Chapter 3: Pinyin (The Finals I)

To be read with the video Chinese with Mike: Lesson 3

In Chapter 2, we covered the pnyn initials, which form the first part of a Chinese
word written using the Latin alphabet. In this chapter, I am going to introduce you
to the first (and easiest) sets of finals that you will combine with initials to
construct Chinese words.

With no further ado, lets check out this first set of finals. Once again, I will
provide a word with the approximate sound highlighted in red:

The Finals (First Set)

a o e
(father) (low) (up)
i u
(teeth) (food) (beauty)

Lets bring back some initials to combine with these new finals. Shall we?

OK. Initials are in red and finals are in black, and I have omitted tone marks. Right
now, Im more concerned with your practicing the basic sounds. (For practice
with tones, see Chapter 7).

a o e i u (see *)
fa bo le bi nu n
sha mo che di lu l
ba fo se xi tu ju
ma po me qi ku qu
la X (no others) ke mi bu xu
*Notice that for the column, the initials j, q, and x do not need an umlaut. You will still
pronounce them as though an umlaut is there, but since these three finals cannot combine with
the regular u final (see column to left), there is no ambiguity, and thus, an umlaut is not
needed.

Here is our next set of finals. (See Chinese with Mike: Lesson 3 for more exact
pronunciation).

The Finals (Second Set)

ai ei ao ou

(eye) (heyyy!) (cow) (blow)

an en ang eng

(on) (under) (mongrel) (hung)

Lets practice with some initials. Initials will be in red and finals in
black.

ai ei ao ou an en ang eng
bai lei bao tou san sen mang feng
chai bei mao lou dan men lang meng
zai fei zao zou kan ben zhang leng
sai mei chao chou shan hen zang deng
zhai nei shao zhou nan zen shang zheng
tai shei sao fou zhan zhen chang sheng
cai hei lao hou can shen fang neng
Great work! Before moving on to Chapter 4 (Pnyn Review), make sure you are
familiar with all 21 initials and these first sets of finals. Trust methe review will
make a lot more sense if you are. On your mark, get set