|

For those foreigners who want to learn Mandarin, I would like to introduce an online Mandarin pinyin tool here. Mandarin pinyin is the foundation for learning Chinese. It is helpful to think of pinyin as the alphabet for Mandarin Chinese, and to think of Chinese characters as basically the actual written form. Pinyin is how Chinese words are pronounced, whereas Chinese characters are how they are seen in books, newspapers, etc. Before learning how to read, write or pronounce Chinese characters, you must learn Mandarin pinyin first.

Actually, learning Mandarin is not as hard as you think. Most single syllable in Mandarin consists of an initial (consonant), a final (vowel) and a tone. A small number of syllables do not need initials (begin with a vowel). These are called ‘zero initial syllables’, e.g. ài (meaning ‘love’).

The Mandarin pinyin board is a user-friendly tool. With an input of initial-final combination and tone, it will speak out the standard syllable accurately. It is a helpful tool for you to learn all the syllables pronunciation. You can master the pinyin skill quickly by practicing on this website.

Moreover, it can be executed in all major browsers including mobile phone. It means that you can use it anywhere!

**** Best browser for the following websites: Google Chrome ****

• The first tone is high, flat. Your voice stays flat with no rise or dip in the way it sounds.


• The second tone is a rising tone. Your voice rises from a low to middle pitch, as if you are asking a question like when you ask “What?” or “Huh?”


• The third tone is a dipping tone. The pitch falls, then rises. This tone is the least like a typical English pronunciation.


• The fourth tone is a lowering tone. The pitch goes rapidly from high to low. It makes the word end quickly and sharply, as if giving a command e.g. stop!