Skip main navigation

New lower prices! Get up to 50% off 1000s of courses. 

Explore courses

How to learn Pinyin well?

In this article we will give learners some suggestions about how to learn Chinese pronunciations.
Chinese Pinyin is a tool which can help you to read and speak Chinese. In our course we will help you to recognize Pinyin and pronounce them. The main task is to develop accurate pronunciation in order to build a good foundation of your spoken Chinese.

When you watch the videos, please focus on our method of pronunciation including the shape of the mouth and the position of your tongue. Please read aloud with us and repeat as many times as you can to develop your mouth muscles for speaking Chinese.

We will read a lot of syllables and words to enhance your sensation of a pronunciation. As we practice speaking Chinese words using pinyin, we will also provide Chinese characters alongside the English meaning. The focus of this course is pinyin and pronunciation so we will not be covering words and meanings.

Differentiation of similar sounds can also help you to improve your pronunciation. You can compare different pronunciation methods by yourself along the way. We will help you to differentiate similar Pinyin sounds during the third week of our course.

Reading poems, tongue twisters and singing Chinese songs are also quite helpful to practice pronunciation. You can try to find some useful material to enhance your Chinese learning.
Click to listen to a Pinyin Song
Lyric: a o e i u ü b p m f d t n l g k h j q x zh ch sh r z c s

If you have any good method of learning Chinese pronunciation or any resources that could help you to learn, come and share them in “comments”!

© Shanghai International Studies University
This article is from the free online

Learn Chinese: Introduction to Chinese Pronunciation and Tone

Created by
FutureLearn - Learning For Life

Reach your personal and professional goals

Unlock access to hundreds of expert online courses and degrees from top universities and educators to gain accredited qualifications and professional CV-building certificates.

Join over 18 million learners to launch, switch or build upon your career, all at your own pace, across a wide range of topic areas.

Start Learning now