Pinyin Finals: ü, e, -i and the Vowels Pinyin Hides

Pinyin uses only six vowel letters, a, o, e, i, u and ü, to represent a much larger range of sounds. The same letter can stand for very different vowels depending on its neighbours, and some finals are written in abbreviated form. Knowing the handful of traps below will fix most vowel errors in beginner Mandarin.

ü: the rounded ee

Pinyin ü is [y], the same sound as German ü or French u: the tongue position of ee with the lips rounded as for oo. Say a long eeee, then round your lips without moving your tongue.

• 女 nǚ woman vs 努 nǔ effort
• 绿 lǜ green vs 路 lù road
• 驴 lǘ donkey vs 卢 lú (surname)
• 去 qù to go, 鱼 yú fish, 学 xué to study, 军 jūn army

The many faces of e

To make [ɤ], start with oo [u], then unround your lips (spread them slightly) while keeping your tongue back. The result sounds a little like a throaty "uh". In many syllables it starts slightly higher and glides down, [ɯʌ].

The buzzing -i

After z, c, s, zh, ch, sh and r, the letter i stands for a vowel that continues the consonant's buzz rather than [i]. After z, c and s it is often written [ɹ̩] or [ɨ]; after zh, ch, sh and r, [ɻ̩]:

• 字 zì, 次 cì, 四 sì: hold the z, ts or s position and add voice.
• 知 zhī, 吃 chī, 是 shì, 日 rì: hold the curled-tongue position and add voice. It sounds rather like "shr".

Compare 是 shì and 戏 xì: the first has the buzzing vowel, the second a real [i].

ian and yan: "yen", not "yan"

The final ian (and yan) is pronounced [jɛn], rhyming with English yen, not with Ann: 天 tiān, 钱 qián, 面 miàn, 烟 yān, 点 diǎn. By contrast, üan (written uan after j, q, x, y) varies between [yɛn] and [yæn]: 远 yuǎn, 全 quán.

Abbreviated finals: iu, ui, un

Pinyin shortens three finals when they follow a consonant:

So jiǔ (nine, wine) is roughly "jyo-u", not "joo"; guì (expensive) is "gway", not "gwee"; dùn is "dwun", not "doon". After j, q, x and y, un means ün: 军 jūn, 云 yún.

-n vs -ng

Mandarin distinguishes final [n] and [ŋ], and the vowel before them also differs. English speakers usually hear this well, but be careful not to add a hard g after ng:

• 人 rén / 扔 rēng · 山 shān / 上 shàng · 金 jīn / 京 jīng · 安 ān / 昂 áng

Frequently asked questions

Why is ü sometimes written u in pinyin?

After j, q, x and y, pinyin writes ü as plain u, because those initials never combine with the u [u] sound. So ju, qu, xu and yu all contain ü. After n and l, the dots are kept because nu and nü are different syllables.

How is pinyin "e" pronounced?

On its own or after a consonant (e, he, ke, de), it is [ɤ], an unrounded back vowel, similar to the vowel in English "uh" but with the tongue further back. Next to i or ü (ie, üe) it is [ɛ], like English "yes". In ei it is [e], and in en and eng it is a schwa.

Is "iu" pronounced like English "you"?

Not exactly. Iu is short for iou, [jou], so liu sounds like "lyo-u" and jiu like "jyo-u". In third and fourth tones the o is clearly audible; in first and second tones it is weaker.

Sources and further reading

• Lee, W.-S. and Zee, E. (2003). Standard Chinese (Beijing). Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 33(1), 109–112.
• Duanmu, S. (2007). The Phonology of Standard Chinese (2nd ed.), chapter 3 on vowels. Oxford University Press.
• Lin, Y.-H. (2007). The Sounds of Chinese, chapter 4. Cambridge University Press.

Read More in This Topic

• Pinyin Initials: zh ch sh r, j q x and z c s Explained
• Pinyin Spelling Rules: Y, W, Apostrophes and Where the Tone Mark Goes
• French U vs OU: How to Pronounce Tu, Tout and the Rounded Front Vowels

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