Mandarin Chinese/Pinyin/U
This lesson you will learn:
- The letters U and Ü
- Compound and Nasal finals containing the letter U
- Tones
- NG
The Letter U
[edit | edit source]"U" is pronounced "oo".
 |
The "u" after x, q and j is not really a "u" it is really "ü". This also applies for compound finals starting with "u" |
Compound and Nasal Finals Containing U
[edit | edit source]- ou- oh
- iou- yo
- uo- woah
- uei- way
- ua- water
- uai- why
- uan- wahn
- uen- wuhn
 | iou, uei, and uen change when they have initials. They become iu, ui and un respectively |
Like with "i", "u" become "w" initially.
Tones
[edit | edit source]As many know, Chinese is a tonal language. This means that the way you pronounce a word can change its meaning. For example:
| You do not need to learn these characters (at least not yet) |
| Character | Meaning | Pinyin | Tone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 妈妈 | Mom | Māma | Flat |
| 麻 | Hemp | Má | Rising |
| 马 | Horse | Mǎ | Change |
| 骂 | To Scold | Mà | Falling |
| 吗 | Question Particle | Ma | Neutral |
- The flat line means your voice is Higher and Level: āēīōūǖ
- The falling line means your voice drops, like you are angry: àèìòùǜ
- The line going down and up means your voice drops and rises again: ǎěǐǒǔǚ
- The rising line means your voice goes up, like you are asking a question: áéíóúǘ
- No line means you voice is Lower and Level: aeiouü
Ü is the ONE vowel sound in Chinese but not English. If you know German, yes, it is the same sound, and to those who know French it is a "U". But for the rest of us...
The Letter Ü
[edit | edit source]Pronounce this vowel "ee" but with your lips rounded like you were pronouncing "oo"
Rules About, and Compounds With Ü
[edit | edit source]- üe- +eh
- ün- +n
- üan- +ahn
Like i become y and u becomes w, ü becomes yu. The finals after this rule
| Final | Without Initial |
|---|---|
| ü | yu |
| üe | yue |
| ün | yun |
| üan | yuan |
NG
[edit | edit source]NG acts just like N in a nasal final. And here they are: ang, iang, uang, eng, ing, yong, ong