Pronunciation points by level

AllSet Learning has developed this list of pronunciation points, organized by level, to aid in tracking learner progress. Many textbooks and teachers treat pronunciation as something that is learned at the beginning of one's studies and "completed." Unfortunately, acquisition of tones and many other features of Chinese pronunciation takes much longer than a few weeks, so it's better to take a long-term approach to pronunciation in your studies.

A1 Pronunciation Points

A1 Pronunciation Points (Beginner / HSK 1): for absolute beginners (be sure to check out the pinyin chart!)

Your key tasks at this stage are familiarization with the syllables of pinyin and with the four tones.

Pinyin Points

Level	Pronunciation Point	Summary
A1	Introduction to pinyin	Some background information about pinyin for absolute beginners. HINT: pinyin was not created as a pronunciation guide for foreigners!
A1	Pinyin chart	Learn all the sounds and individual syllables that make up all the words in Mandarin Chinese.
A1	Pinyin quick start guide
	1. Easy sounds	Not all sounds in Mandarin are hard! This part covers "p", "m", "f", "d", "t", "n", "l", "s", "g", "k", "h".
	2. The "a" vowel	The vowel "a" in Mandarin isn't too hard, so let's start with that one. Now you can make actual syllables!
	3. The "e" vowel	The letter "e" in pinyin can represent several different vowel sounds, and it's important to learn them all.
	4. The "i" vowel	In pinyin, "i" makes more than just one sound. Be sure to learn in what syllables it sounds different.
	5. The "o" and "u" vowels	The "o" and "u" vowels in Chinese aren't quite as straightforward as one might hope, and the two get confused a bit, so it's useful to learn them together.
	6. The "c" and "z" sounds	The letters "c" and "z" in pinyin can totally throw you off at first, but the sounds they make are not too difficult for most learners.
	7. The "ch" "sh" and "zh" sounds	These similar sounds shouldn't be too hard for speakers of English, but it's important to pay close attention to the vowel sounds that they combine with.
	8. The "r" sound	This is probably an "r" sound unlike any you've ever made before. It doesn't exist in English, but it can be learned!
	9. The "ü" vowel	Not the same as "u", the "ü" sound might be familiar if you speak French or German, but it doesn't exist in English.
	10. The "j" "q" and "x" sounds	The "j", "q", and "x" sounds are all foreign to speakers of English, but absolutely essential to master for good Chinese pronunciation.
A1	Pinyin gotchas	There are certain seemingly inconsistent things about pinyin that trip everybody up at first. Here they all are, together in one convenient list.

Tone Points

Level	Pronunciation Point	Summary
A1	Four tones	There are four main tones in Mandarin Chinese. Your quest to master them starts here!
A1	Neutral tone	Whether you think of it as "the fifth tone," or "the zeroth tone," it's a little tonal trick you'll need to know.

A2 Pronunciation Points

A2 Pronunciation Points (Elementary / HSK 2): for those with roughly one semester of formal Chinese study (this section is still being actively developed and expanded)

At this stage you should be getting better at pronouncing some of those more difficult words (like "chūqù") while also learning tone change rules and setting the stage for tone pairs.

Pinyin Points

Level	Pronunciation Point	Summary
A2	Tough sounds (basic)	Certain sounds and sound combinations need extra attention.
	1. Tough sounds c-s-z-	Not all learners struggle with them, but the c- and z- initials can be tricky for some.
	2. Tough sounds s-sh-, c-ch-, z-zh-	Although the sounds themselves aren't too bad, the way they're combined can be difficult.
	3. Tough sounds x-sh-, q-ch-, j-zh-	The x-, q-, and -j initials are new and foreign. When mixed with the sh-, ch-, and zh- initials, the results can be downright brutal.
	4. Tough sounds r-	The r- initial is an all-new sound for English-speakers, and it definitely requires practice.
	5. Tough sounds -an-ang	The -an and -ang finals aren't too bad by themselves, but how they're pronounced can vary a bit depending on what comes before them.
	6. Tough sounds -e	The Mandarin "e" sound, although not entirely alien to English speakers, does take some practice to get right consistently.
	7. Tough sounds -ou-uo	The "ou" and "-uo" vowel sounds aren't difficult, but they're easy to mix up.
	8. Tough sounds -ü-u	Those two dots make a difference, but sometimes they're "stealth."
	9. Tough sounds -un	The key here is knowing when you're dealing with the "ü" vowel, since the two dots are not always written.
	10. Tough sounds -uan	The key here is knowing when you're dealing with the "ü" vowel and when you're dealing with the "ü" vowel.
A2	Erhua	This is the "Beijinger R sound" that gives Mandarin Chinese its pirate flavor!
A2	Pinyin spelling rules	Capitalization, apostrophes, punctuation... all good to know!

Tone Points

Level	Pronunciation Point	Summary
A2	Tone change rules	If you know all 4 tones (plus the neutral tone), then it's time to learn the three big rules about when these tones regularly change.
	1. Tone changes for third tones	For example: 你好 (níhǎo), 很好 (hén hǎo), 可以 (kéyǐ)
	2. Tone changes for "bu"	For example: 不是 (bú shì), 不对 (bú duì), 不要 (bú yào)
	3. Tone changes for "yi"	For example: 一个 (yígè), 一样 (yíyàng), 一起 (yìqǐ)

B1 Pronunciation Points

B1 Pronunciation Points (Intermediate / HSK 3): for those with roughly one year of formal Chinese study (this section is still being actively developed and expanded)

At this stage, you should be getting better at those difficult words and you should know your tone change rules, so progress is largely about nailing those tone pairs.

Pinyin Points

Level	Pronunciation Point	Summary
B1	Tough sounds (advanced)	Certain sounds and sound combinations STILL need extra attention.
	1. Tough sounds x-sh-, q-ch-, j-zh- (phrases)	Hopefully the x-, q-, and -j initials are less foreign foreign now, But they undoubtedly still need practice!
	2. Tough sounds r- (phrases)	English-speakers needs dedicate practice to master the r- initial sound.
	3. Tough sounds -e (phrases)	Even at the intermediate level, most learners benefit from extra practice of the Mandarin "e" sound.
	4. Tough sounds -ou-uo (phrases)	If you still occasionally get your "ou" and "-uo" vowel sounds mixed up, then it's time to master them.
	5. Tough sounds -ü-u (phrases)	Intermediate learners should no longer be deceived by the "stealth ü" vowel, but often still need practice with it.
	6. Tough sounds -un (phrases)	Sometimes the "-un" sound can still trip people up, even at the intermediate level.
B1	Rare syllable	You won't find these in our chart, but if you're an intermediate learner, it's time to let you in on the little secret of these syllables' existence.

Tone Points

Level	Pronunciation Point	Summary
B1	Tone pairs	It's not enough to know the tones; you need to PRACTICE them in each combination, until it becomes second nature.
	1. Tone pair 1-1	For example: 今天 (jīntiān), 星期 (xīngqī), 咖啡 (kāfēi)
	2. Tone pair 1-2	For example: 突然 (tūrán), 加油 (jiāyóu), 空调 (kōngtiáo)
	3. Tone pair 1-3	For example: 多少 (duōshǎo), 喝酒 (hējiǔ), 机场 (jīchǎng)
	4. Tone pair 1-4	For example: 因为 (yīnwèi), 说话 (shuōhuà), 工作 (gōngzuò)
	5. Tone pair 1-0	For example: 舒服 (shūfu), 清楚 (qīngchu), 知识 (zhīshi)
	6. Tone pair 2-1	For example: 昨天 (zuótiān), 明天 (míngtiān), 回家 (huíjiā)
	7. Tone pair 2-2	For example: 平时 (píngshí), 流行 (liúxíng), 无聊 (wúliáo)
	8. Tone pair 2-3	For example: 如果 (rúguǒ), 苹果 (píngguǒ), 朋友 (péngyǒu)
	9. Tone pair 2-4	For example: 还是 (háishì), 然后 (ránhòu), 不错 (bùcuò)
	10. Tone pair 2-0	For example: 便宜 (piányi), 麻烦 (máfan)
	11. Tone pair 3-1	For example: 已经 (yǐjīng), 喜欢 (xǐhuan), 手机 (shǒujī)
	12. Tone pair 3-2	For example: 很忙 (hěn máng), 以前 (yǐqián), 有名 (yǒumíng)
	13. Tone pair 3-3	For example: 你好 (nǐhǎo), 很好 (hěn hǎo), 有点 (yǒudiǎn)
	14. Tone pair 3-4	For example: 以后 (yǐhòu), 早饭 (zǎofàn), 好看 (hǎokàn)
	15. Tone pair 3-0	For example: 走吧 (zǒu ba), 跑啊 (pǎo a), 买了 (mǎi le)
	16. Tone pair 4-1	For example: 上班 (shàngbān), 蛋糕 (dàngāo), 一些 (yīxiē)
	17. Tone pair 4-2	For example: 上学 (shàngxué), 问题 (wèntí), 去年 (qùnián)
	18. Tone pair 4-3	For example: 一起 (yīqǐ), 下雨 (xiàyǔ), 电脑 (diànnǎo)
	19. Tone pair 4-4	For example: 现在 (xiànzài), 重要 (zhòngyào), 电话 (diànhuà)
	20. Tone pair 4-0	For example: 去吧 (qù ba), 到了 (dào le), 漂亮 (piàoliang)
B1	Tone changes for multiple consecutive third tones	For example: 法语也有语法
B1	Additional tone change rules (B1)

Other Points

Level	Pronunciation Point	Summary
B1	Accent	China is a fascinating land full of variety. That includes all kinds of different accents!

B2 Pronunciation Points

B2 Pronunciation Points (Upper Intermediate / HSK 4): for those with roughly two years of formal Chinese study (this section is not started yet)

Tone Points

Level	Pronunciation Point	Summary
B2	Pronunciation variant	What happens when a word has a certain pinyin reading in the dictionary, but is often pronounced differently by native speakers? It ends up on this list!
B2	Advanced tone change rules (B2)	Although you probably know the three main tone change rules, there are a few more obscure ones that more advanced learners may want to tackle.

Notes on the Levels

AllSet Learning has adopted the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, which uses the "A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2" system, corresponding to levels beginner through advanced. These levels also have equivalents in the ACTFL (American) standards.