* Pinyin (拼音) means “spell” + “sound.” It was developed in mainland China to replace the Wade-Giles system of transliteration (see first page of Glossary to compare).

The traditional Chinese characters, used in the Zhouyi zhezhong, are called Hanzi (the Han characters); they are still used in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Simplified characters are now used on the mainland.

* There are only 411 Pinyin syllables. Most of these pronounce a large number of different Chinese characters. Pronunciation is further modified by up to five pronounced tones which further narrow the meanings: high level, rising, low level, falling and unaccented. When you find these in your dictionary, make a note of which of the character’s meanings is spoken with which tone.

* Each character is pronounced as one syllable. Diphthongs (combined vowels) are spoken quickly, not drawn out. Modern Chinese is much more multiple- character and polysyllabic than in was in the days of the Daodejing’s origin.

* Retroflex means pronounced with the tip of the tongue turned back or up towards the hard palate, or the gums behind the upper canines.

* Sounds are Aspirated with the breath (like P), Voiced with the larynx (like B). More aspirated means a stronger puff of air.

Initial Sounds:

b b, a little softer and a little less voiced than English

c ts, as in bats eat cats

ch ch, retroflexed, as in witch hunt

d d, a little softer and a little less voiced than English

f f, no surprises, as in fan

g g, a little softer and a little less voiced than English, not soft as in huge

h h, a little more aspirated and a little more gutteral than English

j dzh as in jump, but the tongue is a little more forward than in English

k k, a little more aspirated than English

l l, no surprises, as in lily

m m, no surprises, as in madman

n n, no surprises, as in ninny

p p, a little more aspirated than English

q ch, no surprises, as in cheap chicken

r r, r as in run, but with a hint of a z or buzzing sound on top of it

s s, no surprises, as in simplicity

sh sh, retroflexed, as in fish hook, or sch as in Schubert

t t, a little more aspirated than English

w w, no surprises, as in win

x sh, but with a hint of an s

y y, no surprises, as in yes

z dz, as in adze or adds

zh j, retroflexed, dzh, or dge as in fudge. Not zh as in vision.

Final Sounds:

a ah

a after y, as in yam

ai aye

an ahn as in autobahn, not as in tan

an after y, ehn as in yen

ang ah+ng, as in ankh, not ang as in hang

ao ow as in how now

e between eh and uh, as in alert

e after y, as in yet

ê used alone, eh

ei ae as in bay

en uhn, as in un

eng ung as in sung, but abbreviate the vowel, not eng as in strength

er uhr, as in sir or surly or early

i ee as in eat

i after c, s, z: between ee and oh, an unstressed uh

i after ch, r, sh, & zh: er as in herd, but shorten the r and voice with a

ia ya hint of a z or buzz

ian yen

iang yang

iao yow, with ow as in pow

ie yeh as in yet

in in

ing ing as in sing

iong üng, see ü, between yoong and yeeng

iu yowh as in yolk

o between awe and owe as on port

ong uwng, as in lung but with a little more oo, not as in long

ong after y, oong with more ee, üng, as in German yüng

ou between ou and oa, as in out, boat

u oo as in blue moon

ü after j, l, q, x, y, like French & German, form to say oo but say ee

ua wa

uai wai as in winding

uan wahn as in wan

uang wah+ng

ue wuh

ue after j, q, x, y, weh as in wet

üe in lüe and nüe, between oo and ee plus eh

ui way

un un as in fun but with u as in put and abbreviate the vowel

uo waw with second w shortened