Learn Mandarin Pinyin with audio, tones, real-word practice, and focused pronunciation drills.
Follow ten short lessons, hear each syllable, then test yourself with focused quizzes that keep Zhuyin available as a hint.
mā
ㄇㄚ
xué
ㄒㄩㄝˊ
zhōng
ㄓㄨㄥ
Pinyin writes Mandarin sounds with the Latin alphabet. It is a pronunciation guide, not an English spelling system: initials are the starting consonant-like sounds, finals are the vowel or ending sounds, and tones carry meaning on top of the syllable.
Think of each Mandarin syllable as a small recipe: optional initial, required final, and one tone. Reading gets easier when you hear all three parts together.
Mandarin tones are part of the word. Practice the shape first, then listen for it in real vocabulary.
1st
mā
ㄇㄚ
High and level. Keep it steady rather than rising.
2nd
má
ㄇㄚˊ
Rising. It often feels like a short surprised “huh?”
3rd
mǎ
ㄇㄚˇ
Low and dipping. In real speech it is often low before rising.
4th
mà
ㄇㄚˋ
Falling. Start firm and drop quickly.
Neutral
ma
ㄇㄚ˙
Short and light. It is best practiced in real words like 妈妈, not as fake isolated syllables.
Start with lesson chunks, then use initials, finals, or search when you want the full chart.
ā
ㄚ
á
ㄚˊ
ǎ
ㄚˇ
à
ㄚˋ
a
ㄚ˙
ō
ㄛ
ē
ㄜ
yī
ㄧ
wū
ㄨ
yū
ㄩ
mā
ㄇㄚ
má
ㄇㄚˊ
mǎ
ㄇㄚˇ
mà
ㄇㄚˋ
Each lesson introduces a compact sound set, gives you study cards, then offers an 8-12 question quiz.
Hear the four main tones, the neutral tone in real words, and the core vowel sounds.
ā
ㄚ
á
ㄚˊ
ǎ
ㄚˇ
à
ㄚˋ
a
ㄚ˙
ō
ㄛ
ē
ㄜ
yī
ㄧ
wū
ㄨ
yū
ㄩ
mā
ㄇㄚ
má
ㄇㄚˊ
mǎ
ㄇㄚˇ
mà
ㄇㄚˋ
妈妈
mā ma
ㄇㄚ ㄇㄚ˙ · mom
爸爸
bà ba
ㄅㄚˋ ㄅㄚ˙ · dad
吗
ma
ㄇㄚ˙ · question particle
马
mǎ
ㄇㄚˇ · horse
一
yī
ㄧ · one
二
èr
ㄦˋ · two
五
wǔ
ㄨˇ · five
米饭
mǐ fàn
ㄇㄧˇ ㄈㄢˋ · cooked rice
Start combining lips-forward initials with a, o, e, ai, ei, an, en, and ou.
bā
ㄅㄚ
bà
ㄅㄚˋ
pá
ㄆㄚˊ
pà
ㄆㄚˋ
mā
ㄇㄚ
mǎ
ㄇㄚˇ
fā
ㄈㄚ
fēi
ㄈㄟ
fēn
ㄈㄣ
mén
ㄇㄣˊ
péng
ㄆㄥˊ
fàn
ㄈㄢˋ
piào
ㄆㄧㄠˋ
八
bā
ㄅㄚ · eight
不
bù
ㄅㄨˋ · not; no
朋友
péng you
ㄆㄥˊ ㄧㄡ˙ · friend
米饭
mǐ fàn
ㄇㄧˇ ㄈㄢˋ · cooked rice
分
fēn
ㄈㄣ · minute; point
飞
fēi
ㄈㄟ · to fly
门
mén
ㄇㄣˊ · door
票
piào
ㄆㄧㄠˋ · ticket
Practice tongue-tip initials and common beginner words built from them.
dà
ㄉㄚˋ
dé
ㄉㄜˊ
tā
ㄊㄚ
tài
ㄊㄞˋ
nǐ
ㄋㄧˇ
lái
ㄌㄞˊ
lǎo
ㄌㄠˇ
liù
ㄌㄧㄡˋ
dōu
ㄉㄡ
nǔ
ㄋㄨˇ
lǚ
ㄌㄩˇ
你
nǐ
ㄋㄧˇ · you
他
tā
ㄊㄚ · he; him
她
tā
ㄊㄚ · she; her
来
lái
ㄌㄞˊ · to come
老师
lǎo shī
ㄌㄠˇ ㄕ · teacher
太
tài
ㄊㄞˋ · too; very
都
dōu
ㄉㄡ · all; both
买
mǎi
ㄇㄞˇ · to buy
卖
mài
ㄇㄞˋ · to sell
Build a clear contrast between back-of-mouth initials and nasal finals.
gē
ㄍㄜ
gāo
ㄍㄠ
kě
ㄎㄜˇ
kàn
ㄎㄢˋ
hěn
ㄏㄣˇ
hǎo
ㄏㄠˇ
guó
ㄍㄨㄛˊ
gōng
ㄍㄨㄥ
hē
ㄏㄜ
háng
ㄏㄤˊ
kēng
ㄎㄥ
高
gāo
ㄍㄠ · tall; high
哥哥
gē ge
ㄍㄜ ㄍㄜ˙ · older brother
可以
kě yǐ
ㄎㄜˇ ㄧˇ · can; may
很
hěn
ㄏㄣˇ · very
好
hǎo
ㄏㄠˇ · good
国家
guó jiā
ㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄐㄧㄚ · country
工作
gōng zuò
ㄍㄨㄥ ㄗㄨㄛˋ · work; job
喝
hē
ㄏㄜ · to drink
天
tiān
ㄊㄧㄢ · day; sky
文
wén
ㄨㄣˊ · writing; language
Focus on the high front sounds that make j, q, and x feel different from English.
jī
ㄐㄧ
jiā
ㄐㄧㄚ
jiàn
ㄐㄧㄢˋ
jiào
ㄐㄧㄠˋ
qǐng
ㄑㄧㄥˇ
qù
ㄑㄩˋ
xué
ㄒㄩㄝˊ
xiè
ㄒㄧㄝˋ
xiǎo
ㄒㄧㄠˇ
xǐ
ㄒㄧˇ
yuǎn
ㄩㄢˇ
yún
ㄩㄣˊ
yuè
ㄩㄝˋ
学
xué
ㄒㄩㄝˊ · to study; to learn
去
qù
ㄑㄩˋ · to go
家
jiā
ㄐㄧㄚ · home; family
钱
qián
ㄑㄧㄢˊ · money
小
xiǎo
ㄒㄧㄠˇ · small
谢谢
xiè xie
ㄒㄧㄝˋ ㄒㄧㄝ˙ · thank you
叫
jiào
ㄐㄧㄠˋ · to be called; to call
喜欢
xǐ huan
ㄒㄧˇ ㄏㄨㄢ˙ · to like
今天
jīn tiān
ㄐㄧㄣ ㄊㄧㄢ · today
请
qǐng
ㄑㄧㄥˇ · please; to invite
七
qī
ㄑㄧ · seven
九
jiǔ
ㄐㄧㄡˇ · nine
Separate the flat z, c, and s series with short, focused listening drills.
zì
ㄗˋ
cí
ㄘˊ
sì
ㄙˋ
zài
ㄗㄞˋ
cài
ㄘㄞˋ
sān
ㄙㄢ
zǎo
ㄗㄠˇ
zuò
ㄗㄨㄛˋ
zǒu
ㄗㄡˇ
在
zài
ㄗㄞˋ · at; in; to exist
再
zài
ㄗㄞˋ · again
菜
cài
ㄘㄞˋ · vegetable; dish
三
sān
ㄙㄢ · three
四
sì
ㄙˋ · four
词
cí
ㄘˊ · word
早
zǎo
ㄗㄠˇ · early
坐
zuò
ㄗㄨㄛˋ · to sit
走
zǒu
ㄗㄡˇ · to walk
字
zì
ㄗˋ · character; written word
Train the curled-tongue series without mixing it into z, c, and s.
zhī
ㄓ
chī
ㄔ
shì
ㄕˋ
rén
ㄖㄣˊ
rè
ㄖㄜˋ
zhè
ㄓㄜˋ
chē
ㄔㄜ
shān
ㄕㄢ
shàng
ㄕㄤˋ
zhōng
ㄓㄨㄥ
shū
ㄕㄨ
是
shì
ㄕˋ · to be
人
rén
ㄖㄣˊ · person
吃
chī
ㄔ · to eat
书
shū
ㄕㄨ · book
热
rè
ㄖㄜˋ · hot
这
zhè
ㄓㄜˋ · this
车
chē
ㄔㄜ · car
山
shān
ㄕㄢ · mountain
上
shàng
ㄕㄤˋ · up; above
中文
zhōng wén
ㄓㄨㄥ ㄨㄣˊ · Chinese language
汉字
hàn zì
ㄏㄢˋ ㄗˋ · Chinese characters
Hear the difference between an/ang, en/eng, and in/ing in real words.
ān
ㄢ
āng
ㄤ
ēn
ㄣ
ēng
ㄥ
yīn
ㄧㄣ
yīng
ㄧㄥ
hàn
ㄏㄢˋ
tiān
ㄊㄧㄢ
míng
ㄇㄧㄥˊ
péng
ㄆㄥˊ
shēng
ㄕㄥ
xiǎng
ㄒㄧㄤˇ
qǐng
ㄑㄧㄥˇ
水
shuǐ
ㄕㄨㄟˇ · water
想
xiǎng
ㄒㄧㄤˇ · to think; to want
听
tīng
ㄊㄧㄥ · to listen
名字
míng zi
ㄇㄧㄥˊ ㄗ˙ · name
明天
míng tiān
ㄇㄧㄥˊ ㄊㄧㄢ · tomorrow
学生
xué sheng
ㄒㄩㄝˊ ㄕㄥ˙ · student
汉语
hàn yǔ
ㄏㄢˋ ㄩˇ · Mandarin Chinese
去年
qù nián
ㄑㄩˋ ㄋㄧㄢˊ · last year
云
yún
ㄩㄣˊ · cloud
女儿
nǚ ér
ㄋㄩˇ ㄦˊ · daughter
银行
yín háng
ㄧㄣˊ ㄏㄤˊ · bank
Compare near-neighbor tones in syllables and useful everyday words.
mā
ㄇㄚ
má
ㄇㄚˊ
mǎ
ㄇㄚˇ
mà
ㄇㄚˋ
mǎi
ㄇㄞˇ
mài
ㄇㄞˋ
qíng
ㄑㄧㄥˊ
qǐng
ㄑㄧㄥˇ
xué
ㄒㄩㄝˊ
měi
ㄇㄟˇ
yuǎn
ㄩㄢˇ
yuè
ㄩㄝˋ
买
mǎi
ㄇㄞˇ · to buy
卖
mài
ㄇㄞˋ · to sell
马
mǎ
ㄇㄚˇ · horse
吗
ma
ㄇㄚ˙ · question particle
月
yuè
ㄩㄝˋ · moon; month
远
yuǎn
ㄩㄢˇ · far
美国
měi guó
ㄇㄟˇ ㄍㄨㄛˊ · United States
什么
shén me
ㄕㄣˊ ㄇㄜ˙ · what
哪里
nǎ lǐ
ㄋㄚˇ ㄌㄧˇ · where
谁
shéi
ㄕㄟˊ · who
Bring initials, finals, tones, and real-word listening together in short sessions.
zài
ㄗㄞˋ
jiàn
ㄐㄧㄢˋ
xué
ㄒㄩㄝˊ
xiào
ㄒㄧㄠˋ
gōng
ㄍㄨㄥ
zuò
ㄗㄨㄛˋ
hàn
ㄏㄢˋ
zì
ㄗˋ
zhōng
ㄓㄨㄥ
wén
ㄨㄣˊ
fàn
ㄈㄢˋ
diàn
ㄉㄧㄢˋ
再见
zài jiàn
ㄗㄞˋ ㄐㄧㄢˋ · goodbye
学校
xué xiào
ㄒㄩㄝˊ ㄒㄧㄠˋ · school
学习
xué xí
ㄒㄩㄝˊ ㄒㄧˊ · to study
国家
guó jiā
ㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄐㄧㄚ · country
美国
měi guó
ㄇㄟˇ ㄍㄨㄛˊ · United States
汉字
hàn zì
ㄏㄢˋ ㄗˋ · Chinese characters
中文
zhōng wén
ㄓㄨㄥ ㄨㄣˊ · Chinese language
工作
gōng zuò
ㄍㄨㄥ ㄗㄨㄛˋ · work; job
饭店
fàn diàn
ㄈㄢˋ ㄉㄧㄢˋ · restaurant; hotel
电脑
diàn nǎo
ㄉㄧㄢˋ ㄋㄠˇ · computer
苹果
píng guǒ
ㄆㄧㄥˊ ㄍㄨㄛˇ · apple
天气
tiān qì
ㄊㄧㄢ ㄑㄧˋ · weather
Practice actual Mandarin words with meaning shown. The quizzes focus on hearing and reading pronunciation, not guessing bare characters.
妈妈
mā ma
ㄇㄚ ㄇㄚ˙ · mom
爸爸
bà ba
ㄅㄚˋ ㄅㄚ˙ · dad
吗
ma
ㄇㄚ˙ · question particle
马
mǎ
ㄇㄚˇ · horse
一
yī
ㄧ · one
二
èr
ㄦˋ · two
五
wǔ
ㄨˇ · five
米饭
mǐ fàn
ㄇㄧˇ ㄈㄢˋ · cooked rice
八
bā
ㄅㄚ · eight
不
bù
ㄅㄨˋ · not; no
朋友
péng you
ㄆㄥˊ ㄧㄡ˙ · friend
分
fēn
ㄈㄣ · minute; point
飞
fēi
ㄈㄟ · to fly
门
mén
ㄇㄣˊ · door
票
piào
ㄆㄧㄠˋ · ticket
你
nǐ
ㄋㄧˇ · you
他
tā
ㄊㄚ · he; him
她
tā
ㄊㄚ · she; her
Short drills for sound pairs and groups that learners commonly mix up.
High front sounds that often collapse into one fuzzy “ch/sh” area.
Retroflex sounds that need a distinct tongue position.
Flat tongue-tip sounds, especially tricky next to zh/ch/sh.
Front nasal versus back nasal endings.
Shorter front nasal versus fuller back nasal endings.
Rounded back u versus front rounded ü, especially after j/q/x.
Rising tone versus low dipping tone in short listening rounds.
Audio is from hugolpz/audio-cmn under CC BY-SA. Syllables are credited to Chen Wang; HSK word audio to Yue Tan / SWAC Recorder; curation, compression, and file naming to Hugo Lopez; recording software and technical support to Nicolas Vion.
Miaozi bundles the 64k syllable set and only the selected word audio used by this trainer.