| 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. | |
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 § Entering IPA characters.
See Standard Chinese phonology for more detail on the sounds of Mandarin Chinese.
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| Vowels
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| IPA |
Pinyin |
Wade–Giles |
Bopomofo |
Chinese example |
English approximation
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| a
|
a
|
ㄚ，ㄢ
|
阿，安
|
plastic (UK Received Pronunciation)
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| er
|
êrh
|
ㄦ
|
二，兒（儿）
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| ɑ
|
yang/-iang
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ㄤ
|
亮
|
farther
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| ɛ
|
yan/-ian
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yen/-ien
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ㄧㄢ
|
言
|
set
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| yuan/-üan
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ㄩㄢ
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元
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| e
|
ye/-ie, yue/-üe
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eh
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ㄝ
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也，月
|
hey
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| ə
|
en,[d] eng
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ên, êng
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ㄣ，ㄥ
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本，冷
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atop
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| ɚ
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er
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êrh
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ㄦ
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二，兒（儿）
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furry[e]
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| ɤ
|
e
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ê / o[f]
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ㄜ
|
厄，餓
|
between bush and but
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| o
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wo/-uo[g]
|
o[h]
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ㄛ
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果，我
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story
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| i
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yi/-i
|
ㄧ
|
李
|
city
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| ɻ̩
|
zhi, chi, shi, ri
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ih
|
ㄭ[i]
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之，吃，師（师），日
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Below, but with tongue curled or pulled back[j]
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| ɹ̩
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zi, ci, si
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ŭ
|
子，次，私
|
roses, cousin
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| u
|
wu/-u
|
ㄨ
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土
|
cool
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| ʊ
|
-ong
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-ung
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ㄨㄥ，ㄩㄥ
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冬，用
|
book
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| y
|
yu/-ü[c]
|
yü/-ü
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ㄩ
|
雨
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refute, beet, but with the lips rounded as for boot
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| Diphthongs
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| aɪ
|
ai
|
ㄞ
|
艾
|
time
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| aʊ
|
ao
|
ㄠ
|
凹
|
cow
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| eɪ
|
ei[d]
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ㄟ
|
杯
|
face
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| oʊ
|
ou[d]
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ㄡ
|
又，狗，歐（欧）
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goal or go (modern UK), realized with or without backing
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| Tones
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| IPA |
Pinyin |
Wade–Giles |
Bopomofo |
Chinese example |
Tone number |
Description
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| á
|
ā
|
a1
|
ㄚ
|
巴/bāⓘ
|
tone 1
|
high level [˥]
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| ǎ
|
á
|
a2
|
ㄚˊ
|
拔/拔/báⓘ
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tone 2
|
mid rising [˧˥]
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| à
|
ǎ
|
a3
|
ㄚˇ
|
把/bǎⓘ
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tone 3
|
medially, low [˩]; initially, mid falling [˧˩]; finally, low rising [˩˧]; in isolation, dipping [˧˩˧]
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| â
|
à
|
a4
|
ㄚˋ
|
爸/bàⓘ
|
tone 4
|
high falling [˥˩]
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| a
|
a
|
a0
|
˙ㄚ
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吧/baⓘ
|
tone 0 or 5
(toneless)
|
mid [˧] after all tones but 4, where it is low [˩]
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| Note: Pinyin uses three of the same diacritics as IPA but with different values.
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|
- ^ a b [ɕ, tɕ, tɕʰ] are always followed by [i] [j], [y], or [ɥ].
- ^ Also transcribed as ɻ in some literature.
- ^ a b ü (/y/) is spelled u after j, q, x in pinyin since /u/ cannot occur after them.
- ^ a b c In Pinyin/Wade-Giles wei, you/yu, wen/wên are spelled ui, iu, un respectively when they are preceded by a consonant. It doesn't affect the pronunciation.
- ^ The rhotic vowel also appears in erhua.
- ^ This sound is spelled ⟨o⟩ after ⟨k, k', h⟩ in Wade-Giles.
- ^ This sound is spelled ⟨o⟩ after ⟨b, p, m, f⟩ in Pinyin.
- ^ ㄨㄛ is spelled as ⟨o⟩, except for ⟨k, k', h, sh⟩ (as ⟨kuo, k'uo, huo, shuo⟩) in Wade-Giles.
- ^ This symbol is rarely used and usually omitted during writing.
- ^ Voiced continuants (also transcribed [ɨ, ɯ] or [ʐ̩, z̩]) reflecting the character of the preceding consonant[clarification needed]
- 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.