How to pronounce Compund Finals in Pinyin?

The 14 Compound Finals in Pinyin
Compound Finals in Pinyin
Finals are used to complete a pinyin. There is more than one vowel in the compound finals and nasal finals.

In a compound final, there will be one main vowel and one or two secondary vowels. The vowel which starts first is the main vowel while the one behind is called the secondary vowel.

The pronunciation for a compound final is not simply just combining both vowels. The main vowel should sound more clearer while the secondary vowel should not be too standard.

Example
a + i = ai
The compound final “ai” should be pronounced as “eye” in English, but not “Ah Yi” as it looks. You should glide your tongue from the main to the secondary vowel.

Here are some guides with English pronunciation on how to pronounce the compound finals.
FINAL CHARACTER MEANING PRONUNCIATION AS IN ENGLISH PINYIN
ai 爱 Love Eye ài  
ei 黑 Black Hey hēi  
ao 脑 Brain Ouch nǎo  
ou 呕 Vomit Insect ǒu  
ia 家 Home Ee + ah jiā  
iao 脚 Foot Ee + ow jiǎo  
ie 捏 Pinch Yes niē  
iu 牛 Cow You niú  
ua 花 Flower Who + ah huā  
uo 火 Fire Uu + oh huǒ  
uai 怪 Weird Why guài  
ui 对 Correct Quiz duì  
üe 月 Month Glide from ü to ê yüe  
er 二 Two Teacher èr  

Tone Drills of Compound Finals
COMPOUND FINAL
āi   ái   ǎi   ài  
ēi   éi   ěi   èi  
āo   áo   ǎo   ào  
ōu   óu   ǒu   òu  
iā   iá   iǎ   ià  
iāo   iáo   iǎo   iào  
iē   ié   iě   iè  
iū   iú   iǔ   iù  
uā   uá   uǎ   uǎ  
uō   uó   uǒ   uò  
uāi   uái   uǎi   uài  
uī   uí   uǐ   uì  
üē   üé   üě   üè  
ēr   ér   ěr   èr  

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