Initials and finals in Chinese - 声母和韵母

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A sylllable in the common speech of modern Chinese usually consist of an initial, which is consonant that begins the syllable, and a final, which constitutes the rest of the syllable. For example, in the syllable “píng”, “p” is the initial and “íng” is the final.

A syllable can stand without an final, such as “y”, but a syllable must have a final.

In the common speech of modern Chinese, there are 21 initials and 38 finals altogether.

Initials: m, n, l, p are pronounced similarly to their counterparts in the English language:
- b like “p” in “speak”(unaspirated, voiceless)
- p like “p” in “park”(asp)