The "a" vowel

Revision as of 17:23, 28 March 2015 by WikiSysop (talk | contribs)

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.

When "a" combines with "i" below, it sounds like the English word "eye".

When "a" combines with "o" below, it sounds pretty much like the "ow" in the English word "how".

Pinyin Chart Fragment

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

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