q
Pinyin
Sounds like ‘ch’ in cheese — not ‘k’ as in queen.
Example
气候qì hòu
qì hòu = climate
Learning · Pinyin Guide
Simple Pinyin Guide.
Pinyin is the system that turns Chinese characters into letters you can read. Every climate term in our glossary has one. This page is a short field manual — how syllables work, the sounds that surprise English speakers, and the four tones.
Anatomy of a syllable
One syllable, broken open.
The first syllable of 气候 (qì hòu, “climate”). Read left to right — initial, final, tone — to build the whole sound.
Initial
q
Final
i
Tone (4th)
ˋ
Falling
Syllable
qì
Character
气
The fourth tone falls sharply from high to low — a confident, decisive sound. Layer it on top of the final vowel to finish the syllable.
What is pinyin
A roman-letter map for spoken Chinese.
In Chinese, a syllable is built from three parts — an initial, a final, and a tone. Most syllables start with a consonant (the initial) followed by one or more vowel sounds (the final). The tone sits on the vowel and changes the meaning of the whole word.
Most consonants in pinyin sound roughly like their English counterparts — but a handful read very differently. Read pinyin as pinyin, not as English.
Pronunciation tip: when you see a syllable in the glossary, say the initial, then the final, then add the tone shape on top.
Start here
Five sounds that trip up English speakers.
If you only remember a handful of pinyin sounds before reading the glossary, make it these. Each one shows up in the climate vocabulary regularly and reads nothing like its English letter would suggest.
x
Pinyin
A soft ‘sh’ — gentler than the English ‘sh’.
Example
循环xún huán
xún huán = circular
zh
Pinyin
Like the ‘j’ in judge.
Example
中和zhōng hé
zhōng hé = neutral
c
Pinyin
Like ‘ts’ in cats — never a hard ‘k’ sound.
Example
政策zhèng cè
zhèng cè = policy
ü
Pinyin
Similar to the French ‘u’ in lune. Lips pout slightly.
Example
绿lǜ
lǜ = green
Initials
The consonants.
Initials are the consonants that start most syllables. Most read like their English cousins. Pay extra attention to j / q / x / z / c / zh / ch / sh — they're the ones that don't.
LetterSounds like…LetterSounds like…
b
‘b’ in boat
p
‘p’ in pen
m
‘m’ in map
f
‘f’ in fire
d
‘d’ in dog
t
‘t’ in teacher
n
‘n’ in name
l
‘l’ in look
g
‘g’ in go
k
‘k’ in kiss
h
‘h’ in high
j
‘j’ in jeep
tongue is positioned below lower teeth
q
‘ch’ in cheap
tongue is positioned below lower teeth
x
‘sh’ in sheep
tongue is positioned below lower teeth
z
‘ds’ in birds
c
‘ts’ in cats
s
‘s’ in sing
zh
‘j’ in jam
ch
‘ch’ in change
sh
‘sh’ in she
r
‘r’ in run
y
‘y’ in yard
w
‘w’ in wood
Finals
The vowels.
Finals carry the vowel sound and the tone mark. There are also compound finals — ia, iao, ian, iang, iong, ua, uo, uai, uan, uang, ueng, üe, ün, üan — read as a smooth slide of the simple finals.
LetterSounds like…LetterSounds like…
a
‘ah’ in Ah-hah!
o
‘o’ in go
e
‘er’ in her, without the tongue curling up
i
‘ee’ in see
u
‘oo’ in food
ü
the ‘u’ sound, but with the lips pouting up
No English equivalent
ai
the English ‘eye’
ei
‘ey’ in hey
ui
combine ‘u’ and ‘i’
ao
‘ou’ in loud
ou
‘oa’ in boat
iu
combine ‘i’ and ‘u’
ie
combine ‘i’ and ‘e’
er
‘ear’ in early
an
‘an’ in fan
en
‘en’ in end
in
‘in’ in pin
un
combine ‘u’ and ‘n’
ang
‘ang’ in slang
eng
‘ung’ in hung
ing
‘ing’ in king
ong
‘ong’ in song
Tones
Four tones. One syllable. Four meanings.
Mandarin uses pitch — going up, holding flat, dipping, or falling sharply — to tell similar-sounding words apart. The tone mark sits on top of the vowel. There's also a neutral tone (no mark) that sits soft and short.
First tone
1
ā
High and flat. Holds a steady pitch, slightly longer than the others.
Like singing one steady note.
Second tone
2
á
Rising. Goes from mid to high — sounds like asking a question.
Like the lift in saying ‘What?’
Third tone
3
ǎ
Falling–rising. Dip low first, then rise. Keep the bottom very low.
Like saying ‘Ohh-kay?’ with hesitation.
Fourth tone
4
à
Sharp and falling. Short, decisive — the ‘angry’ tone.
Like a firm ‘No!’
Why tones matter
Same letters. Different tones. Wildly different meanings.
mā
妈
mother
má
麻
numb
mǎ
马
horse
mà
骂
curse
Now try it
Read the climate glossary, out loud.
Every term has a Chinese spelling, a pinyin syllable, and an English pronunciation hint. Open the side panel to see all three for any word.