Chinese phonology refers to the study of the sound system of Chinese languages, with Mandarin (普通话, Pǔtōnghuà) being the most widely spoken variety. It includes aspects such as syllable structure, consonants, vowels, tones, and prosodic features.

1. Syllable Structure

Mandarin syllables are structured as:

(Initial Consonant) + (Medial Glide) + Vowel + (Final)

 Consonant声母 (Initial):

The consonant at the beginning of a syllable.

 Glide介音 (Medial):

The semivowel between the initial and the main vowel.

 Vowel韵腹 (Main vowel/Nucleus):

The core vowel of the syllable.

 Final韵尾 (Final):

The ending sound, which can be a vowel or a nasal.

 Tone声调 (Tone):

The pitch contour of the syllable.

2. Consonants (Initials)

Mandarin Chinese has 21 initial consonants. Here is a list of the consonants along with their pinyin (Romanization system) representations. They are distinguished by place and manner of articulation, including aspiration.

Labial: b, p, m, f

Alveolar: d, t, n, l

Velar: g, k, h

Alveolo-palatal: j, q, x

Alveolar affricate: z, c, s

Retroflex: zh, ch, sh, r

3. Medials (介音)

介音 (jièyīn) refers to the medial glide in the phonetic structure of Chinese syllables. It is a semivowel that occurs between the initial consonant (声母, shēngmǔ) and the main vowel or nucleus (韵腹, yùnfù) of the syllable. Mandarin has three common medials: i[j], u[w], ü[ɥ]. The medial serves as a transitional sound that smooths the connection between the initial and the main vowel, adding fluidity to the syllable.

4. Vowels (Finals)

Mandarin has 6 main vowels and several diphthongs and triphthongs.

Monophthongs: a, o, e, i, u, ü

Compound Finals: ai, ei, ui, ao, ou, iu, ie, üe, er

Pre-Nasal Finals: an, en, in, un, ün

Post-Nasal Finals: ang, eng, ing, ong

5. Tones

Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language, meaning that pitch contours on syllables can change the meaning of a word. There are four main tones and a neutral (or fifth) tone:

1. First Tone (High Level): A high and level pitch. E.g., 妈(mā) "mother"

2. Second Tone (Rising): A rising pitch, similar to asking a question in English. E.g., 麻(má) "hemp"

3. Third Tone (Dipping): Starts mid, dips to low, and rises again. In rapid speech, often just a low tone. E.g., 马(mǎ) "horse" – Falling-Rising

4. Fourth Tone (Falling): A sharp, falling pitch. E.g., 骂(mà) "scold"

5. Neutral Tone Light and unstressed. E.g., 吗(ma) (question particle)