pronouncekit

INITIAL

c: aspirated dental affricate

Pinyin c sounds like the ts in English cats, plus a strong puff of air. Practice cài, cóng and cuò at the start of a syllable.

c
Broad IPA
[tsʰ]

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

The first word has a strong puff; the second has almost none.

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

Pinyin c is the aspirated partner of z. Neither English c value, as in cat or city, applies.

What your mouth is doing

The tip stops the air behind the upper teeth and releases into a hiss with a strong burst of breath.

Compared with English

English cats ends in a similar closure and hiss. Mandarin places this at the start of the syllable and adds noticeably more air. English speakers tend to read c as k or s at first.

Build the sound, step by step

  1. Say cats and hold the ts.
  2. Repeat it with a stronger puff at the start: c-ài.
  3. Say cài, cóng and cuò.

What to watch for

  • Reading c as k turns cài into kài.
  • A weak release turns cài (dish) into zài (at).

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