I can hear and write the difference between -n and -ng, read any final, correctly spell a syllable that starts with i, u or ü, and type ü on the keyboard as v.
Finals: double vowels and -n, -ng
Finals: double vowels and -n, -ng
The final is everything after the initial. The double vowels ai ei ao ou are one syllable: the voice glides from the first vowel to the second without breaking the syllable. ai is like “eye”, ei like the “ay” of “day”, ao like the “ow” of “cow” (never “oh”), ou like the “oh” of “go”.
-n: the tongue tip at the teeth, like English n. -ng: the back of the tongue at the palate; the sound goes into the nose, and no g is heard at the end, as in “sing”; in ong (中国 Zhōngguó) it sounds closer to the oo of “book” + ng.
-n and -ng tell words apart: 新 xīn “new” and 星 xīng (in 星期 “week”), 饭 fàn “food” and 房 fáng (in 房间 “room”). English has both -n and -ng (sin / sing): keep them apart in Chinese too and listen to the end of the syllable.
The i-, u-, ü- finals: the syllable starts with a glide from i, u or ü to the main vowel — ian, iang, uan, uo. ian sounds like “yen”, not “yan”: 便宜 piányi.
Common mistakes:
• NOT a g at the end of -ng, as in “finger” — the back of the tongue closes, but there's no g.
• NOT two syllables in ai — it's one syllable.
• NOT “in” for ing — the nasal sound goes back, as in “sing”.
Groups of finals
| Group | Finals | How they sound |
|---|---|---|
| double vowels | ai, ei, ao, ou | one syllable, a glide |
| i- finals | ia, ie, iao, iu, ian, in, iang, ing, iong | starts with i |
| u- finals | ua, uo, uai, ui, uan, un, uang, ueng | starts with u |
| ü- finals | üe, üan, ün | starts with ü |
-n and -ng: pairs that tell words apart
| Pair | -n | -ng |
|---|---|---|
| an — ang | 饭 fàn (food) | 房间 fángjiān (room) |
| in — ing | 新 xīn (new) | 星期 xīngqī (week) |
| en — eng | the syllable fēn | the syllable fēng |
Lesson notes
Finals: double vowels and -n, -ng
The final is everything after the initial. The double vowels ai ei ao ou are one syllable: the voice glides from the first vowel to the second without breaking the syllable. ai is like “eye”, ei like the “ay” of “day”, ao like the “ow” of “cow” (never “oh”), ou like the “oh” of “go”.
-n: the tongue tip at the teeth, like English n. -ng: the back of the tongue at the palate; the sound goes into the nose, and no g is heard at the end, as in “sing”; in ong (中国 Zhōngguó) it sounds closer to the oo of “book” + ng.
-n and -ng tell words apart: 新 xīn “new” and 星 xīng (in 星期 “week”), 饭 fàn “food” and 房 fáng (in 房间 “room”). English has both -n and -ng (sin / sing): keep them apart in Chinese too and listen to the end of the syllable.
The i-, u-, ü- finals: the syllable starts with a glide from i, u or ü to the main vowel — ian, iang, uan, uo. ian sounds like “yen”, not “yan”: 便宜 piányi.
Common mistakes:
• NOT a g at the end of -ng, as in “finger” — the back of the tongue closes, but there's no g.
• NOT two syllables in ai — it's one syllable.
• NOT “in” for ing — the nasal sound goes back, as in “sing”.
How y, w, ü, er and the apostrophe are written
If a syllable starts with i, u or ü, it's written with y or w: i → yi, ia → ya, u → wu, uan → wan, ü → yu, üan → yuan (元 yuán); in → yin, ing → ying — y is added before i, as in yi (电影 diànyǐng).
After a consonant three finals are shortened: iou → iu, uei → ui, uen → un. The sound stays full: ui sounds like “way” (贵 guì), iu like “yo” (牛奶 niúnǎi).
The two dots over ü are written only after n and l: 女 nǚ. After j q x and y they're left out (lesson 3).
er is one syllable with the tongue curled, like American “are”: 二 èr, 儿子 érzi.
The apostrophe separates syllables when the second starts with a, o or e: 女儿 nǚ'ér.
Typing: on the keyboard ü is typed as v: nv → nǚ; after j q x and y you type u. The checker doesn't tell ü from u: such pairs are checked only by ear.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “yoo” for yu — it's one sound, ü.
• NOT uan without w at the start of a syllable — write wan.
• NOT two syllables “uh-r” in er — it's one syllable.