Difference between revisions of "The "a" vowel"

Revision as of 05:27, 29 March 2015

Level

A1
Related to
1. Tough sounds -an-ang (A2)
In series Pinyin quick start guide
1. 1. Easy sounds
2. 2. The "a" vowel
3. 3. The "e" vowel
4. 4. The "i" vowel
5. 5. The "o" and "u" vowels
6. 6. The "c" and "z" sounds
7. 7. The "ch" "sh" and "zh" sounds
8. 8. The "r" sound
9. 9. The "ü" vowel
10. 10. The "j" "q" and "x" sounds
Referenced finals
- -a
- -ai
- -an
- -ang
- -ao

The first vowel you want to learn in pinyin is "a." It can combine with all of those easy sounds you already learned in part 1 of this guide, so it's a great place to start.

Pinyin's Main "a" Vowel Sound

Although the "a" sound in Chinese can vary a little bit, and is slightly changed when followed by a "-n" or a "-ng" sound, it more or less sounds like the "a" sound in the English words "ah" or "ha" or "father".

In the syllables introduced below, that's the "a" sound you'll hear. You can click on the sounds in the chart fragment to hear audio.

-ai: When "a" combines with "i" below, it sounds like the "ai" in the English words "Thai" and "aisle".
-ao: When "a" combines with "o" below, it sounds pretty much like the word "Tao"/"Dao" which we've imported into English from Chinese, or the "ow" in the English word "how", but with a rather muted “w” sound at the end.
-an: Sounds similar to “on” (minus a strong “aw” sound like in “lawn”) but you may also hear a hint of the vowel sound in the English word “can”. This sound doesn't match up to English sounds perfectly, but it's not hard to approximate.
-ang: Similar to the "ong" sound in the word "King Kong". Because you have the nasalized "-ng" ending, the "a" vowel changes slightly, but that's not something you should have to worry about too much.

Pinyin Chart Fragment

This is just a part of the full pinyin chart, limited to the sounds we've covered so far.

	-a	-ai	-ao	-an	-ang
b-	ba ba [pɑ] ㄅㄚ pa	bai bai [paɪ̯] ㄅㄞ pai	bao bao [pɑʊ̯] ㄅㄠ pao	ban ban [pan] ㄅㄢ pan	bang bang [pɑŋ] ㄅㄤ pang
p-	pa pa [pʰɑ] ㄆㄚ p'a	pai pai [pʰaɪ̯] ㄆㄞ p'ai	pao pao [pʰɑʊ̯] ㄆㄠ p'ao	pan pan [pʰan] ㄆㄢ p'an	pang pang [pʰɑŋ] ㄆㄤ p'ang
m-	ma ma [mɑ] ㄇㄚ ma	mai mai [maɪ̯] ㄇㄞ mai	mao mao [mɑʊ̯] ㄇㄠ mao	man man [man] ㄇㄢ man	mang mang [mɑŋ] ㄇㄤ mang
f-	fa fa [fɑ] ㄈㄚ fa			fan fan [fan] ㄈㄢ fan	fang fang [fɑŋ] ㄈㄤ fang
d-	da da [tɑ] ㄉㄚ ta	dai dai [taɪ̯] ㄉㄞ tai	dao dao [tɑʊ̯] ㄉㄠ tao	dan dan [tan] ㄉㄢ tan	dang dang [tɑŋ] ㄉㄤ tang
t-	ta ta [tʰɑ] ㄊㄚ t'a	tai tai [tʰaɪ̯] ㄊㄞ t'ai	tao tao [tʰɑʊ̯] ㄊㄠ t'ao	tan tan [tʰan] ㄊㄢ t'an	tang tang [tʰɑŋ] ㄊㄤ t'ang
n-	na na [nɑ] ㄋㄚ na	nai nai [naɪ̯] ㄋㄞ nai	nao nao [nɑʊ̯] ㄋㄠ nao	nan nan [nan] ㄋㄢ nan	nang nang [nɑŋ] ㄋㄤ nang
l-	la la [lɑ] ㄌㄚ la	lai lai [laɪ̯] ㄌㄞ lai	lao lao [lɑʊ̯] ㄌㄠ lao	lan lan [lan] ㄌㄢ lan	lang lang [lɑŋ] ㄌㄤ lang
s-	sa sa [sɑ] ㄙㄚ sa	sai sai [saɪ̯] ㄙㄞ sai	sao sao [sɑʊ̯] ㄙㄠ sao	san san [san] ㄙㄢ san	sang sang [sɑŋ] ㄙㄤ sang
g-	ga ga [kɑ] ㄍㄚ ka	gai gai [kaɪ̯] ㄍㄞ kai	gao gao [kɑʊ̯] ㄍㄠ kao	gan gan [kan] ㄍㄢ kan	gang gang [kɑŋ] ㄍㄤ kang
k-	ka ka [kʰɑ] ㄎㄚ k'a	kai kai [kʰaɪ̯] ㄎㄞ k'ai	kao kao [kʰɑʊ̯] ㄎㄠ k'ao	kan kan [kʰan] ㄎㄢ k'an	kang kang [kʰɑŋ] ㄎㄤ k'ang
h-	ha ha [xɑ] ㄏㄚ ha	hai hai [xaɪ̯] ㄏㄞ hai	hao hao [xɑʊ̯] ㄏㄠ hao	han han [xan] ㄏㄢ han	hang hang [xɑŋ] ㄏㄤ hang

Pinyin's Alternate "a" Vowel Sounds

The letter "a" in pinyin can actually make different sounds as well, when it is part of the "-ian" and "-üan" finals. Those sounds will be covered in later sections of this guide.

For now, let's move on to the "e" vowel.

Sources and further reading

Sinosplice: Chinese Pronunciation
ChinesePod: A with Easy Consonants

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 In the syllables introduced below, that's the "a" sound you'll hear. You can click on the sounds in the chart fragment to hear audio.
-When "a" combines with "i" below, it sounds like the "ai" in the English words <span class="enpron">"Th<strong>ai</strong>"</span> and <span class="enpron">"<strong>ai</strong>sle"</span>.
+# [[-ai]]: When "a" combines with "i" below, it sounds like the "ai" in the English words <span class="enpron">"Th<strong>ai</strong>"</span> and <span class="enpron">"<strong>ai</strong>sle"</span>.
+# [[-ao]]: When "a" combines with "o" below, it sounds pretty much like the word <span class="enpron">"T<strong>ao</strong>"</span>/<span class="enpron">"D<strong>ao</strong>"</span> which we've imported into English from Chinese, or the <span class="enpron">"ow"</span> in the English word <span class="enpron">"how"</span>, but with a rather muted “w” sound at the end.
-When "a" combines with "o" below, it sounds pretty much like the <span class="enpron">"ow"</span> in the English word <span class="enpron">"how"</span>, or the word <span class="enpron">"T<strong>ao</strong>"</span>/<span class="enpron">"D<strong>ao</strong>"</span> which we've imported into English from Chinese.
+# [[-an]]: Sounds similar to <span class="enpron">“on”</span> (minus a strong <span class="enpron">“aw”</span> sound like in <span class="enpron">“lawn”</span>) but you may also hear a hint of the vowel sound in the English word <span class="enpron">“can”</span>. This sound doesn't match up to English sounds perfectly, but it's not hard to approximate.
+# [[-ang]]: Similar to the <span class="enpron">"ong" sound in the word <span class="enpron">"King Kong"</span>. Because you have the nasalized "[[-ng]]" ending, the "a" vowel changes slightly, but that's not something you should have to worry about too much.
 == Pinyin Chart Fragment ==