"b" and "p" in Mandarin are a pair of corresponding aspirated and unaspirated sounds. "b" is unaspirated, and "p" is aspirated. The pronunciation of "b" and "p" in Mandarin is the same with their counterparts in the Cantonese words "波" (bo1, ball) and "棵" (po1, as in “一棵樹”).
The pronunciation of the initial "m" in Mandarin mirrors the "m" sound in the English term "more," whereas the pronunciation of "f" is akin to the "f" sound found in the English word "fate." These phonetic equivalents correspond to the Cantonese initial in the word "麼" (mo1, as in 甚麼) and "科" (fo1, subject) respectively.
The difference between "d" and "t" is that "d" is unaspirated, while "t" is aspirated. "d" is pronounced like "t" in the English word "study".
These four are also the same as their counterparts in Cantonese, such as the initial in the words "打" (daa1, as in 一打蛋撻), "他" (taa1, he), "哪" (naa1, where) and "啦" (laa1, modal particles). Note that in some cases, the initials of some Cantonese words are supposed to be "n", but in daily life, people often pronounce them with "l". For instance, the Cantonese character "你" (nei5, you) may often be pronounced as "lei5" in everyday speech. Both "nei5" and "lei5" are deemed acceptable pronunciations in Cantonese since the meaning is not altered. However, when reading the syllables with "n" or "l" in Mandarin, it is important to be careful to avoid mixing up those two initials to prevent any confusion.
"g" is unaspirated, while "k" is aspirated. "g" is pronounced like the English "k" in the word "skirt".
The pronunciation of "g" and "k" is the same as their counterparts in Cantonese, such as "家" (gaa1, home) and "卡" (kaa1, card).
The Mandarin "h" is similar to the "h" in English and Cantonese, but they are different in that the "h" in Mandarin is a velar, not a glottal sound. When pronouncing the "h" in Mandarin, raise the back of the tongue and place it close to the soft palate.
It is worth noting the correspondence between the initials "k" and "h" in Mandarin and the initial "f" in Cantonese. Certain words in Cantonese featuring the initial consonant "f" may exhibit the consonant "k" or "h" in Mandarin. The following table shows some examples.
When pronouncing "j", push the tip of the tongue against the back of the lower teeth and the front of the tongue against the front part of the hard palate, then relax the tongue to release the block of air and let it come through.
The difference between "j" and "q" is that "j" is unaspirated and "q" is aspirated.
Similar to "j" and "q", "x" is also pronounced by pressing the tip of the tongue against the back of the lower teeth and lifting the front of the tongue towards the palate, taking care not to touch the palate and leaving a small space in between. Then let the air squeeze out of the space.
The initials "j", "q" and "x" can only be followed by “i”, “ü” and finals beginning with "i" or "ü".
Note that when "j", "q", and "x" are combined with "ü", or a final that begins with "ü", the two dots from the "ü" should be removed. Please pay more attention to such syllables. Although the final in Pinyin appears as "u", but the actual pronunciation should be "ü".
The pronunciation of "z" resembles the "ds" in the English word "goods" except the vocal cords do not vibrate.
The pronunciation of "c" is similar to the "ts" in the English word "cats" and is aspirated.
The Mandarin "s" sounds close to the English "s" in the word "sea". When pronouncing the "s", move the tongue tip to the back of the upper teeth and squeeze out your breath.
"zh" is close to the "j" in the English word "jeer", but the tip of the tongue curls toward the back a bit and touches the front part of the palate.
"ch" is akin to "ch" in the English word “children”. The process of its pronunciation is similar to that of "zh". The difference between them is that the "zh" is unaspirated and "ch" is aspirated.
"sh" is pronounced like "sh" in the English word "ship" with the tip of the tongue curls toward the back a bit.
"r" is similar to "r" in the English word "right" except you should keep the lips flat and raise the tip of the tongue toward the back of the alveolar ridge.
