Syllable Finals 1

Syllable Finals Part 1

In this section, you will review all the possible syllable endings in Mandarin.

Review the explanation of the sound and its pinyin, listen closely to the pronunciation, then mimic exactly.
Note that these are not ALL of the possible consonant beginnings; they are just the ones whose pronunciations are straightforward for an English speaker.
I read the syllables in a fast sequence so that you can focus on final sound.
Everything is in "1st tone", which is a high steady tone. I am essentially singing the same note for each syllable.

This may seem like a lot of information, but if you go through it a few times you'll start to realize that everything is based on just a few sound patterns. I include all the details here so that, as you come to better appreciate Mandarin sounds, you can return to this page as a reference to make sense of what you are hearing.

For now, however, it suffices to just quickly review all the sounds and pay close attention to the ones that seem strange to you. Later, you will submit a recording of yourself saying each of these sounds, and I will identify the handful of sounds that you need to improve.

ba...da...fa...ga...la...ma...na...sa...wa

bai...dai...gai...lai...mai...nai...sai...wai

Make sure you end this vowel on a clear /i/ sound (In English we typically think of this sound like "eeee"). You would think English words like "by", "high" and "why" would rhyme, but the vowel sound at then end of these words is actually shorter, so English speakers typically pronounce these Chinese syllables with an accent.

ban...dan...fan...gan...lan...man...nan...san...wan

Be sure to make the EXACT same, clear /a/ vowel sound here. Because of the spelling, English speakers sometimes want to pronounce this the way it would be in English, in words like "man", "ran" and "can," but this is a completely different sound.

bang...dang...fang...gang...lang...mang...nang...sang...wang

You should note two things with this sound. First, the "n" sound isn't made with the tongue as in the "-an" ending but is instead made in the back of the throat with the palate (say the English words "gone" and "gong" and feel the difference on that last "n" in your mouth). Also note that, when these syllables are said by themselves, you don't fully articulate the /g/ sound, you just sort of close the vowel with it.

bao...dao...gao...lao...mao...nao...sao

This is a VERY commonly mispronounced sound for English speakers. You have to make sure you are making a very clear /a/ vowel hear, same as all the ones above. This sound reminds English speakers of words like "now" and "how" so most will say these syllables in a way that rhymes with these English words. If you say the English word "now" slowly, however, you will notice that it is NOT the /a/ vowel, but actually something closer to the vowel sound in the word English word "at". So pay close attention here.

Also, English speakers have a tendency to round the "u", meaning they curl their lips at at the end of the sound. For this sound, MAKE SURE YOUR LIPS ARE COMPLETELY RELAXED AND STILL. If you need to, use a mirror to make sure your lips are not moving at all.

de...ge...le...ne...se

By itself, the "e" final creates its own unique sound. It's actually a diphthong (combination of two vowel sounds). The second vowel sound is similar to an "uh" sound, or the vowel sound in the English word "the." The first vowel sound is harder to explain. What's most important is that the tongue is retracted very BACK. You can actually form the sound by pronouncing "w" and then spreading your lips back without changing the position of your tongue. Anyways just listen closely to the audio and try your hardest to mimic the sound.

bei...dei...fei...gei...lei...mei...nei...sei...wei

This diphthong is similar to that of the English "hey", except that in Mandarin you actually vocalize that "eee" sound (in English we make shorter "i" vowel sound and emphasize the /e/ vowel instead). Just make sure you emphasize that "beiiiiiiii" sound at the end, since English speakers typically fail to do this.

ben...fen...gen...men...nen...sen...wen

This sound is similar to that of the word "fun," except that in English the we hold the "uh" sound for a lot longer. In mandarin, the vowel is shorter and lot more weight is but on the /n/ sound.

beng...deng...feng...geng...leng...meng...neng...seng...weng

Same sound as above, except the /n/ sound (made with the tongue) is replaced by the palatal sound (like in the word "rung").

Mandarin Vowel Submission

Now that you are familiar with all the above Mandarin vowel sounds and their pinyin spellings, it's time to narrow down the few sounds that are problematic for you.

Once your account is set up, you will record yourself clearly articulating each of the syllables found on the table below and then email them to [email protected].

Unlike my fast recordings, be sure to leave a clear space between each syllable so that I can more easily pinpoint it on your uploaded track.
Read the chart row-by-row, from left to right, working your way down.
Title your track: Mandarin Syllable Finals Part 1 - (Your Name)

Submit Recording

Once you are comfortable with all the sounds on this page, move on to Syllable Finals Part 2.