{"id":9820,"date":"2019-11-21T01:51:34","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T01:51:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/introductory-chinese\/learn-chinese-pinyin-in-21-days-day-2-single-vowels\/"},"modified":"2019-11-21T01:51:34","modified_gmt":"2019-11-21T01:51:34","slug":"learn-chinese-pinyin-in-21-days-day-2-single-vowels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/mm\/learn-chinese-pinyin-in-21-days-day-2-single-vowels\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn Chinese Pinyin in 21 Days \u2013 Day 2: Single Vowels"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In this Pinyin Lesson, we learn how to pro<\/em>nounce single vowels or called single finals of pinyin. We also learn some Chinese characters that use these single finals. In addition, you can have tone drill and quiz on single finals.<\/p>\n

Syllable<\/h3>\n

A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. It is typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optio<\/em>nal initial and final margins (typically, consonants). Syllables are often co<\/em>nsidered the pho<\/em>nological “building blocks” of words.<\/p>\n

Nucleus<\/h4>\n

Generally, every syllable requires a nucleus (sometimes called the peak), and the minimal syllable co<\/em>nsists o<\/em>nly of a nucleus.<\/p>\n

Initials and Finals<\/h3>\n

The pro<\/em>nunciation and spelling of Chinese words are generally given in terms of initials and finals, which represent the segmental pho<\/em>nemic portion of the language, rather than letter by letter. Initials are initial consonants, while finals are all possible combinations of semivowels coming before the vowel, the nucleus vowel, and final vowel or consonant.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A semivowel is a sound that is pho<\/em>netically similar to a vowel sound but functions as the syllable boundary rather than as the nucleus of a syllable.<\/p>\n

Single Vowels<\/h3>\n

There are 6 single vowels (finals) in Chinese Pinyin.<\/p>\n

Pro<\/em>nunciation Guide<\/h4>\n

The following guide is given in terms of English pronunciation. They are approximate, as there are some sounds of Pinyin do not correspond directly to sounds in English.<\/p>\n

1. a: as in “father”.<\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

2. o: approximately as in “office” in British accent; the lips are much more rounded. <\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

3. e: approximately as in “idea”. <\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

4. i: as in “bee”. <\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

5. u: as the “oo” as in “pool”. <\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

6. ü: to get this sound, say “ee” with rounded lips. <\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Notes:<\/strong>
“i” represents three different sounds dependent on the initial that precedes it. When it follows the so-called sibilant initials (z, c, s), it sounds like “zz”. When it follows the retroflex initials (zh, ch, sh, and r) it sounds like “rr”. In all other cases, it sounds like the English “ee”.<\/p>\n

“ü” is written as “u” (no \u016bmlaut) after j, q, x, or y.<\/p>\n

Example Words<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Example 1:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Chinese Character: \u554a
Pinyin: \u0101<\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

English translation: Ah<\/td>\n

\"Learn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Example 2:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Chinese Character: \u5594
Pinyin: \u014d (The other pinyin can be “w\u014d” for the Chinese character “\u5594”. Here we just give an approximate sound.)<\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

English translation: Oh<\/td>\n

\"Learn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Example 3:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Chinese Character: \u9e45
Pinyin: é<\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

English translation: goose<\/td>\n

\"Learn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Example 4:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Chinese Character: \u4e00
Pinyin: y\u012b<\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

English translation: one<\/td>\n

\"Learn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Example 5:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Chinese Character: \u4e94
Pinyin: w\u01d4<\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

English translation: five<\/td>\n

\"Learn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Example 6:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Chinese Character: \u9c7c
Pinyin: yú<\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

English translation: fish<\/td>\n

\"Learn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Exercises:<\/h3>\n

Exercise 1: Tone Drill<\/h4>\n

Listen to the audio first, and then repeat.<\/p>\n

1. \u0101 á \u01ce à<\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

2. \u014d ó \u01d2 ò <\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

3. \u0113 é \u011b è <\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

4. \u012b í \u01d0 ì <\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

5. \u016b ú \u01d4 ù <\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

6. \u01d6 \u01d8 \u01da \u01dc <\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n