Rules of the Pinyin (phonetics) <1>
Rules of the Pinyin (phonetics)
<1>
- a, e, i, o, u, ü are vowels (called “shengmu” in Chinese). Each of the vowels has four tones and the tone marks are put on top of these vowels.
- b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z are consonants (called “yunmu” in Chinese). There are also sounds formed by two consonants, such as zh, ch and sh. They do not have any changes in tones. So the tone marks will never be put on them.
There are altogether four tones:
| tones | mark | examples | symbolization |
|---|---|---|---|
| first tone | － |
ā |
|
| second tone | ／ |
á |
|
| third tone | ∨ |
ǎ |
|
| fourth tone | ﹨ |
à |
|