OPTIONAL REFERENCE
Tongue position, lip shape, and airflow—explained one sound at a time.
Height: how high or low the tongue body sits. Backness: whether it is forward, central, or back. Rounding: whether the lips are rounded or unrounded. “High” describes the tongue, not the tone; “close” does not mean closing the lips.
A final can contain a relatively steady vowel, a moving vowel sequence, or a vowel plus a nasal ending. The sounds written i in zi and zhi, and r-colored er, have their own entries.
For an oral vowel, voice and ordinary outward breath pass through the mouth. For n, the tongue front closes near the upper teeth/ridge; for ng, the tongue back closes at the soft palate. The velum opens the nasal route for both endings. Nasalization can begin during the preceding vowel. Do not add a g release or another vowel.
Catherine Anderson — Essentials of Linguistics: Articulators · Ohio State University — Mandarin IPA charts
Each movement belongs to one syllable. Start with listening and imitation; use the details when you want to understand the position.
Simple oral vowel: open, central/back, unrounded
Try it: Lower the tongue; open the jaw comfortably; leave the lips unrounded.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[a ~ ɑ]
Position varies with the final; avoid one fixed a shape everywhere.
University of Washington — Mandarin vowel chart · International Phonetic Association — vowel chart
Rounded mid/back vowel; context may include a short glide
Try it: Round the lips and raise the back of the tongue moderately.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[o ~ ɔ; often wo-like after b/p/m/f]
A pure o teaching target and contextual uo-like realizations should both be explained.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University — simple finals · University of Washington — Mandarin vowel chart
Simple oral vowel: close-mid back unrounded
Try it: Keep the tongue body back and moderately raised; release lip rounding.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[ɤ]
Standalone e differs from e in en, ei, ie and üe; it may have slight internal movement.
University of Washington — Mandarin vowel chart · Hong Kong Polytechnic University — simple finals
Simple oral vowel: close front unrounded
Try it: Keep the tip low; raise the front tongue without sealing the passage; lips unrounded.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[i]
Ordinary i as in mi; not the finals of zi or zhi.
University of Washington — Mandarin vowel chart · International Phonetic Association — vowel chart
Simple oral vowel: close back rounded
Try it: Raise the back of the tongue; round the lips, with a small comfortable opening.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[u]
Do not add an extra consonant or force tight lips.
University of Washington — Mandarin vowel chart · International Phonetic Association — vowel chart
Simple oral vowel: close front rounded
Try it: Keep the front of the tongue high and forward as for i, then round the lips.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[y]
IPA y is a vowel symbol. Written u after j/q/x and in yu belongs to this family.
University of Washington — Mandarin vowel chart · Hong Kong Polytechnic University — simple finals
Rhotic vowel: r-colored, commonly central
Try it: Keep voicing. One option gently raises the tip behind the upper ridge without touching; another bunches the tongue body with the tip down. Keep an open passage.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[ɚ]
Tip-up and bunched tongue shapes are both documented. Erhua changes a preceding final; it is not always an added er syllable. The lab illustrates a bunched configuration.
Chen, Whalen & Mok (2024) — Mandarin rhotics · LMU Munich — Mandarin language demonstration
Special syllabic sound after z/c/s; traditionally apical vowel
Try it: Keep the front constriction near the upper teeth/ridge; continue voicing with reduced friction.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[ɹ̩ (one analysis)]
Not ordinary i. Traditional ɿ is not a standard IPA vowel symbol; no English-r instruction is intended.
Lee & Zee (2003) — Standard Chinese (Beijing) · Huang, Hsieh & Chang (2021) — cross-dialectal apical vowels
Special syllabic sound after zh/ch/sh/r; traditionally apical vowel
Try it: Retain a comfortable postalveolar tongue configuration while continuing the voiced syllable.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[ɻ̩ (one analysis)]
Not ordinary i or identical to er. Traditional ʅ and alternative syllabic transcriptions reflect different analyses.
Lee & Zee (2003) — Standard Chinese (Beijing) · Huang, Hsieh & Chang (2021) — cross-dialectal apical vowels
Closing diphthong: open toward high front
Try it: Begin relatively open; raise the front tongue as the jaw narrows; lips remain unrounded.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[aɪ̯]
The ending is brief and need not reach a full sustained i.
ChineseFor.Us — compound and nasal finals · Lee & Zee (2003) — Standard Chinese (Beijing)
Closing diphthong: mid-front toward high front
Try it: Begin with a mid-front vowel; raise the front tongue slightly; keep lips unrounded.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[ei̯ ~ eɪ̯]
Its starting e is not standalone back e [ɤ].
ChineseFor.Us — compound and nasal finals · University of Washington — Mandarin vowel chart
Closing diphthong: open/back toward high/back rounded
Try it: Begin low and open; lift the back tongue and increase rounding toward the end.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[ɑʊ̯]
The spelling o does not require stopping at an isolated o vowel.
ChineseFor.Us — compound and nasal finals · Lee & Zee (2003) — Standard Chinese (Beijing)
Closing diphthong: mid/back rounded toward higher/back
Try it: Start rounded; narrow the jaw and lip opening as the back tongue rises.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[ou̯ ~ oʊ̯]
Keep one syllable; the second portion is lighter.
ChineseFor.Us — compound and nasal finals · Lee & Zee (2003) — Standard Chinese (Beijing)
Leading front glide plus open vowel
Try it: Start high/front and move promptly to a low tongue and open jaw; lips unrounded.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[ja]
IPA j means the y-like glide, not Pinyin j.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University — compound final groups · Lee & Zee (2003) — Standard Chinese (Beijing)
Leading front glide plus front mid/open-mid vowel
Try it: From high/front, lower the front tongue moderately and open the jaw; lips unrounded.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[jɛ ~ je̞]
Finish at a front vowel, not standalone back e.
Ohio State University — Mandarin IPA charts · Lee & Zee (2003) — Standard Chinese (Beijing)
Leading back rounded glide plus open vowel
Try it: Start with u-like rounding; lower the tongue and open/unround toward a.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[wa]
The opening glide is brief; avoid two syllables.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University — compound final groups · Lee & Zee (2003) — Standard Chinese (Beijing)
Leading back rounded glide plus mid/back rounded vowel
Try it: Start high/back rounded; open the jaw moderately and lower the back tongue; keep rounding.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[wo ~ wɔ]
Finish more open than u; do not return to u at the end.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University — simple finals · Lee & Zee (2003) — Standard Chinese (Beijing)
Leading front rounded glide plus front mid/open-mid vowel
Try it: Begin ü-like, then lower the front tongue and relax rounding toward the final vowel.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[ɥɛ ~ ɥe̞]
Written yue, jue, que, xue retain the ü-family glide.
Ohio State University — Mandarin IPA charts · Lee & Zee (2003) — Standard Chinese (Beijing)
Uncommon leading front glide plus rounded mid/back vowel
Try it: Move from a brief front glide toward an o-like vowel, adding rounding.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[jo]
Uncommon final in yo. The lab illustrates a front glide into an o-like vowel; exact realization varies by speaker.
Taiwan Ministry of Education — 唷 yō · University of Washington — Mandarin vowel chart
Leading front glide plus closing diphthong
Try it: Move high/front → low/open → higher/back with increasing rounding at the finish.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[jɑʊ̯]
One syllable; the opening glide and ending are lighter than the middle.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University — compound final groups · Litao Chinese — Pinyin course syllabus
Leading front glide plus rounded closing diphthong
Try it: Move from a front glide into a rounded mid/back vowel, then close slightly.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[jou̯]
Usually written iu after an initial; middle-vowel prominence varies.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University — compound final groups · Litao Chinese — Pinyin course syllabus
Leading rounded back glide plus front-closing diphthong
Try it: Begin rounded/high-back, open toward a, then raise the front tongue; unround.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[waɪ̯]
One continuous syllable, not three equally stressed vowels.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University — compound final groups · Litao Chinese — Pinyin course syllabus
Leading rounded back glide plus front-closing diphthong
Try it: Begin u-like; move toward mid-front e then higher/front i, releasing rounding.
Airflow: Voice and ordinary outward breath continue through the mouth; the nasal route is closed for the oral vowel.
[wei̯]
Usually written ui after an initial; middle-vowel prominence varies.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University — compound final groups · Litao Chinese — Pinyin course syllabus
Open unrounded vowel plus front nasal
Try it: Begin low; close with the tongue tip/front at the upper teeth/ridge; lips unrounded.
Airflow: The tongue front closes near the upper teeth/ridge; the velum opens the nasal route. Voice continues through the nose.
[an]
The nasal ending is voiced; no added vowel afterward.
Ohio State University — Mandarin IPA charts · Catherine Anderson — Essentials of Linguistics: Articulators
Mid-central unrounded vowel plus front nasal
Try it: Keep a relaxed central vowel, then close at the upper teeth/ridge with the tongue front.
Airflow: The tongue front closes near the upper teeth/ridge; the velum opens the nasal route. Voice continues through the nose.
[ən]
Use central schwa, not a full standalone e [ɤ].
Ohio State University — Mandarin IPA charts · Catherine Anderson — Essentials of Linguistics: Articulators
High-front unrounded vowel plus front nasal
Try it: Hold an i-like body position; bring the tongue front to the upper teeth/ridge.
Airflow: The tongue front closes near the upper teeth/ridge; the velum opens the nasal route. Voice continues through the nose.
[in]
The closure differentiates in from ing; preserve one syllable.
Ohio State University — Mandarin IPA charts · Catherine Anderson — Essentials of Linguistics: Articulators
Front glide plus front mid/low vowel plus front nasal
Try it: Start i-like; lower toward an open front vowel; finish with the front-tongue nasal closure.
Airflow: The tongue front closes near the upper teeth/ridge; the velum opens the nasal route. Voice continues through the nose.
[jɛn ~ jæn]
The a is higher/fronted relative to standalone a; avoid mechanically joining i and an.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University — compound final groups · Ohio State University — Mandarin IPA charts
Rounded back glide plus open vowel plus front nasal
Try it: Start rounded; open and unround toward a; finish with the front-tongue nasal closure.
Airflow: The tongue front closes near the upper teeth/ridge; the velum opens the nasal route. Voice continues through the nose.
[wan]
Distinct from üan despite similar spelling after j/q/x.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University — compound final groups · Catherine Anderson — Essentials of Linguistics: Articulators
Rounded back glide plus central vowel plus front nasal
Try it: Start rounded/high-back; relax toward central schwa; finish with the front-tongue closure.
Airflow: The tongue front closes near the upper teeth/ridge; the velum opens the nasal route. Voice continues through the nose.
[wən]
Usually written un after an initial; not the ün of jun/qun/xun/yun.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University — compound final groups · Catherine Anderson — Essentials of Linguistics: Articulators
Rounded front glide plus front vowel plus front nasal
Try it: Start ü-like; open toward a front vowel and relax rounding; close with the tongue front.
Airflow: The tongue front closes near the upper teeth/ridge; the velum opens the nasal route. Voice continues through the nose.
[ɥɛn ~ ɥæn]
Written yuan, juan, quan, xuan; the nucleus is not plain back/open a.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University — compound final groups · Ohio State University — Mandarin IPA charts
High-front rounded vowel plus front nasal
Try it: Keep ü-like tongue position and rounded lips; bring the tongue front into nasal closure.
Airflow: The tongue front closes near the upper teeth/ridge; the velum opens the nasal route. Voice continues through the nose.
[yn]
Written yun or un after j/q/x; do not substitute u.
Ohio State University — Mandarin IPA charts · Catherine Anderson — Essentials of Linguistics: Articulators
Open back unrounded vowel plus back nasal
Try it: Begin low/back with an open jaw; raise the tongue back to the soft palate.
Airflow: The tongue back closes at the soft palate; the velum opens the nasal route. Voice continues through the nose, without an extra g release.
[ɑŋ]
The vowel often differs from an as well as the closure.
Ohio State University — Mandarin IPA charts · Catherine Anderson — Essentials of Linguistics: Articulators
Central/back mid unrounded vowel plus back nasal
Try it: Begin with an unrounded mid vowel; raise the back of the tongue into nasal closure.
Airflow: The tongue back closes at the soft palate; the velum opens the nasal route. Voice continues through the nose, without an extra g release.
[əŋ ~ ɤŋ]
Sources/speakers differ in the nucleus; do not insist on one exact e height.
Ohio State University — Mandarin IPA charts · Catherine Anderson — Essentials of Linguistics: Articulators
High-front unrounded vowel plus back nasal
Try it: Start i-like; form the ending closure with the tongue back, keeping the tip low.
Airflow: The tongue back closes at the soft palate; the velum opens the nasal route. Voice continues through the nose, without an extra g release.
[iŋ ~ iəŋ]
A central transition may be audible; do not add a separate syllable.
Ohio State University — Mandarin IPA charts · Catherine Anderson — Essentials of Linguistics: Articulators
High/near-high back rounded vowel plus back nasal
Try it: Start high/back with rounded lips, somewhat relaxed; close at the soft palate.
Airflow: The tongue back closes at the soft palate; the velum opens the nasal route. Voice continues through the nose, without an extra g release.
[ʊŋ ~ uŋ]
Its vowel is higher than ordinary o; the written letter is not the articulation.
Ohio State University — Mandarin IPA charts · Lee & Zee (2003) — Standard Chinese (Beijing)
Front glide plus open/back vowel plus back nasal
Try it: Start high/front; open toward a low vowel; finish with back-tongue nasal closure.
Airflow: The tongue back closes at the soft palate; the velum opens the nasal route. Voice continues through the nose, without an extra g release.
[jɑŋ]
Contrast ian using both vowel quality and closure location.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University — compound final groups · Catherine Anderson — Essentials of Linguistics: Articulators
Rounded back glide plus open/back vowel plus back nasal
Try it: Begin rounded; open toward a low vowel, easing rounding; close with the tongue back.
Airflow: The tongue back closes at the soft palate; the velum opens the nasal route. Voice continues through the nose, without an extra g release.
[wɑŋ]
Do not keep the whole final at the u position.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University — compound final groups · Catherine Anderson — Essentials of Linguistics: Articulators
Rounded back glide plus central vowel plus back nasal
Try it: Begin u-like; ease toward a central mid vowel; finish with back-tongue closure.
Airflow: The tongue back closes at the soft palate; the velum opens the nasal route. Voice continues through the nose, without an extra g release.
[wəŋ]
Typically the zero-initial spelling weng; distinguish from ong.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University — compound final groups · Catherine Anderson — Essentials of Linguistics: Articulators
Front/rounded onset and rounded high vowel plus back nasal
Try it: Round early; begin with a forward tongue position, then form the back nasal closure.
Airflow: The tongue back closes at the soft palate; the velum opens the nasal route. Voice continues through the nose, without an extra g release.
[jʊŋ ~ yŋ]
Descriptions include glide-plus-back-rounded and front-rounded realizations. The lab illustrates early rounding followed by a relaxed back-rounded vowel and ng closure.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University — compound final groups · Ohio State University — Mandarin IPA charts
The full explanation is here when you want to go further.
1. Vowel quality: height, backness, and lip rounding describe a vowel’s position. 2. Final structure: a steady vowel, a moving vowel sequence, or a vowel/glide plus nasal ending describes the whole final. 3. Special articulation: rhoticity and the two special written-i sounds need their own explanations. “Retroflex” is not an umbrella category for ordinary vowels.
| Dimension | Terms to explain | Teaching meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Height | Close/high; near-close; close-mid; mid; open-mid; near-open; open/low | Approximate tongue-body height. “Close” does not mean sealed lips or a blocked throat. |
| Backness | Front; near-front; central; near-back; back | Location of the raised tongue body, not simply where the tip points. |
| Lips | Unrounded; rounded | Rounding changes vowel quality. Unrounded does not require an exaggerated smile. |
| Movement | Monophthong; diphthong; leading glide; triphthong | A relatively stable target versus movement within one syllable. Terminology differs by analysis. |
| Nasal coupling | Oral; nasalized; nasal consonant ending | A nasalized vowel still has an open oral passage; n/ng involve oral closure. |
| Rhoticity | Plain; r-colored/rhotic | A change in resonance, not a mandatory tightly curled tongue. |
Voicing, phonation, duration and tone can also be described, but should not become extra “vowel families” in this beginner interface. Pitch height and tongue height are different dimensions.
Classification: International Phonetic Association — vowel chart · University of Washington — Mandarin vowel chart · Hong Kong Polytechnic University — compound-final structure · Catherine Anderson — Essentials of Linguistics: Articulators · Chen, Whalen & Mok (2024) — Mandarin rhotics
Useful anchor labels are i [i] — close front unrounded; ü [y] — close front rounded; u [u] — close back rounded; e [ɤ] — close-mid back unrounded; a — open central/back unrounded; and o — mid/back rounded. Context adds central [ə] in en/uen, front [e~ɛ] in ei/ie/üe, front [ɛ~æ] in ian/üan, back [ɑ] in ang/ao, and near-close back rounded [ʊ] in ong. These are broad teaching targets, not a claim that each is a separate vowel phoneme. The final entries show the relevant contexts.
开口呼: finals without an initial i/u/ü-type component. 齐齿呼: i/front-unrounded family. 合口呼: u/back-rounded family. 撮口呼: ü/front-rounded family. These traditional labels are useful as optional Chinese terminology, but do not replace the IPA dimensions. In particular, “open-mouth group” does not mean every member is a low/open vowel.
Keep spelling groups separate from articulation: ong/iong are placed differently in some spelling tables and phonetic descriptions. Qingdao University of Technology — phonetic concepts · Shanxi Finance & Taxation College — 四呼 distinctions
Scope: 39 entries means this app’s current inventory: six ordinary simple finals, er, two special i entries, fourteen oral glide finals (including uncommon io), and sixteen nasal finals. It is not the same as a textbook’s “24 finals,” “35/36 finals,” or a phonological count of vowel phonemes. ê [ɛ] is an open-mid front unrounded vowel used in some interjection descriptions; standalone m/n/ng and hm are syllabic/interjection cases outside this vowel inventory. Erhua is productive and cannot be exhaustively represented by one extra er card.
The instructions combine the cited research with practical teaching cues. Exact posture varies with the speaker and surrounding sounds.
| Airflow label | What the explanation and diagram should show |
|---|---|
| Oral | Ordinary outward breath, generally with voicing. The velum closes the nasal route; air passes through the mouth without a stop closure. Vowels do not need an aspiration blast. |
| Oral → n | The tongue front closes near the upper teeth/ridge; the velum lowers to open the nasal route. Voice continues through the ending. |
| Oral → ng | The tongue back closes at the soft palate while the nasal route is open. Keep the tip low; no extra g release. |
Nasalization may begin before the final consonant is fully formed. A teaching animation may show a transition, but should not imply an exact universal instant or measured airflow quantity. The back-tongue closure and velum movement are separate actions.
Mechanism: Catherine Anderson — Essentials of Linguistics: Articulators · Ohio State University — Mandarin IPA charts. Movement and spelling: ChineseFor.Us — compound and nasal finals · Hong Kong Polytechnic University — Pinyin spelling
Spelling traps: iu/ui/un often represent iou/uei/uen. After j/q/x, written u belongs to the ü family; yu/yue/yuan/yun do too. Therefore qu and chu must not share a vowel posture merely because both are written with u.
Finals: i, u, ü, a, o.
Finals: en, eng, in, ing, an, ang.
Finals: a, o, e, i, u, ü, er.
Finals: ao, ai, ou, ei, ie, ia, ua, uo, üe.
Finals: iao, iou, uai, uei.
Finals: an, ang, en, eng, in, ing, ün, ong.
Finals: ian, iang, uan, uang, uen, ueng, üan, iong.
Use these lessons for listening and imitation. Regional accents and teaching descriptions vary.
References support the teaching descriptions; the diagrams are schematic, not scans of an individual speaker.
Authoritative classification vocabulary; not a Mandarin-specific inventory.
Pinyin/IPA and audio. Explicitly places Mandarin a centrally in its teaching chart.
Primary phonetic description, pp. 110–111: context-dependent vowels, glides and syllabic consonants. Describes a Beijing model, not every speaker.
Useful listening models and o/uo discussion. English analogies are approximations, not definitions.
Grouping, ian, anticipatory rounding in iong, and variable prominence in iou/uei.
Main vowel versus other components; distinguishes the two nasal endings.
Canonical iou/uei/uen, written iu/ui/un, and ü spelling after j/q/x/y.
Oral and nasal-context vowel charts, including [ʊ] in ong and fronted vowels in ian. PDF chart headings/IPA versus Pinyin labeling require care; cross-check symbols rather than copying automatically.
General articulatory mechanism: lungs, vocal folds, oral closure and velum/nasal passage.
Ultrasound study of 18 speakers; syllabic/postvocalic rhotics include tip-up and tip-down bunched shapes.
EMA/ultrasound evidence that apical-vowel tongue configurations vary across Mandarin dialects.
Traditional 四呼 categories based on the beginning of the final.
Explicitly contrasts spelling-based versus articulatory placement of ong and iong.
Attests the uncommon ㄧㄛ / yo syllable. Does not specify a narrow IPA tongue trajectory.
Teacher-authored guidance: offglides are lighter than the main vowel, not separate full vowels.
Primary provider descriptions for the five linked lessons and their target finals.
Supplementary activities and video collection. Some explanations are simplified; do not adopt literal letter-by-letter articulation or a universal fixed tongue position.
Audio-oriented introduction to ordinary vowels, apical syllabic sounds and rhotacization.
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