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How to Pronounce y, w in Mandarin
How pinyin uses y and w at the start of syllables, and when they add a sound.
Quick answer
Before another vowel, y sounds like the y in ‘yes’ and w like the w in ‘we’: 也 yě, 我 wǒ. In yi, wu and yu they add no sound: yī is ‘ee’, wǔ is ‘oo’, and yu is ü.
y
w
Hear each sound, then repeat it aloud.
When to use it
Pinyin writes y and w at the start of syllables that begin with i, u or ü: i → yi, ie → ye, u → wu, uo → wo, ü → yu.
Common mistake
Reading yu as the English word ‘you’. yu is ü
, with rounded lips and no y sound: 鱼 yú, 雨 yǔ.
Practise aloud
也 also
我 I
一 one
鱼 fish
You’ve got this!
Where another vowel follows, y and w glide straight into it, as in yě (also) and wǒ (I). In yī and yú there is no glide at all: just ‘ee’ and ü.
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