Chinese Pinyin- Initials and Finals

In speech, Chinese words are created using just 21 beginning sounds called initials, and 37 ending sounds called finals. Initials and finals, of course, combine to create the basic sounds of Chinese.

For example, consider Beijing:

• ni: n is an initial, and i s a final.
• hao: h is an initial, and ao is a final.

Bear in mind, however, that not all combinations of initials and finals are possible. As well, some finals may stand alone without an initial, such as an and ai. In many of these cases, pinyin rules will add "placeholder" initial consonants, so that "un" becomes "yun," and "u" becomes "wu." Strictly speaking, however, "y" and "w" are not initials.

The following table show the example of combination. but bear in mind that a majority of those combination are seldom used