like the "j" in jump
Mandarin vowel-sound equivalents are as follows:
a as in armor
ai like the "i" in size
an like on
ang like the "ong" in song
ao like the "ow" in how
e like the "ea" in treasure
ei like the "ay" in hay
en like the "un" in run
eng like "ung" in hunger
er as in mother
i like the "ea" in eat
ia is a sound between the "ea" in eat and the "a" in armor
ian is a sound between the "ea" in eat and the "e" in pen
iang is a sound between the "ea" in eat and the "ong" in song
iao is between "ea" in eat and the "o" in how
ie like the "ea" in treasure
in like the "ee" in keen
ing as in ring
iong is a sound between the"ea"ineatandthe"ow" in how and "n" and "g"
iu is a sound between the "ea" in eat and "you"
o as in office
ong is a combination the "ow" in how and "ng"
u like the "oo" in fool
ua is a sound between the "oo" in fool and "a"
uai is a sound between the "oo" in fool and the "i" in size
uan is a combination of you and "en" in end
uang is a sound between the "oo" in fool and the "ong" in song
ue is a sound between the "oo" in fool and the "ea" in each
ui is a sound between the "oo" in fool and the "ay" in say
un is a sound between the "oo" in fool and the "oon" in soon
uo is a sound between the "oo" in fool and the "o" in office
Cantonese consonants are as follows:
b as in boy
ch as in chew
d as in do
f as in food
g as in go
h as in how
j as in jump
k as in kick
l as in lunch
m as in moon
n as in no
p as in put
s as in so
t as in to
w as in why
y as in you
gw like the "gu" in guava
kw like the "qu" in quick
ng as in ring
Cantonese vowel-sound equivalents are as follows:
a as in armor
ai like eye
ak like the "ock" in sock
am like the "om" in mom
an like "on" in onward
ang like the "ong" in song
ap like the "op" opponent
at like the "ot" in dot
au like the "ow" in now
e like the "ea" in treasure
ei like the "ay" in say
ek like,the "eck" in check
eng as in Bengal
eu like the "ork" in cork
eui between the "o" in cork and "ee" in seen
euk like the "o" in cork
eun like the "o" in cork with an "n" sound
eung like the "o" in cork with an "ng" sound
eut like the "o" in cork with a "t" sound
i like the "ee" in seen
ik like the "ick" in sick
im like the "eem" in seem
in like the "een" in been
ing like the "ing" in sing
ip like the "eep" in keep
it like the "eat" in meat
iu like the "ew" in pew
o like the "aw" in brawl
oi like the "oy" in toy
ok like the "ock" in mock
on like the "awn" in pawn
ong as in song
ot like the "ought" in bought
ou like the "o" in two
u like the "oo" in too
ui like the "ooey" in gooey
uk like the "uke" in fluke
un like the "oon" in baboon
ung like the "oon" in Loon with a "g" sound
ut like the "oot" in soot
yu as in you
yun like the "oon" in Loon with an "y" sound
yut like you with an "it" sound
In Cantonese, some vowels can be pronounced in a more drawn-out way. In the next section we will show how these sounds are pronounced.
aai like eye
aak like the "ock" in sock
aam like the "om" in mom
aan like the "on" in onward
aang like the "ong" in song
aap like the "op" in opponent
at like the "ot" in dot
au like the "ow" in now
Pronunciation Guide to Japanese and Okinawan
Japanese syllables are from the point of view of a native English speaker easier to pronounce (excluding perhaps the consonant "r" that is rolled) than many other Asian languages, but efforts to write them using roman letters are somewhat hampered by the large number of homonyms that appear. Though these words appear identical when written in roman letters, their meanings, which are often very different, are readily apparent when using Chinese characters. Nonetheless using roman letters one can easily approximate the Japanese pronunciation of any word.
The following table explains how to pronounce the letters used for the Japanese and Okinawan entries in this book.
a as in the "a" in father
e as in echo
i as in it
o as in open
u as in the "ew" in dew
ba as in ball
be like bay
bi like bee
bo as in boat
bu as in Buddhist
bya is a sound between bi and a
byo is a sound between bi and o
byu as in the "bu" in bureau
cha as in cha-cha
che as in check
chi