2 Tracks, 3 Levels

Although there are plenty of pronunciation points contained in this wiki, the core content you need to master pronunciation of Mandarin Chinese is contained in our "2 Tracks, 3 Levels" approach.

The 2 tracks for each level are always the Sounds represented by Pinyin (non-tone) and Tones. You need to fully master both tracks (all the way to the end) to have really good, natural pronunciation in Mandarin Chinese.

Beginner Level

If you're an absolute beginner or close to it, this is where you need to focus your efforts.

Learn Pinyin

All beginners need to spend a good chunk of time on pinyin. It's absolutely worthwhile to go through a step-by-step, detailed explanation of pinyin, but if you've already had that, then focus on the pain points that all beginners have. Once you've learned that stuff, you should still spend time on a pinyin chart

Get Familiar with the Four Tones

The four tones are super important, but don't expect to master them after a week. Please do understand, though, that it takes time to really get used to tones and to get to the point where you can reliably differentiate them and even produce them correctly and consistently on your own. This doesn't happen overnight! Be patient, and listen to plenty of audio for the tones.