The Flow of Mandarin
  • Home
  • Table of Contents
    • Course Tutorials >
      • Your First Recording
    • Sound System Primer >
      • Syllable Finals >
        • Syllable Finals 1
        • Syllable Finals 2
        • Syllable Finals 3
      • Syllable Initials >
        • Syllable Initials 1
        • Syllable Initials 2
        • Syllable Initials 3
    • Phonetic Training >
      • Introduction
      • Basics
      • Construction
      • Memorization
      • Mimic & Meaning
      • Conclusion
    • Song Lessons >
      • Unit 1: BJ2NY >
        • Lesson 1: Taxi Part 1
        • Lesson 2: Taxi Part 2
        • Lesson 3: BJ2NY Part 1
        • Lesson 4: BJ2NY Part 2
      • Unit 2: Tone Bootcamp >
        • Single Tones (Pt 1) >
          • Tonal Relativity
          • Single Tones
          • Tone Comparisons
          • Single Tones Submission
        • Tone Pairs (Pt 2) >
          • Tone Pairs A
          • Tone Pairs B
          • Tone Pairs C
          • Tone Pairs D
          • Tonal Mimicry & Meaning
      • Unit 3: Tonal Infusion >
        • Lesson 1
        • Lesson 2
        • Lesson 3
        • Lesson 4
        • Lesson 5
        • Lesson 6
      • Unit 4: Mimicry Training
  • Tone Bootcamp
  • Help
Sound Primer TOC | Introduction | SF Introduction | SF Pt. 1 | SF Pt. 2 | SF Pt. 3 | Syllable Initials

dong...gong...long...nong...song

dou...fou...gou...lou...mou...nou...sou

Once again, make sure you are making a clear /u/ sound and that your are NOT rounding your lips for it, as this is the biggest English speaker tendency.

bu...du...fu...gu...lu...mu...nu...su...wu

Once again, there is an English tendency to round the lips here.  Make sure your lips are completely stationary when making this sound.  

lü...nü

You get this sound by making the "eeee" sound (/i/) with rounded lips.  If you are familiar with French, it's the same sound as in the word "lune", or in the German word "über".  It does not exist in English.    

The rest of the Finals are the same as the ones above but with a "w" sound in front.  For example, the only difference between "gai" and "guai" is the "w" sound in between the initial consonant and the vowel sound.  Listen closely and mimic.

gua

guai

Avoid the English speaker tendency to drag the beginning of this sound out like in the English word "why".

duan...guan...luan...nuan...suan

The pronunciation of this "a" varies from accent.  It can be a clear /a/ sound for something more CLOSE.  

guang

dui...gui...sui

Avoid the English speaker tendency to draw the beginning of this sound out like in the English word "way".

dun...gun...lun...nun...sun

The vowel here is the same as in the English word "good".  

duo...guo...luo...nuo...suo

Make sure you are making that open vowel sound from the "o" final (e.g. bo...fo...mo...wo).  A common English speaker tendency is to pronounce this with an "ou" sound, as in the English word "whoah!".  

lüe...nüe

Same as the ü sound but with an /e/ at the end.  

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. 

  • 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 3 - (Your Name)
Submit Recording

Picture

Once you are comfortable with all the sounds on this page, give your mouth a rest or move on to the next section - Syllable Initials.
Sound Primer TOC | Introduction | SF Introduction | SF Pt. 1 | SF Pt. 2 | SF Pt. 3 | Syllable Initials
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