How to Read Chinese: Characters, Pinyin and Tones

To read Chinese characters and pinyin, learn them as two layers of the same word. Characters are what you see on menus, signs and tickets in China. They mostly show meaning, and they do not spell sounds letter by letter. Pinyin is the official way to write Mandarin sounds with Latin letters, and its small marks show the tone of each syllable. Start with pinyin so you can say words correctly, then learn characters as whole words you actually need.

Here is how the two layers look on one line from a Beijing lunch counter: 谢谢 is written xièxie in pinyin and means "thank you." Two identical characters, one fourth tone and one light, toneless syllable. This guide shows how characters work, how to read pinyin without English habits getting in the way, how the tones work, and how to practice with a real menu.

How does the Chinese writing system work?

Mandarin text uses characters, and each character is one syllable. Most characters also carry a meaning, and most everyday words are made of two characters: 菜单 (càidān, menu) is 菜 "dish" plus 单 "list." There are no spaces between words, so part of reading is seeing where one word stops and the next begins.

Layer	What it shows	Where you see it	Example
Characters	Meaning, and sometimes a hint of sound	Menus, signs, tickets, phone screens	菜单
Pinyin	Sound: consonants, vowels, tones	Textbooks, dictionaries, phone keyboards, some station signs	càidān
English	The meaning in your language	Some menus aimed at visitors	menu

Mainland China uses simplified characters. Many common characters have fewer strokes than the traditional forms used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, such as 鱼 (fish) for 魚; many others, like 我 and 好, are the same in both. This guide uses simplified characters, since that is what you will read in Beijing or Shanghai.

How many do you need? The official Table of General Standard Chinese Characters, published by China's State Council in 2013, lists 8,105 characters, and its first level has 3,500 common ones. You do not need a list that long to order lunch. You need the ten or twenty characters on the menu in front of you.

Characters are built from smaller parts, and those parts give clues. Many characters have one part for meaning and one part for sound. 吗 (ma, the question word) has 口 "mouth" on the left and 马 (mǎ, horse) on the right for the sound. The clue is not always exact, but it helps you remember.

How to read pinyin: the letters that trick English speakers

Pinyin uses the English alphabet, but many letters do not sound the way an English speaker expects. That is the most common reading mistake at the start. These are the ones you will meet in a restaurant.

Pinyin	Sounds close to	Example
q	"ch" in cheese, with the tongue flat	请 qǐng (please)
x	between "s" and "sh"	谢谢 xièxie (thank you)
j	"j" in jeep, with the tongue flat	鸡 jī (chicken)
zh, ch, sh	"j", "ch", "sh" with the tongue tip turned up	这 zhè (this), 吃 chī (eat)
z	"ds" in kids	字 zì (character)
c	"ts" in cats	菜 cài (dish)
r	a soft "r", tongue in the same place as sh	肉 ròu (meat)
ü	"ee" said with rounded lips	绿茶 lǜchá (green tea)

Some vowels also need care.

• e alone is not "eh." In 可乐 (kělè, cola) it sounds like the "u" in fun said further back in the mouth. In ie and ei, it changes: 谢 xiè sounds like "syeh," and 杯 bēi (cup) sounds like "bay."
• i after z, c, s, zh, ch, sh and r is not "ee." It is a buzzing continuation of the consonant. 吃 chī and 丝 sī never sound like "chee" or "see."
• ian sounds like "yen," not "yan": 点 (diǎn).
• Some spellings are short forms. ui is short for uei and sounds like "way," as in 推 (tuī). iu is short for iou and sounds like "yo," as in 就 (jiù).
• ü loses its dots after j, q, x and y. 鱼 (fish) is written yú, but the vowel is still ü.

One more pair: b, d, g and p, t, k differ by a puff of air, not by the voice. Hold your hand in front of your mouth: pà (怕) has a clear puff, bà (爸) has almost none. The full spelling rules are in the Scheme for the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet from China's Ministry of Education.

How do Mandarin tones work?

Almost every Mandarin syllable has one of four tones: the shape of the voice, going up, down or staying level. A few are said short and light (the neutral tone). Pinyin marks it over the main vowel. Change the tone and you usually change the word.

Mark	Tone	How to say it	Example
mā	First	High and level, like a held note	妈 (mother)
má	Second	Rising, like asking "what?"	麻 (as in 麻烦, trouble)
mǎ	Third	Low, dipping; often just low in speech	马 (horse)
mà	Fourth	Falling sharply, like a firm "no!"	骂 (to scold)
ma	Neutral	Short and light, no mark	吗 (question word)

Three tone changes happen in almost every conversation. Many learner materials, including Linguino's phrase cards, write the changed tone for 一 and 不, but pinyin always keeps the written third tone, so you make that change yourself.

• Two third tones in a row: the first one becomes a second tone. 你好 nǐ hǎo is said ní hǎo.
• 不 bù before a fourth tone becomes bú: 不错 is said búcuò (pretty good).
• 一 yī changes with the next syllable: yí before a fourth tone, as in 一份 yí fèn (one portion), and yì before the other tones, as in 一杯 yì bēi (one glass). When 一 stands alone or is part of a number, as in 十一 (shíyī, eleven), it stays yī.

Do not try to think about tones one syllable at a time while speaking. Copy the audio of whole phrases, and the tones come with them.

What makes reading Chinese hard for beginners?

• Menus in China usually have no pinyin. Pinyin is for learners and keyboards. The menu shows characters, and often photos. Many restaurants also have you order by scanning a QR code on the table, 扫码点单 (sǎo mǎ diǎn dān), which still means reading characters on your phone.
• One character can have two readings. 还 is hái (still, also) in 还要别的吗 and huán (to give back) in other words. The word around the character tells you which one.
• Pinyin looks like English words. Can, he and men are Chinese syllables with different sounds. Read them with the rules above, not as English.
• Tone marks disappear. Signs, maps and many apps write Beijing with no marks. Learn the words with their tones first, so you can add them yourself.

Read a real Beijing lunch menu aloud

These lines come from Linguino's "Ordering a meal" scene, set in a packed neighborhood restaurant in Beijing at noon. Cover the pinyin column, read the characters, then play the audio to check.

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
服务员，点菜！	fúwùyuán, diǎn cài!	Excuse me, we'd like to order!
麻烦给我一份菜单。	máfan gěi wǒ yí fèn càidān.	A menu, please.
你们有什么推荐的？	nǐmen yǒu shénme tuījiàn de?	What do you recommend?
我们家的鱼香肉丝很不错。	wǒmen jiā de yúxiāng ròusī hěn búcuò.	Our yuxiang pork is really good.
我要一份宫保鸡丁和一杯可乐。	wǒ yào yí fèn gōngbǎo jīdīng hé yì bēi kělè.	I'd like a gongbao chicken and a cola.
好的，还要别的吗？	hǎo de, hái yào bié de ma?	OK, anything else?
就这些，谢谢。	jiù zhèxiē, xièxie.	That's everything, thanks.

Look for the rules from this guide in each line. 服务员 starts with a rising fú, and 菜 has the "ts" sound of c. 一份 is yí fèn and 一杯 is yì bēi: the same character, two tones. 不错 is búcuò. 给我 is two third tones, so gěi sounds rising. 就 has the iu that sounds like "yo," and the second 谢 in 谢谢 is light and toneless.

The server's lines are worth reading too, even if you never say them. 还要别的吗 is the question you will hear after your order, and 就这些 is how you answer it.

Now hear a full version of the exchange. The server's replies include a few new lines, so read along with the translation:

Listen

Ordering lunch at a Beijing restaurant

Play allHide English

you

服务员，麻烦给我一份菜单。

Excuse me, a menu, please.

server

好的，给您。

Sure, here you are.

you

你们有什么推荐的？

What do you recommend?

server

我们家的鱼香肉丝很不错。

Our yuxiang pork is really good.

you

我要一份宫保鸡丁和一杯可乐。

I'd like a gongbao chicken and a cola.

server

好的，还要别的吗？

OK, anything else?

you

就这些，谢谢。

That's everything, thanks.

A 10-minute routine for reading Chinese out loud

1. Pick three to five real items. Use a photo of a menu board, a station sign or a train ticket, or the table above.
2. Find the words first. Mark where each word starts and ends. Most will be one or two characters.
3. Look up the pinyin with tone marks. Write it under the characters. Mark the tone changes for 一, 不 and two third tones.
4. Read each line aloud, then play the audio. Listen for the tones, the q, x and c sounds, and the light neutral syllables.
5. Cover the pinyin and read the characters alone. Then say the line once more without looking. That last step is the one you need at the table.

Reading is only half of lunch. The server will also answer, and the guide to understanding spoken Mandarin shows how to catch the reply. To learn the words for your own name and job, see how to introduce yourself in Chinese. If you can read a line perfectly but your mind goes blank when it is your turn to speak, see why you freeze when speaking a language.

In Linguino's lunch scene, your AI teacher plays the server in the Beijing restaurant and reacts to what you order. Every line you need appears on a phrase card with the characters, the pinyin and the English meaning, and you can replay and translate the teacher's lines when the reply goes by too fast. Afterwards, a quiz, scored speaking cards, coach feedback and your Phrasebook help you review the words you read and said.