarin pinyin syllable in one interactive chart. Pick a tone and tap any syllable to hear it pronounced. The fastest way to master Chinese sounds and tones.
How Mandarin syllables are built
Every Mandarin syllable is an initial (the opening consonant, 聲母) plus a final (the vowel part, 韻母), carried on one of the tones. There are 21 initials and around 37 finals, and only certain combinations exist — about 410 base syllables in total, or roughly 1,300 once you count the tones. Hearing them side by side, and flipping the tone on the same syllable, trains your ear fast. Pick a tone and tap any cell to listen.
The 21 initials
| Group | Initials | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labial / alveolar | b | p | m | f | d | t |
| Nasal / lateral / velar | n | l | g | k | h | |
| Palatal | j | q | x | |||
| Retroflex | zh | ch | sh | r | ||
| Sibilant | z | c | s | |||
The main finals
| Simple | -i group | -u group | -ü group |
|---|---|---|---|
| a o e | ia ie iao iou | ua uo uai uei | üe |
| ai ei ao ou | ian in iang ing | uan uen uang ueng | üan ün |
| an en ang eng er | i iong | u ong | ü |
Tips for using the chart
Compare tricky pairs that English speakers often confuse — zhi / zi, qu / chu, xi / shi — by tapping them on the same tone. Then keep a syllable fixed and cycle through tones 1–4 to feel how the pitch contour changes the word.
Frequently asked questions
How many syllables are there in Mandarin?
Mandarin has roughly 410 base syllables; with the four tones plus neutral, that yields about 1,300 distinct sounds. They are all here, organised by their initial sound.
How does the audio work?
Tapping a syllable uses your device's built-in Chinese text-to-speech to pronounce a common character with that exact sound and tone — no downloads needed.
How do I use the tone buttons?
Choose tone 1–4 or the neutral tone, then tap syllables to compare how the same sound changes with each tone.