Pinyin (拼音) is the standard Roman-letter system for writing Mandarin pronunciation. Use this interactive Mandarin pinyin chart to find a syllable, see how its initial and final fit together, hear available tone readings, and listen to the same sound inside a real Chinese word.
The chart groups 403 common written syllable forms by initial and final. It is a practical learner inventory, not a claim to include every rare, dialectal, or interjection-only form in the complete ISO standard. Blank cells show combinations outside this chart. The layout also makes spelling rules easier to spot: y and w mark syllables with no consonant initial, while written u after j, q, and x represents the ü final.
A valid base syllable does not automatically occur as a natural word in all four tones. Available tone buttons use attested Mandarin readings; unsupported tones stay unavailable rather than playing a made-up syllable. Select a cell and the sound tray opens beside that row, so the listening controls stay close to the sound you chose.
The word card draws from SayMei's Chinese dictionary and shows Hanzi, tone-marked pinyin, an English meaning, and stored word audio. Choose Another word to hear a different example for the same base syllable. Nearly every chart syllable has a multi-character example, which helps you compare a careful isolated reading with pronunciation in context.
A tone is marked practiced only after its audio starts. Without an account, progress stays on the current device. Signed-in learners can sync practiced tones and save difficult syllables as trouble spots on their own profile. The chart does not record your microphone or score your pronunciation.
Use the Chinese to Pinyin Converter to add tone-marked pinyin to Chinese text. Then check contextual changes with the Chinese Tone Sandhi Checker, or try your own speech in Chinese Pronunciation Diagnosis. You can also browse all free SayMei Mandarin tools.
Pinyin is the standard Roman-letter system used to represent Mandarin sounds. It helps learners read pronunciation, look up words, and type Chinese characters, but its letters do not always sound the way they do in English.
Treat the letters as symbols for Mandarin sounds, not as English spelling. Y and w are spelling devices for syllables with no consonant initial; u after j, q, or x represents ü; and the tone mark goes on the main vowel of the syllable.
Yes. Add a Chinese pinyin keyboard or input method, type an unmarked spelling such as nihao, then choose 你好 from the character candidates. Tone marks are usually unnecessary for character entry. When writing pinyin itself, many phones let you long-press a vowel to choose ā, á, ǎ, or à.
Pinyin represents Mandarin pronunciation with Latin letters, while simplified Chinese characters are one form of the character-based writing system. For example, 你好 is written in simplified characters and nǐ hǎo shows its pronunciation. Traditional characters are a different character set, and either set can be paired with pinyin.
Mandarin is usually taught with four numbered tones plus a neutral tone: high-level mā, rising má, low or dipping mǎ, falling mà, and unstressed ma. Tone helps distinguish meaning, as in 妈 mother, 麻 hemp or numb, 马 horse, 骂 scold, and the neutral question particle 吗. In connected speech, the third tone is often low rather than a full dip and rise.