Mandarin Chinese/Pinyin/Consonants

Lesson

In pinyin, there are 23 consonants. Do not be alarmed by this number, many are pronounced as they are in English. Here is a list. b p m f
d t n l
g k h
j q x
zh ch sh r
z c s
w y

The pronunciations of all these consonants, except for q, x, zh and c, are similar to those in English.

• q - ch as in "cheese"
• x - sh as in "sheet"
• zh - j as in "jack"
• c - ts as in "hats"

See, Chinese is easier than people say it is.

In Short...

• 23 consonants
• b p m f d t n l g k h j q x zh ch sh r z c s w y
• Most are like English
• "q" and "x" are "ch" and "sh" respectively
• "c" is "ts"
• "zh" is like "jack"