The "c" and "z" sounds

Although the sounds that pinyin "c" and "z" make are not actually super foreign to speakers of English, there are two reasons they deserve special attention:

  1. The sounds "c" and "z" make are not the sounds they make in English
  2. Pronouncing the "c" and "z" sounds in Chinese is difficult for some learners

If you find these sounds easy, great! Many learners do. Other learners will need to to work on these sounds quite a bit.

Pinyin's "c" Sound

Pinyin's c- initial is simply a "ts" sound. It's like the "ts" you hear in the English words "cats" and "Watson" and "robots". The only thing that makes this Chinese sound challenging is that in English the "ts" always appears in the middle or at the end of words, whereas in Chinese it is an initial sound. For this reason, some learners need to time to get used to making this sound.

Pinyin's "z" Sound

Very similar to the c- initial, the z- initial sounds very similar to an English "dz" sound (although the "d" is not voiced). It's like the "ds" you hear in the English words "kids" and "loads" and "odds". The main thing that makes this Chinese sound challenging is that in English the "dz" always appears in the middle or at the end of words, whereas in Chinese it is an initial sound. For this reason, some learners need to time to get used to making this sound.

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-a- -a -ai -ao -an -ang -e- -e -ei -en -eng -er -o- -o -ou -ong -i- -i -i* -ia -iao -ie -iou -ian -iang -in -ing -iong -u- -u -ua -uai -uei -uo -uan -uang -uen -ueng
s-
sa
[sɑ]
ㄙㄚ
sa
sai
[saɪ̯]
ㄙㄞ
sai
sao
[sɑʊ̯]
ㄙㄠ
sao
san
[san]
ㄙㄢ
san
sang
[sɑŋ]
ㄙㄤ
sang
se
[sɯ̯ʌ]
ㄙㄜ
se
sen
[sən]
ㄙㄣ
sen
seng
[səŋ]
ㄙㄥ
seng
sou
[sɤʊ̯]
ㄙㄡ
sou
song
[sʊŋ]
ㄙㄨㄥ
sung
si
[sɿ]
ssu
su
[su]
ㄙㄨ
su
sui
[su̯eɪ̯]
ㄙㄨㄟ
sui
suo
[su̯ɔ]
ㄙㄨㄛ
so
suan
[su̯an]
ㄙㄨㄢ
suan
sun
[su̯ən]
ㄙㄨㄣ
sun
s-
z-
za
[tsɑ]
ㄗㄚ
tsa
zai
[tsaɪ̯]
ㄗㄞ
tsai
zao
[tsɑʊ̯]
ㄗㄠ
tsao
zan
[tsan]
ㄗㄢ
tsan
zang
[tsɑŋ]
ㄗㄤ
tsang
ze
[tsɯ̯ʌ]
ㄗㄜ
tse
zei
[tseɪ̯]
ㄗㄟ
tsei
zen
[tsən]
ㄗㄣ
tsen
zeng
[tsəŋ]
ㄗㄥ
tseng
zou
[tsɤʊ̯]
ㄗㄡ
tsou
zong
[tsʊŋ]
ㄗㄨㄥ
tsung
zi
[tsɿ]
tzu
zu
[tsu]
ㄗㄨ
tsu
zui
[tsu̯eɪ̯]
ㄗㄨㄟ
tsui
zuo
[tsu̯ɔ]
ㄗㄨㄛ
tso
zuan
[tsu̯an]
ㄗㄨㄢ
tsuan
zun
[tsu̯ən]
ㄗㄨㄣ
tsun
z-
c-
ca
[tsʰɑ]
ㄘㄚ
ts'a
cai
[tsʰaɪ̯]
ㄘㄞ
ts'ai
cao
[tsʰɑʊ̯]
ㄘㄠ
ts'ao
can
[tsʰan]
ㄘㄢ
ts'an
cang
[tsʰɑŋ]
ㄘㄤ
ts'ang
ce
[tsʰɯ̯ʌ]
ㄘㄜ
ts'e
cei
[tsʰeɪ̯]
ㄘㄟ
ts'ei
cen
[tsʰən]
ㄘㄣ
ts'en
ceng
[tsʰəŋ]
ㄘㄥ
ts'eng
cou
[tsʰɤʊ̯]
ㄘㄡ
ts'ou
cong
[tsʰʊŋ]
ㄘㄨㄥ
ts'ung
ci
[tsʰɿ]
tz'u
cu
[tsʰu]
ㄘㄨ
ts'u
cui
[tsʰu̯eɪ̯]
ㄘㄨㄟ
ts'ui
cuo
[tsʰu̯ɔ]
ㄘㄨㄛ
ts'o
cuan
[tsʰu̯an]
ㄘㄨㄢ
ts'uan
cun
[tsʰu̯ən]
ㄘㄨㄣ
ts'un
c-