The "a" vowel

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 word "father" (and never like the "a" in "man").

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.

Pinyin's Alternate "a" Vowel Sounds

This is some temporary holder text to move the pinyin chart down. This is some temporary holder text to move the pinyin chart down. This is some temporary holder text to move the pinyin chart down. This is some temporary holder text to move the pinyin chart down.

	-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