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Help:IPA/Mandarin

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This is the pronunciation key for IPA transcriptions of Mandarin on Wikipedia.
It provides a set of symbols to represent the pronunciation of Mandarin in Wikipedia articles, and example words that illustrate the sounds that correspond to them. Integrity must be maintained between the key and the transcriptions that link here; do not change any symbol or value without establishing consensus on the talk page first.
For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and < > , see IPA SS Brackets and transcription delimiters.
Wikipedia key to pronunciation of Mandarin

The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Standard Mandarin pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see {{IPA}}, Template:IPA and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation SS Entering IPA characters.

See Standard Chinese phonology for more detail on the sounds of Mandarin Chinese.

Consonants
IPA Pinyin Wade-Giles Bopomofo Chinese example English approximation
c x hs X Xiao /Xiao /xiaoi sheep,[a] but more y-like (without lip rounding)
f f F Fei /feii fan
j y-/-i- I Ya /yai yes
k g k G Gan /gani skin
kh k k' K Kou /koui kin
l l L Lai /Lai /laii leaf
m m M Ming /mingi moon
n n N,EN,AN Ni /nii noon
ng -ng ENG,ANG Jiang /jiangi song
p b p B Bang /Bang /bangi span
ph p p' P Pang /pangi pan
z[b] r- j R Ri /rii pleasure, but with tongue curled or pulled back
s s S Si /sii same
s sh SH Shi /shii show, but without lip rounding and with tongue curled or pulled back
t d t D Duan /duani stop
th t t' T Tou /toui top
tc j ch J Jiao /jiaoi cheap,[a] but more y-like (without lip rounding)
tch q ch' Q Qu /qui Above, but with a strong burst of breath (aspiration)
ts z ts Z Zi /zii outset
tsh c ts' C Ci /cii let's help
ts zh ch ZH Zhi /zhii Below, but unaspirated
tsh ch ch' CH Chi /chii cheer, but without lip rounding and with tongue curled or pulled back, with a strong burst of breath (aspiration)
w w-/-u- U Wo /woi water
x h H Huo /huoi loch (Scottish English)
Y yu-/-u-[c] yu-/-u- IU Yue /yuei between wet and yet
Vowels
IPA Pinyin Wade-Giles Bopomofo Chinese example English approximation
a a A,AN A ,An plastic (UK Received Pronunciation)
er erh ER Er ,Er (Er )
a yang/-iang ANG Liang farther
e yan/-ian yen/-ien IAN Yan set
yuan/-uan IUAN Yuan
e ye/-ie, yue/-ue eh EH Ye ,Yue hey
@ en,[d] eng en, eng EN,ENG Ben ,Leng atop
@ er erh ER Er ,Er (Er ) furry[e]
u e e / o[f] E E ,E between bush and but
o wo/-uo[g] o[h] O Guo ,Wo story
i yi/-i I Li city
r zhi, chi, shi, ri ih [i] Zhi ,Chi ,Shi (Shi ),Ri Below, but with tongue curled or pulled back[j]
r zi, ci, si u Zi ,Ci ,Si roses, cousin
u wu/-u U Tu cool
U -ong -ung UENG,IUENG Dong ,Yong book
y yu/-u[c] yu/-u IU Yu refute, beet, but with the lips rounded as for boot
Diphthongs
aI ai AI Ai time
aU ao AU Ao cow
eI ei[d] EI Bei face
oU ou[d] OU You ,Gou ,Ou (Ou ) goal or go (modern UK), realized with or without backing
Tones
IPA Pinyin Wade-Giles Bopomofo Chinese example Tone number Description
a a a1 A Ba /bai tone 1 high level []
a a a2 A/ Ba /Ba /bai tone 2 mid rising []
a a a3 AV Ba /bai tone 3 medially, low []; initially, mid falling []; finally, low rising []; in isolation, dipping []
a a a4 A\ Ba /bai tone 4 high falling []
a a a0 .A Ba /bai tone 0 or 5
(toneless) 		mid [] after all tones but 4, where it is low []
Note: Pinyin uses three of the same diacritics as IPA but with different values.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b [c, tc, tch] are always followed by [i] [j], [y], or [Y].
  2. ^ Also transcribed as r in some literature.
  3. ^ a b u (/y/) is spelled u after j, q, x in pinyin since /u/ cannot occur after them.
  4. ^ a b c In Pinyin/Wade-Giles wei, you/yu, wen/wen are spelled ui, iu, un respectively when they are preceded by a consonant. It doesn't affect the pronunciation.
  5. ^ The rhotic vowel also appears in erhua.
  6. ^ This sound is spelled after in Wade-Giles.
  7. ^ This sound is spelled after in Pinyin.
  8. ^ UO is spelled as , except for (as ) in Wade-Giles.
  9. ^ This symbol is rarely used and usually omitted during writing.
  10. ^ Voiced continuants (also transcribed [i, W] or [z, z]) reflecting the character of the preceding consonant[clarification needed]

References

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  • Duanmu, San (2007). The Phonology of Standard Chinese (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Lee, Wai-Sum; Zee, Eric (2003). "Standard Chinese (Beijing)" (PDF). Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 33 (1): 109-112. doi:10.1017/S0025100303001208.
  • Lin, Yen-Hwei (2007). The Sounds of Chinese. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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Comparisons
Introductory guides