Editing Pinyin (section)

=== Initials ===
The conventional [[lexicographical order]] derived from [[bopomofo]] is:
{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3"
| style="background:#cfc" | &nbsp;b&nbsp;&nbsp;p&nbsp;&nbsp;m&nbsp;&nbsp;f&nbsp;
| style="background:#ccf" | &nbsp;d&nbsp;&nbsp;t&nbsp;&nbsp;n&nbsp;&nbsp;l&nbsp;
| style="background:#fcc" | &nbsp;g&nbsp;&nbsp;k&nbsp;&nbsp;h&nbsp;
| style="background:#fcf" | &nbsp;j&nbsp;&nbsp;q&nbsp;&nbsp;x&nbsp;
| style="background:#ffc" | &nbsp;zh&nbsp;&nbsp;ch&nbsp;&nbsp;sh&nbsp;&nbsp;r&nbsp;
| style="background:#cff" | &nbsp;z&nbsp;&nbsp;c&nbsp;&nbsp;s&nbsp;
|}

In each cell below, the pinyin letters assigned to each initial are accompanied by their phonetic realizations in brackets, notated according to the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]].

{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;border:none"
|-
! colspan="2" {{diagonal split header|[[Manner of articulation|Manner]]|[[Place of articulation|Place]]}}
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Retroflex]]
! [[Alveolo-palatal consonant|Alveolo-palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
! rowspan="2"| [[Plosive]]
! [[Tenuis consonant|unaspirated]]
| style="background:#cfc" | [[Voiceless bilabial plosive|b {{IPA|[p]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#ccf" | [[Voiceless alveolar plosive|d {{IPA|[t]|cat=no}}]]
|
|
| style="background:#fcc" | [[Voiceless velar plosive|g {{IPA|[k]|cat=no}}]]
|-
![[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]]
| style="background:#cfc" | [[Voiceless bilabial plosive|p {{IPA|[pʰ]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#ccf" | [[Voiceless alveolar plosive|t {{IPA|[tʰ]|cat=no}}]]
|
|
| style="background:#fcc" | [[Voiceless velar plosive|k {{IPA|[kʰ]|cat=no}}]]
|-
! colspan="2"| [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| style="background:#cfc" | [[Bilabial nasal|m {{IPA|[m]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#ccf" | [[Alveolar nasal|n {{IPA|[n]|cat=no}}]]
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Affricate]]
! [[Tenuis consonant|unaspirated]]
|
| style="background:#cff" | [[Voiceless alveolar affricate|z {{IPA|[ts]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#ffc" | [[Voiceless retroflex affricate|zh {{IPA|[ʈʂ]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#fcf" | [[Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate|j {{IPA|[tɕ]|cat=no}}]]
|
|-
! [[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]]
|
| style="background:#cff" | [[Voiceless alveolar affricate|c {{IPA|[tsʰ]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#ffc" | [[Voiceless retroflex affricate|ch {{IPA|[ʈʂʰ]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#fcf" | [[Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate|q {{IPA|[tɕʰ]|cat=no}}]]
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Fricative]]
| style="background:#cfc" | [[Voiceless labiodental fricative|f {{IPA|[f]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#cff" | [[Voiceless alveolar sibilant|s {{IPA|[s]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#ffc" | [[Voiceless retroflex sibilant|sh {{IPA|[ʂ]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#fcf" | [[Voiceless alveolo-palatal sibilant|x {{IPA|[ɕ]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#fcc" | [[Voiceless velar fricative|h {{IPA|[x]|cat=no}}]]
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Liquid consonant|Liquid]]
|
| style="background:#ccf" | [[Alveolar lateral approximant|l {{IPA|[l]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#ffc" | r [[Voiced retroflex approximant| {{IPA|[ɻ]|cat=no}}]]~[[Voiced retroflex fricative|{{IPA|[ʐ]|cat=no}}]]
|
|
|- style="border-top:dashed"
! colspan="2" | [[Semivowel]]
| colspan="5" | y[[Palatal approximant| {{IPA|[j]|cat=no}}]], yu[[Labialized palatal approximant| {{IPA|[ɥ]|cat=no}}]] and w [[Labio-velar approximant|{{IPA|[w]|cat=no}}]]
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Pinyin || [[help:IPA|IPA]] || Description<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shea |first=Marilyn |title=Pinyin / Ting - The Chinese Experience |url=http://hua.umf.maine.edu/Chinese/topics/pinyin/pinyin.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612080715/http://hua.umf.maine.edu/Chinese/topics/pinyin/pinyin.html |archive-date=12 June 2010 |access-date=21 December 2010 |website=hua.umf.maine.edu}}</ref>
|- style="background:#cfc"
|| ''b'' || {{IPAblink|p}} || Unaspirated ''p'', like in English s<u>p</u>ark.
|- style="background:#cfc"
|| ''p'' || {{IPAblink|pʰ}} || Strongly aspirated ''p'', like in English <u>p</u>ay.
|- style="background:#cfc"
|| ''m'' || {{IPAblink|m}} || Like the ''m'' in English <u>m</u>ay.
|- style="background:#cfc"
|| ''f'' || {{IPAblink|f}} || Like the ''f'' in English <u>f</u>air.
|- style="background:#ccf"
|| ''d'' || {{IPAblink|t}} || Unaspirated ''t'', like in English s<u>t</u>op.
|- style="background:#ccf"
|| ''t'' || {{IPAblink|tʰ}} || Strongly aspirated ''t'', like in English <u>t</u>ake.
|- style="background:#ccf"
|| ''n'' || {{IPAblink|n}} || Like the ''n'' in English <u>n</u>ay.
|- style="background:#ccf"
|| ''l'' || {{IPAblink|l}}~{{IPAblink|ɾ}}{{efn|name=taiwan|for Taipei Mandarin}} || Like the ''l'' in English <u>l</u>ay.
|- style="background:#fcc"
|| ''g'' || {{IPAblink|k}} || Unaspirated ''k'', like in English s<u>k</u>ill.
|- style="background:#fcc"
|| ''k'' || {{IPAblink|kʰ}} || Strongly aspirated ''k'', like in English <u>k</u>iss.
|- style="background:#fcc"
|| ''h'' || {{IPAblink|x}}~{{IPA blink|h}}{{efn|name=taiwan}} || Varies between the ''h'' in English <u>h</u>at, and the ''ch'' in Scottish English lo<u>ch</u>.
|- style="background:#fcf"
|| ''j'' || {{IPAblink|tɕ}} || Alveolo-palatal, unaspirated. No direct equivalent in English, but similar to the ''ch'' in English chur<u>ch</u>yard.
|- style="background:#fcf"
|| ''q'' || {{IPAblink|tɕʰ}} || Alveolo-palatal, aspirated. No direct equivalent in English, but similar to the ''ch'' in English pun<u>ch</u>y.
|- style="background:#fcf"
|| ''x'' || {{IPAblink|ɕ}} || Alveolo-palatal, unaspirated. No direct equivalent in English, but similar to the ''sh'' in English pu<u>sh</u>.
|- style="background:#ffc"
|| ''zh'' || {{IPAblink|ʈʂ}}~{{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}}{{efn|name=taiwan}} || Retroflex, unaspirated. Like ''j'' in English <u>j</u>ack.
|- style="background:#ffc"
|| ''ch'' || {{IPAblink|ʈʂʰ}}~{{IPAblink|ʃ}}{{efn|name=taiwan}} || Retroflex, aspirated. Like ''ch'' in English chur<u>ch</u>.
|- style="background:#ffc"
|| ''sh'' || {{IPAblink|ʂ}}~{{IPAblink|ɹ̠̊˔}}{{efn|name=taiwan}} || Retroflex, unaspirated. Like ''sh'' in <u>sh</u>irt.
|- style="background:#ffc"
|| ''r'' || [{{IPA link|ɻ}}~{{IPA link|ʐ}}]~{{IPAblink|ɹ}}{{efn|name=taiwan}} || Retroflex. No direct equivalent in English, but varies between the ''r'' in English <u>r</u>educe and the ''s'' in English mea<u>s</u>ure.
|- style="background:#cff"
|| ''z'' || {{IPAblink|ts}} || Unaspirated. Like the ''zz'' in English pi<u>zz</u>a.
|- style="background:#cff"
|| ''c'' || {{IPAblink|tsʰ}} || Aspirated. Like the ''ts'' in English ba<u>ts</u>.
|- style="background:#cff"
|| ''s'' || {{IPAblink|s}} || Like the ''s'' in English <u>s</u>ay.
|-
|| ''w''{{efn|name=semivowel}} || {{IPAblink|w}} ||Like the ''w'' in English <u>w</u>ater.
|-
|| ''y''{{efn|name=semivowel|''Y'' and ''w'' are equivalent to the [[semivowel]] medials ''i, u'', and ''ü'' (see below). They are spelled differently when there is no initial consonant in order to mark a new syllable: ''fanguan'' is ''fan-guan'', while ''fangwan'' is ''fang-wan'' (and equivalent to ''*fang-uan)''. With this convention, an apostrophe only needs to be used to mark an initial ''a, e'', or ''o: Xi'an'' (two syllables: {{IPA|[ɕi.an]}}) vs. ''xian'' (one syllable: {{IPA|[ɕi̯ɛn]}}). In addition, ''y'' and ''w'' are added to fully vocalic ''i, u'', and ''ü'' when these occur without an initial consonant, so that they are written ''yi, wu'', and ''yu''. Some Mandarin speakers do pronounce a {{IPA|[j]}} or {{IPA|[w]}} sound at the beginning of such words—that is, ''yi'' {{IPA|[i]}} or {{IPA|[ji]}}, ''wu'' {{IPA|[u]}} or {{IPA|[wu]}}, ''yu'' {{IPA|[y]}} or {{IPA|[ɥy]}},—so this is an intuitive convention. See below for a few finals which are abbreviated after a consonant plus ''w/u'' or ''y/i'' medial: ''wen'' → C+''un'', ''wei'' → C+''ui'', ''weng'' → C+''ong'', and ''you'' → Q+''iu''.}} || {{IPAblink|j}} || Like the ''y'' in English <u>y</u>es.
|-
|''yu''{{efn|''Y'' and ''w'' are equivalent to the [[semivowel]] medials ''i, u'', and ''ü'' (see below). They are spelled differently when there is no initial consonant in order to mark a new syllable: ''fanguan'' is ''fan-guan'', while ''fangwan'' is ''fang-wan'' (and equivalent to ''*fang-uan)''. With this convention, an apostrophe only needs to be used to mark an initial ''a, e'', or ''o: Xi'an'' (two syllables: {{IPA|[ɕi.an]}}) vs. ''xian'' (one syllable: {{IPA|[ɕi̯ɛn]}}). In addition, ''y'' and ''w'' are added to fully vocalic ''i, u'', and ''ü'' when these occur without an initial consonant, so that they are written ''yi, wu'', and ''yu''. Some Mandarin speakers do pronounce a {{IPA|[j]}} or {{IPA|[w]}} sound at the beginning of such words—that is, ''yi'' {{IPA|[i]}} or {{IPA|[ji]}}, ''wu'' {{IPA|[u]}} or {{IPA|[wu]}}, ''yu'' {{IPA|[y]}} or {{IPA|[ɥy]}},—so this is an intuitive convention. See below for a few finals which are abbreviated after a consonant plus ''w/u'' or ''y/i'' medial: ''wen'' → C+''un'', ''wei'' → C+''ui'', ''weng'' → C+''ong'', and ''you'' → Q+''iu''.|name=semivowel}}
|{{IPAblink|ɥ}}
|Like the ''hu'' in French <u>hu</u>it, see below.
|}
{{Notelist|group=color}}