Introduction
Jyutping is a system that helps learners master Cantonese. This is a way to say out the character using letters with numbers 1 to 6. If you already speak English, it is easy for you to master Cantonese pronunciation.
In English, the same letter could be pronounced in multiple ways. Look at the example, “en”. This sound totally different in “pen”, “hen”, “ten” / “open”, “sharpener”, “garden”.
Unlike English, Jyutping is designed to be regular. There should only be 1 way to say out the sound.
Jyutping isn’t that difficult, but you need to tackle these three important elements, which are initials, finals and tones.
Initials - Consonant
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The sound of consonant at the beginning of a syllable. It’s called “initial”.
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There are 19 initials in all and divided to 5 groups.
Non-aspirated Voiceless
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B
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D
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G
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GW
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Z
Aspirated Voiceless
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P
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T
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K
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KW
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C
Voiced Nasal
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M
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N
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NG
Fricative & Continuant
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F
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L
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H
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S
Semi-vowel
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W
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J (Y)
Finals - Vowel
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The sound of the vowel sound plus final consonant, if any, at the end of a syllable. It’s called “final”.
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There are 51 common finals in all.
Tone
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Tone is about the relative pitch, or variation of pitch, of a syllable.
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There are 6 tones in all.
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Practice
Let’s try to read aloud the following sentences:
