1.3 Pinyin spelling conventions
You’ll now look at some pinyin spelling conventions.
For i:
When there is no initial before a compound final starting with i, replace the i with a y:
e.g. iao → yao; ie → ye.
When i is followed by n or ng, add a y in front of i:
e.g. in → yin.
When the single final i is a syllable on its own, y must be added in front of it:
e.g. the number one is yī.
Listen to how the example sounds are pronounced:
For u:
When there is no initial before a compound final starting with u, replace u with w:
e.g. uo → wo.
The compound final ui is pronounced uei, but it is always spelt ui and is always preceded by an initial:
e.g. dui.
The sound un is pronounced uen, but is always spelt un and is always preceded by an initial:
e.g. lun.
When the single final u is a syllable on its own, w must be added in front of the u:
e.g. the number five is wǔ.
Listen to how the example sounds are pronounced:
For ü:
The two dots over ü are omitted when ü appears after j, q or x:
e.g. jüe → jue.
When there is no initial before a compound final starting with ü, add y in front of ü and remove the two dots over ü:
e.g. üe → yue.
When ü is a syllable on its own, add y in front of it and remove the two dots over ü:
e.g. ü → yu.
Listen to how the example sounds are pronounced: