Welcome back. Previously, you learned the remaining Mandarin initials, including the forward z, c, s sounds and the curled-tongue zh, ch, sh, r sounds. You can now supply the beginning of many pinyin syllables. This lesson focuses on the other moving part: the compound final, the vowel pattern that follows the initial.
You will learn to pronounce ai, ei, ao, ou, ia, ie, ua, and uo as single, smooth syllable endings. Keep your pitch comfortably level during the drills; tones come in the next module. For now, the goal is a continuous mouth movement with no break in airflow.
Compound finals: one movement, one syllable
A compound final is written with two vowel letters, but it is not two separate syllables. Your mouth changes shape during one continuous sound.
For example, ai should not sound like “ah … ee,” with a pause in the middle. Begin open, then glide promptly toward the ending position. The whole final occupies one beat.
There are two useful families:
| Family | Finals | Main idea |
|---|---|---|
| Open-first glides | ai, ei, ao, ou | Begin on the first vowel; finish with a lighter glide. |
| Leading-glide finals | ia, ie, ua, uo | Begin with a very quick i or u glide; the second vowel carries most of the final. |
The distinction is especially important in pairs such as ai and ia. They contain the same two vowel letters, but the mouth travels in the opposite direction:
- ai starts open and finishes high and forward.
- ia starts high and forward, then opens.
A rough English comparison can help you locate a sound, but do not try to reproduce English words exactly. Mandarin finals are usually shorter, cleaner, and more tightly connected.
Watch the demonstration once before practising. The instructor moves through nine compound finals; focus on the eight that matter today and simply ignore the additional final not yet on our list.
9 Chinese diphthong finals | Pinyin Lesson 07 - Learn Mandarin Chinese Pronunciation
In “9 Chinese diphthong finals | Pinyin Lesson 07,” Learn Chinese with Litao demonstrates the mouth movements and provides short repeat-after-me models. It is useful here because you can see that each final is a single glide rather than two separate vowel sounds.
Begin with the overview, which explains what compound finals are. Then watch the eight models for ao, ai, ou, ei, ia, ie, ua, and uo. Pause after each target final and imitate it three times in a level pitch. Finish with the recap, repeating only the eight finals in this lesson.
The open-first glides: ai, ei, ao, ou
These four finals begin with the first vowel as the fuller part of the sound. The second vowel is a quick destination rather than an equally strong second beat.
ai: open, then glide toward i
Start with the open a you learned earlier. Keep air flowing while your tongue rises and moves forward toward i. Your lips become less open as the sound finishes.
ai is loosely similar to the vowel in English eye, but make it compact rather than drawn out.
Try these syllables:
bai, dai, hai
zai, cai, shai
A common mistake is adding a gap: “a … i.” Instead, imagine the tongue moving along a smooth path while the voice continues.
ei: mid-front, then glide toward i
For ei, begin with a mid, slightly open front vowel. Then move quickly toward i, with the corners of the mouth spreading a little.
It is roughly like the vowel in English say or day, though Mandarin ei should be a single, controlled glide.
Try:
bei, lei, mei
fei, hei, shei
Do not begin with a full English ee. The sound must have room to move toward i.
ao: open, then round the lips
Start with an open a, jaw lowered. Without stopping, raise the back of the tongue and round the lips toward u.
ao is approximately related to the vowel in English cow, though Mandarin typically uses a smaller, more controlled mouth opening.
Try:
bao, dao, hao
zao, cao, shao
The visible motion is useful: open mouth first, rounded lips at the end.
ou: rounded o, then a smaller rounded finish
For ou, begin with a rounded o. Gradually make the lip opening smaller and raise the back of your tongue as you finish toward u.
It is broadly similar to English oh. Do not confuse it with ao:
- ao begins open and ends rounded.
- ou is rounded throughout, becoming tighter at the end.
Try:
dou, gou, hou
zou, cou, shou
The University of Iowa’s Mastering Mandarin Sounds gives concise physical guidance for these four movements. Read the entries in the chapter “Learning compound vowels,” from [ai] through [ou]. Notice that every description emphasizes an uninterrupted glide.
Mastering Mandarin Sounds: An interactive H5P Pressbook.
This section of Huiqiang Zheng’s Mastering Mandarin Sounds describes the mouth shape and tongue movement for the four open-first compound finals. Read it after trying the sounds yourself, so the articulation descriptions have a physical meaning.
In the chapter “Learning compound vowels,” read the four short entries labelled [ai], [ei], [ao], and [ou]. For ai, follow the first glide and note the instruction to keep the sound light. For ei, read the mouth-shape description. Then read the ao entry, paying attention to the change from open to rounded. Finally, use the ou guidance to distinguish a continually rounded final from ao.
A quick check: identify the ending position
The end of the final is a useful diagnostic.
| Final | Begin with | Finish with | Visible cue |
|---|---|---|---|
| ai | open a | high-front i | Mouth narrows and spreads slightly |
| ei | mid-front vowel | high-front i | Corners spread slightly |
| ao | open a | rounded u | Lips round at the end |
| ou | rounded o | tighter rounded u | Lip opening becomes smaller |
Say this sequence four times, keeping all syllables equally short:
ai, ei, ao, ou
Then reverse it:
ou, ao, ei, ai
If ao and ou sound identical, exaggerate the starting position: open your jaw clearly for ao, but begin with rounded lips for ou.
The leading-glide finals: ia, ie, ua, uo
The next four finals begin with a short movement. In ia and ie, the initial i functions like a quick English y glide. In ua and uo, the initial u functions like a quick English w glide.
The key is speed: do not hold the first i or u long enough to create a separate vowel.
ia: a quick y-like glide into a
Start high and forward, as for i, then open immediately into a. The final resembles a compact “ya.”
Try:
jia, xia, dia
lia, qia
The end of ia is open. That is why ia must not be confused with ai, which begins open and ends high.
Compare slowly:
dai, dia
bai, jia
In dai, open your mouth immediately. In dia, begin with the tongue high for an instant, then open.
ie: a quick y-like glide into e
Start from i and move promptly into the more open e sound used in this final. It is approximately like “yeh” in English yes, but keep it one clean syllable.
Try:
jie, xie, bie
qie, lie
A useful contrast is:
bei, bie
- bei begins more open and ends at i.
- bie begins with a quick i glide and ends more open.
ua: a quick w-like glide into a
Begin with rounded u, then open directly into a. It resembles “wa,” but keep the start brief.
Try:
hua, gua, kua
zhua, shua
Avoid turning it into two beats: “u … a.” The lips start rounded and open immediately.
uo: a quick w-like glide into o
For uo, begin with a short rounded u movement, then settle into o. It is often heard in common syllables such as duo, guo, and huo.
Try:
duo, guo, huo
zuo, cuo, shuo
Keep the final rounded, but do not make the u a separate syllable. Think: brief rounded launch, then the fuller o vowel.
| Final | Brief initial glide | Main ending vowel | Helpful rough cue |
|---|---|---|---|
| ia | i, like a quick y | a | “ya” |
| ie | i, like a quick y | e | “yeh” |
| ua | u, like a quick w | a | “wa” |
| uo | u, like a quick w | o | “wo” |
Combining initials and finals
You have now studied every initial needed for these syllables. The final should remain stable even when the initial changes: changing bai to dai changes only the initial, not the ai movement.
Use the pinyin chart as a listening and imitation tool. In the main interactive table, locate each syllable, play its audio, then repeat it once in a neutral, level pitch. You are training the final shape, not trying to memorize every word or tone yet.
Mandarin Chinese Pinyin Chart with Videos
Everyday Chinese’s interactive pinyin chart lets you hear the same final after different initials. This is a practical way to check whether your mouth movement stays consistent across syllables.
In the main interactive table, begin with the b, d, h, and g rows. Click and imitate examples including bai, bei, bao, dou, dai, dao, gou, and hou; the sequence beginning at the b row provides several models. Next find the j, x, h, and g rows and play jia, jie, xie, hua, huo, gua, and guo. In the part of the table beginning at the j row, notice that ia and ie follow the initial without any extra pause. For each audio model, listen once, repeat twice, and keep the final as one continuous sound.
Do not worry yet about why some syllables at the top of a pinyin chart begin with y or w. Those are spelling conventions, and you will handle them explicitly in the next lesson. Today, attend to the sound movement inside the final.
A focused pronunciation routine
Set aside about 12 minutes for this circuit. Use a mirror if possible, and record one final round on your phone. A recording will reveal pauses that can be hard to notice while speaking.
1. Silent mouth paths — 2 minutes
Without voicing, make the mouth movements for:
- ai: open, then high-front
- ao: open, then rounded
- ia: high-front, then open
- uo: rounded launch, then rounded o
Do not rush this. You are building the physical pattern before adding sound.
2. Isolated finals — 3 minutes
Say each final four times at a steady middle pitch:
ai, ai, ai, ai
ei, ei, ei, ei
ao, ao, ao, ao
ou, ou, ou, ou
Then:
ia, ia, ia, ia
ie, ie, ie, ie
ua, ua, ua, ua
uo, uo, uo, uo
Aim for exactly one beat per final. A pause means you have produced two vowels rather than a compound final.
3. Add familiar initials — 4 minutes
Repeat each row three times:
bai, dai, hai
bei, mei, lei
bao, dao, hao
dou, gou, hou
jia, xia, dia
jie, xie, bie
hua, gua, kua
duo, guo, huo
Keep the consonant brief. The main work happens in the final.
4. Contrast pairs — 3 minutes
These pairs help prevent the most common reversals:
| Pair | What to listen and feel for |
|---|---|
| dai / dia | Open first in dai; high-front glide first in dia |
| bei / bie | Finish high in bei; finish more open in bie |
| dao / dou | Open start in dao; rounded start in dou |
| hua / huo | Open ending in hua; rounded o ending in huo |
Say each pair slowly five times. Leave a brief pause between syllables, but never insert a pause inside one syllable.
When listening back to your recording, evaluate only these points:
- Can you hear one uninterrupted sound in every final?
- Does ao begin more open than ou?
- Does ai travel in the opposite direction from ia?
- Does bei differ clearly from bie?
- Does hua end more open than huo?
Key takeaways
Compound finals are single, continuous syllable endings, not two separate vowels.
- ai, ei, ao, ou begin with the fuller first vowel and glide to a lighter ending.
- ia, ie, ua, uo begin with a brief i or u glide and settle on the following vowel.
- The key contrasts are movement direction and mouth shape: ai versus ia, ei versus ie, ao versus ou, and ua versus uo.
- Keep all current drills at a steady pitch. Tone will be added after the pronunciation foundations are secure.
Next, you will learn nasal finals such as an, en, ang, eng, ong, in, and ing, where the sound finishes through the nose rather than with an oral glide.
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