Combinations of Initials and Finals Table

Mark Swofford of Banqiao, Taiwan, has compiled a comprehensive “Combinations of Initials and Finals” table, which serves as a valuable resource for learners and enthusiasts of Mandarin Chinese phonetics. This table presents a systematic arrangement of Mandarin syllables, listing the combinations of initials (consonant-like sounds) and finals (vowel-like sounds) used in the language.

	b	p	m	f	d	t	n	l	g	k	h	z	c	s	zh	ch	sh	r	j	q	x	⁂
a	ba	pa	ma	fa	da	ta	na	la	ga	ka	ha	za	ca	sa	zha	cha	sha					a
o	bo	po	mo	fo																		o
e			me		de	te	ne	le	ge	ke	he	ze	ce	se	zhe	che	she	re				e
ai	bai	pai	mai		dai	tai	nai	lai	gai	kai	hai	zai	cai	sai	zhai	chai	shai					ai
ei	bei	pei	mei	fei	dei	tei	nei	lei	gei	kei	hei	zei			zhei		shei					ei
ao	bao	pao	mao		dao	tao	nao	lao	gao	kao	hao	zao	cao	sao	zhao	chao	shao	rao				ao
ou		pou	mou	fou	dou	tou	nou	lou	gou	kou	hou	zou	cou	sou	zhou	chou	shou	rou				ou
an	ban	pan	man	fan	dan	tan	nan	lan	gan	kan	han	zan	can	san	zhan	chan	shan	ran				an
ang	bang	pang	mang	fang	dang	tang	nang	lang	gang	kang	hang	zang	cang	sang	zhang	chang	shang	rang				ang
en	ben	pen	men	fen	den		nen		gen	ken	hen	zen	cen	sen	zhen	chen	shen	ren				en
eng	beng	peng	meng	feng	deng	teng	neng	leng	geng	keng	heng	zeng	ceng	seng	zheng	cheng	sheng	reng				eng
ong					dong	tong	nong	long	gong	kong	hong	zong	cong	song	zhong	chong		rong
u	bu	pu	mu	fu	du	tu	nu	lu	gu	ku	hu	zu	cu	su	zhu	chu	shu	ru				wu *
ua									gua	kua	hua				zhua	chua	shua	rua				wa *
uo					duo	tuo	nuo	luo	guo	kuo	huo	zuo	cuo	suo	zhuo	chuo	shuo	ruo				wo *
uai									guai	kuai	huai				zhuai	chuai	shuai					wai *
ui					dui	tui			gui	kui	hui	zui	cui	sui	zhui	chui	shui	rui				wei * 1
uan					duan	tuan	nuan	luan	guan	kuan	huan	zuan	cuan	suan	zhuan	chuan	shuan	ruan				wan *
uang									guang	kuang	huang				zhuang	chuang	shuang					wang *
un					dun	tun	nun	lun	gun	kun	hun	zun	cun	sun	zhun	chun	shun	run				wen * 2
ueng																						weng *
i	bi	pi	mi		di	ti	ni	li				zi †	ci †	si †	zhi ‡	chi ‡	shi ‡	ri ‡	ji	qi	xi	yi +
ia					dia			lia											jia	qia	xia	ya +
ie	bie	pie	mie		die	tie	nie	lie											jie	qie	xie	ye +
iao	biao	piao	miao		diao	tiao	niao	liao											jiao	qiao	xiao	yao +
iu			miu		diu		niu	liu											jiu	qiu	xiu	you + 3
ian	bian	pian	mian		dian	tian	nian	lian											jian	qian	xian	yan +
iang							niang	liang											jiang	qiang	xiang	yang +
in	bin	pin	min				nin	lin											jin	qin	xin	yin +
ing	bing	ping	ming		ding	ting	ning	ling											jing	qing	xing	ying +
iong																			jiong	qiong	xiong	yong +
ü							nü	lü											ju ※	qu ※	xu ※	yu ※
üe							nüe	lüe											jue ※	que ※	xue ※	yue ※
üan																			juan ※	quan ※	xuan ※	yuan ※
ün																			jun ※	qun ※	xun ※	yun ※

Key Features:

1. Representation of Zero Initial: The table includes a unique symbol (⁂) to indicate a zero initial. A zero initial occurs when there is no consonant-like sound preceding the vowel-like sound in a syllable.
2. Representation of Initial “u” as “w”: When the syllable begins with “u,” it is written as “w” at the beginning of a word. However, “w” must not appear without an additional vowel, so “u” as a complete syllable is represented as “wu.”
3. Short “i” Sound: For the syllables “zi,” “ci,” “si,” the “i” sound is short (represented by IPA symbol ɿ), unlike most other uses of “i” in Mandarin. Similarly, for “zhi,” “chi,” “shi,” “ri,” the “i” sound is also short (represented by IPA symbol ʅ).
4. Initial “i” as “y”: When “i” comes at the beginning of a syllable, it is written as “y.” However, “y” must not appear without an additional vowel, so “y,” “yn,” “yng” are represented as “yi,” “yin,” “ying” respectively.
5. Simplification of “ü”: Hanyu Pinyin simplifies the spellings of syllables with “ü” by using the “u” form instead in cases where no ambiguity could result. The “u’s” are pronounced as “ü” despite their spelling.
6. Abbreviations for “ui,” “un,” “iu”: The table clarifies that “ui” is an abbreviation of “uei,” “un” is an abbreviation of “uen,” and “iu” is an abbreviation of “iou.” This is essential to understand while reading the table entries.
7. Omission of “er”: The table omits the “er” sound, as it does not fit into the standard Initial-Final combinations.

Conclusion:

Mark Swofford’s “Combinations of Initials and Finals” table is a valuable reference for Mandarin Chinese learners and linguists. It provides a comprehensive and organized overview of the various sound combinations that form the basis of Mandarin pronunciation. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced student of the language, this table can aid in understanding the phonetic structure of Mandarin syllables, enhancing your overall language learning experience.