Mandarin Chinese pronunciation guide
How to pronounce zh, ch, sh and j, q, x in Mandarin
Pinyin spells six Mandarin sounds with letters that mean something else in English. zh, ch and sh are made with the tip of the tongue curled up towards the roof of the mouth, as in 中 zhōng, 吃 chī and 是 shì. j, q and x are made with the tongue flat and its tip resting behind the lower front teeth, as in 家 jiā, 去 qù and 谢 xiè. q is not “kw” and x is not “ks”: both are closer to English “ch” and “sh”, said with a smile. Mixing up the two sets is one of the most noticeable accent features for learners.
-
Tongue curled up
The tip of the tongue rises to the roof of the mouth, just behind the ridge. zh has no puff of air, ch has a strong puff, sh is a hiss.
中 zhōng, 吃 chī, 是 shì, 书 shū
-
Tongue flat and forward
The tip of the tongue rests behind the lower front teeth and the middle of the tongue rises to the hard palate. j has no puff of air, q has a strong puff, x is a hiss. The lips spread.
家 jiā, 去 qù, 谢 xiè, 学 xué
How to make the sounds
- For sh, say English “sh”, then curl the tip of your tongue up and a little back until it points at the roof of your mouth. Keep the lips unrounded: 是 shì.
- For x, put the tip of your tongue behind your lower front teeth, smile, and hiss over the middle of the tongue. It sits between English “s” and “sh”: 谢谢 xièxie.
- Build the others from these two. zh and j add a light stop before the hiss, with no puff of air; ch and q add a strong puff. With a hand in front of your mouth, you should feel air for ch and q, almost none for zh and j.
- After zh, ch and sh the letter i is not “ee”: the tongue stays curled and the voice simply carries on. 吃 chī is not “chee”.
Curled or flat?
Each pair has the same tone. Only the tongue position changes.
- 知 zhī 鸡 jī know · chicken
- 吃 chī 七 qī eat · seven
- 书 shū 虚 xū book · empty
- 猪 zhū 居 jū pig · to live
- 出 chū 区 qū go out · district
- 少 shǎo 小 xiǎo few · small
- 找 zhǎo 脚 jiǎo look for · foot
Practice with real sentences
Tap Practice to open the sentence in Tono, listen to it, and say it.
- 谢谢你。 Xièxie nǐ. Thank you.Practice
- 我是学生。 Wǒ shì xuésheng. I am a student.Practice
- 你吃饭了吗？ Nǐ chīfàn le ma? Have you eaten?Practice
- 我想去中国。 Wǒ xiǎng qù Zhōngguó. I want to go to China.Practice
- 这是我的家。 Zhè shì wǒ de jiā. This is my home.Practice
- 七点出发。 Qī diǎn chūfā. We leave at seven.Practice
- 现在几点？ Xiànzài jǐ diǎn? What time is it now?Practice
- 请喝茶。 Qǐng hē chá. Please have some tea.Practice
Common mistakes
-
q as “kw”, x as “ks”
Reading pinyin like English turns 去 qù into “kwoo” and 谢谢 xièxie into “ksee-yeh”. q is close to “ch” and x close to “sh”, with the tongue flat.
-
One sound for both sets
Speakers of English and many other languages say both sh and x as English “sh”. Then 少 shǎo and 小 xiǎo, few and small, sound the same.
-
“ee” after zh, ch, sh
吃 chī said as “chee” and 是 shì as “shee” are very common. Keep the tongue curled and let the voice buzz on without moving to a clear i.