1 Learning simple vowels a、o、e、i、u、ü and initial consonants b、p、m、f

Pre-lesson activity

Listen to the audio and answer the question.

What is the sound?       Answer:

A Chinese syllable usually consists of three elements: the initial consonant, the simple or compound vowel, and the tone.

In this lesson, we are going to learn six simple vowels and four initial consonants.

a o e i u ü are six simple vowels. When you pronounce this group, you keep your tongue position, but change the shape of the lips.

1. a: when you pronounce, open your mouth big. Do not block any air when you pronounce the sound. It is similar when your doctor checks your throat.
2. o: when you pronounce this sound, round your lips and make it a circle.
3. e: when you pronounce this sound, the lips form an oval shape in a relaxed way.
4. i: when you pronounce this sound, spread the lips, similar to the short vowel [i] in English.
5. u: when you pronounce this sound, round your lips and make a small circle.
6. ü: when you pronounce this sound, first pronounce No.4 i, keep the tongue position unchanged and round the lips, trying to make the circle as smallest as possible. No equivalent in English.

There are in total 21 initial consonants in Chinese Pinyin pronunciation system. We are going to learn the first group (bpmf)in this lesson.

b p m f is the first initial consonant group, which you pronounce with both lips (b p m) or upper front teeth and lower lip (f).

b is unvoiced plosive, you block the air with both lips and suddenly release the air.

p is unvoiced plosive, you block the air with both lips and suddenly release the strong air. The place of articulation is the same as b but p is an aspirated sound.

m is unvoiced nasal sound. Block the air with both lips, the air comes out from the nose.

f is unvoiced fricative. Block the air with upper teeth and lower lip, then let the air out in between.

Please refer to the video for pronunciation tips.