Syllables:
Most syllables are a combination of an initial and a final, though some syllables have no initials.
聲母 Initial
b p m f
d t n l
g k h
j q x
zh ch sh r
z c s
韻母Final
- a o e i u ü ê
ai ei ao ou
an en in
ang eng ing ong er
- i io ie iai iao iu
ia ian iang
in ing
- u ua uo uai
ui uan uang
un ong
- ü üe üan ün iong
同音異字
Standard Mandarin Chinese has fewer than 1,700 distinct syllables but 6,000 common written characters, so there are many homophones.
For example, the following characters are all pronounced jī:
鸡/雞 chicken, 机/機 machine, 基 basic, 击/擊 to hit, 饥/饑 hunger, and 积/積 accumulate.
Speakers may clarify which written character they mean by giving a word or phrase it is found in: 名字叫曉英,拂曉的曉,英雄的英 – "My name is Xiǎoyīng, 'Xiǎo' as in 'Fúxiǎo'(Dawn) and 'ying' as in ‘Yīngxióng’(Hero)."
Southern Chinese varieties like Cantonese and Hakka preserved more of the rimes of Middle Chinese and also have more tones.
繞口令 Tongue twister:
“西施死時四十四”
Xīshī sǐ shí sìshísì