pronouncekit

SOUND CONTRAST

b p · d t · g k: air, not voice: b/p, d/t and g/k

Mandarin separates b from p, d from t and g from k by a puff of air. Practice these contrasts with real word pairs.

b p · d t · g k

Mouth & tongue

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Vocal folds: vibrating

TongueTeethUvula

Simplified human pronunciation. The small uvula hangs from the palate; it is not the vocal folds. The wave indicates voicing.

Sound to demonstrate
Tone

High and level, around 55 on the five-level pitch scale.

Voice settings

The mouth starts slightly open. Movement is slowed for observation; the synthetic sound plays once at its original speed. Pause holds the current mouth shape; reset returns to the relaxed position. The panda is a symbolic teaching aid for human pronunciation, not animal anatomy. A simplified teaching model, not a measured or anatomically validated simulation. It shows the soft palate lowering for nasal sounds, but not airflow. Single syllables use eSpeak NG, a synthetic voice on your device. Its pitch range is narrower than natural speech, so use the tone diagrams and word buttons as well. Words and sentences use a voice from your browser or device when one is available. No native recordings are bundled.

Words to practice

Sentence to practice

Listen and compare

For each pair, the first word has no puff and the second has a clear one.

Pinyin here shows dictionary tones. Spoken tones change in some contexts, such as nǐ hǎo; see the lessons on tone changes.

What you are learning

English speakers tend to hear these pairs as a voicing difference. In Mandarin the difference is aspiration, a burst of breath after the release.

What your mouth is doing

Each pair uses one closure. Release b, d, g and the affricates j, zh, z with little air. Release p, t, k, q, ch and c with a strong puff, so the vowel starts late.

Compared with English

English p, t and k have a puff at the start of a stressed syllable and none after s: compare pin and spin. Use spin, sty and sky to find b, d and g.

Build the sound, step by step

  1. Say spin and pin into a tissue, and watch the difference.
  2. Remove the s from spin and keep the same release: bīn.
  3. Practice the pairs below, changing only the air.

What to watch for

  • Voicing b strongly, as in English “bee”, is noticeable. Keep the voice for the vowel.
  • Forgetting the puff in the middle of a word is common. Keep it in every position.

Related lessons

Keep practicing

References & editorial notes

PronounceKit wrote this lesson as practical guidance for English speakers, based on the references below. The comparisons are editorial teaching suggestions. It describes common Mainland Standard Mandarin patterns, not every accent or regional variety, and it has not been independently reviewed by a pronunciation specialist or Mandarin teacher.

Published 5 November 2026