Interactive Pinyin Chart
Mandarin has a surprisingly small sound system: 394 syllables cover the entire HSK 3.0 vocabulary. Click any syllable to see its tones, hear it spoken, and meet real characters that use it. Every example links to its full character page.
Rows are initials (the consonant a syllable starts with), columns are finals (the rest of the sound). Click any syllable to see its four tones with real characters.
| · | a | o | e | i | u | ü | ai | ei | ao | ou | an | en | ang | eng | ong | ia | ie | iao | iu | ian | in | iang | ing | iong | ua | uo | uai | ui | uan | un | uang | üe | ue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | |||||||||
| zh | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | |||||||||||||||||||
| ch | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ||||||||||||||||||
| sh | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ||||||||||||||||||
| b | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ||||||||||||||||
| p | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | |||||||||||||||||
| m | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | |||||||||||||||||||
| f | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ||||||||
| d | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ||||||||||||||||||||
| t | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | |||||||||||||||||||
| n | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| l | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| g | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | |||||||||||||||||||
| k | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ||||||||||||||||||
| h | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | |||||||||||||||||||
| j | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ||||||||||||||
| q | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ||||||||||||||
| x | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ||||||||||||||
| r | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ||||||||||||||
| z | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | |||||||||||||||||
| c | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | |||||||||||||||
| s | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ||||||||||||||||
| y | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ||||||||||||||
| w | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
How to read this chart
Every Mandarin syllable is an initial (the starting consonant, like b, zh or m) combined with a final (the rest of the sound, like a, ang or iao). The rows of the chart are initials and the columns are finals. Where a row and column meet, that syllable exists in Mandarin. Empty cells are combinations the language simply does not use, which is why the sound system stays so learnable.
One syllable, four tones
Each syllable can carry one of four tones (plus a neutral tone), and the tone changes the meaning entirely: mā (妈) is mother while mǎ (马) is horse. That is why every syllable on this chart expands into its toned versions with real characters. If tones are new to you, start with our beginner's guide to Chinese tones, and when you need to type them, our pinyin tone converter turns ni3 hao3 into nǐ hǎo instantly.
Real characters, not just sounds
Unlike most pinyin charts, every sound here is backed by actual HSK 3.0 characters, sorted so the most common come first. That matters because a syllable in isolation is forgettable, but mǎ attached to 马 (horse) is a word you will actually use. Click through any character to see its meaning, stroke order and components.
About the audio
Playback uses your device's built-in Chinese voice, the same approach our study app uses for pronunciation. Most desktop browsers and iPhones have one out of the box; some Android phones need the Chinese language pack installed before the play buttons appear.