This is a quick cheat sheet for the sounds found in Chinese.
There are at least 2 i sounds in Chinese. In terms of all possible i sounds, there is the basic most common i sound, the secondary i sound, and the tertiary i sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| i | i | Like "ee" sound. | i |
| i5 | i$ | German i sound. | y ɨ ʏ |
There are at least 2 e sounds in Chinese. In terms of all possible e sounds, there is the basic most common e sound, the secondary e sound, and the tertiary e sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| e | e | Like "day" sound. | e |
| E | E | Like "eh" in "pet". | ɛ |
There is at least 1 a sound in Chinese. In terms of all possible a sounds, there is the basic most common a sound, the secondary a sound, and the tertiary a sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| a | a | Like "ah" in father sound. | a ɑ ä |
There are at least 2 o sounds in Chinese. In terms of all possible o sounds, there is the basic most common o sound, the secondary o sound, and the tertiary o sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| o | o | Like "oh" sound. | o |
| O | O | Like "uuh" in "book" sound. | ʊ ɯ |
There are at least 2 u sounds in Chinese. In terms of all possible u sounds, there is the basic most common u sound, the secondary u sound, and the tertiary u sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| u | u | Like "oo" in "you" sound. | u |
| U | U | Like "uh" in "up" sound. | ə ɞ ɐ ɘ ʌ |
There is at least 1 m sound in Chinese. Notice the English m and mm have a similar shape.
| m | m | Regular m | m |
There is at least 1 n sound in Chinese. Notice the English n and nn have a similar shape.
| n | n | Regular n | n |
There is at least 1 q sound in Chinese.
| q | q | Regular ng | ŋ ɴ |
There are at least 2 p sounds in Chinese.
| p | p | Regular p | p |
| p% | ph~ | Aspirated p | pʰ |
There are at least 2 t sounds in Chinese.
| t | t | Regular t | t |
| t^ | th~ | Aspirated t | tʰ |
There are at least 2 k sounds in Chinese.
| k | k | Regular k | k |
| k% | kh~ | Aspirated k | kʰ |
There are at least 2 sh sounds in Chinese.
| x4 | X | Retroflex sh | ʂ |
| x5 | xy~ | Palatalized sh | ʃʲ ɕ |
There is at least 1 f sound in Chinese.
| f | f | Regular f | f |
There is at least 1 l sound in Chinese.
| l | l | Regular l | l |
There is at least 1 s sound in Chinese.
| s | s | Regular s | s |
There is at least 1 j sound in Chinese.
| j4 | J | Retroflex j | ʐ |
There are at least 3 ch sounds in Chinese.
| t4x4 | TX | Retroflex ch sound (used in Chinese and Indian, for example) | ʈʂ |
| tx5 | txy~ | Palatalized ch sound (Used in Chinese, for example) | tɕ |
| t4x4^ | TXh~ | Aspirated retroflex ch sound | ʈʂʰ |