j
Sounds kind of like "j" in English "jeep", but with the tip of the tongue behind the lower teeth.
jiā
home
家
júzi
tangerine
橘子
q
Sounds kind of like "ch" in English "cheap", but with the tip of the tongue behind the lower teeth.
qián
money
钱
qù
to go
去
x
Sounds kind of like "sh" in English "sheep", but with the tip of the tongue behind the lower teeth.
xiǎo
small
小
yěxǔ
perhaps
也许
z
Sounds kind of like "ds" in "bids", but voiceless.
zìjǐ
oneself
自己
zàijiàn
goodbye
再见
c
Sounds kind of like "ts" in "cats".
cí
word
词
cèsuǒ
bathroom
厕所
s
Sounds like "s" in "sick".
sì
four
四
sān
three
三
zh
Sounds kind of like "j" in "jerk", but voiceless and with the tongue further back in the mouth.
zhīdào
to know
知道
zhàopiàn
photograph
照片
ch
Sounds kind of like "ch" in "chirp", but with the tongue further back in the mouth.
chī
to eat
吃
chūqù
to go out
出去
sh
Sounds kind of like "sh" in "Shrek", but with the tongue further back in the mouth.
shí
ten
十
shēnghuó
life
生活
ü yu
Sounds like "ee" as in "bee" but with the lips rounded like "u" as in "rune". Same as "u" in French "tu" or ü in German "über".
nǚ
female
女
fǎlǜ
law
法律
yuǎn
far
远
yīnyuè
music
音乐
an
Sounds like "a" as in "palm" + "n" as in "no".
nán
difficult
难
nián
year
年
en
Sounds similar to "en" as in "often" or "un" as in "sun", but slightly different.
mén
door
门
miànfěn
flour
面粉
ang
Sounds like "ong" as in "song".
láng
wolf
狼
piàoliang
pretty
漂亮
eng
Sounds similar to "ung" as in "lung", but slightly different.
děng
wait
等
péngyou
friend
朋友
Single-syllable audio courtesy of the AllSet Learning Chinese Pronunciation Wiki, used with permission.
HSK word audio courtesy of Audio-cmn. (CC BY-SA 3.0)