Pinyin — Day 2 — The 6 Simple Finals (a o e i u ü)
Today we'll drill the 6 simple finals that every compound final in Mandarin is built from. Try each one across all 4 tones you learned yesterday.
Today's Vocabulary
啊
huh? (interjection)
啊？你说什么？
Á? Nǐ shuō shénme?
Huh? What did you say?
我
I / me
我是学生。
Wǒ shì xuésheng.
I am a student.
鹅
goose
那是一只鹅。
Nà shì yì zhī é.
That is a goose.
饿
hungry
我很饿。
Wǒ hěn è.
I am very hungry.
衣
clothes
这件衣很漂亮。
Zhè jiàn yī hěn piàoliang.
This piece of clothing is pretty.
姨
aunt
她是我姨。
Tā shì wǒ yí.
She is my aunt.
五
five
我有五本书。
Wǒ yǒu wǔ běn shū.
I have five books.
女
female
她是女生。
Tā shì nǚshēng.
She is a girl.
Today's Grammar
a = "ah" (open your mouth wide, like a doctor checking your throat) o = "oh" (round your lips, a sound between "oh" and "aw") e = NOT the English "eh"! Lips relaxed, not rounded, slight smile — more like a relaxed "uh" i = "ee" (wide smile, sharp bright sound) u = "oo" (lips tightly rounded and pushed forward) ü = a sound Thai and English don't have — lips shaped like "u" but tongue positioned for "i". Technique: say "i" and hold it, then slowly round your lips into a "u" shape WITHOUT moving your tongue at all — that's ü.
啊 阿
Practice the "a" final across Tone 2 and Tone 1.
喔 我
Practice the "o" final: ō flat, wǒ ("I/me") dipping-rising.
鹅 饿
Practice the "e" final: é ("goose") rising, è ("hungry") falling.
衣 姨
Practice the "i" final: yī ("clothes") flat, yí ("aunt") rising.
五 女
wǔ (the "u" final) vs nǚ (the "ü" final — note the two dots, a different sound from u).