
Initials in Pinyin
b, p, m and f
Initials in Pinyin, b, p, m, f
Pronouncing the initials can be easy as it is similar to English alphabets. There are a total of 23 initials in the Pinyin syllabus. A word is a form with an initial and final.
But there are some cases that a word that can be formed only with final, without an initial.
Example:
ài = 爱 = Love
àn = 暗 = Dark
èr = 二 = Two
Only “er” is without any initials, remember not to combine initials with the “er”.
Initials |
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b |
p |
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m |
f |
Here are some guides with English pronunciation on how to pronounce the initials.
Initial |
Pronunciation as in English |
Character |
Meaning |
Pinyin |
|
b |
Bay |
杯 |
cup |
bēi |
|
p |
Pop |
破 |
broken |
pò |
|
m |
Mop |
墨 |
ink |
mò |
|
f |
Fun |
翻 |
turn |
fān |
Tone Drills of the initials, b, p, m, f
Initials |
|||||
b |
bō bó bǒ bò |
p |
pō pó pǒ pò |
||
m |
pò mó mǒ mò |
f |
fō fó fǒ fò |
Not all initials can be combined with any finals. Take a look at the table below. These are the only finals that can combine with b, p, m, and f.
|
b |
p |
m |
f |
a |
ba |
pa |
ma |
fa |
o |
bo |
po |
mo |
fo |
e |
- |
- |
me |
- |
er |
- |
- |
- |
- |
ai |
bai |
pai |
mai |
- |
ei |
bei |
pei |
mei |
fei |
ao |
bao |
pao |
mao |
- |
ou |
- |
pou |
mou |
fou |
an |
ban |
pan |
man |
fan |
en |
ben |
pen |
men |
fen |
ang |
bang |
pang |
mang |
fang |
eng |
beng |
peng |
meng |
feng |
i |
bi |
pi |
mi |
- |
iao |
biao |
piao |
miao |
- |
ie |
bie |
pie |
mie |
- |
iu |
- |
- |
miu |
- |
ian |
bian |
pian |
mian |
- |
in |
bin |
pin |
min |
- |
ing |
bing |
ping |
ming |
- |
u |
bu |
pu |
mu |
fu |