Cantonese pronunciation guide
With 22 consonants, 8 vowels and 2 syllabic consonants and 6 tones in the language, learning Cantonese pronunciation is the first challenge faced by learners.
In this Cantonese pronunciation guide, we will introduce a Cantonese romanization system to you with clear pronunciation graphics and professional narrations.
In addition to Cantonese romanization system, you will also learn how does International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) work after completing this guide.
Since Cantonese characters are logograph, you have to learn a Cantonese romanization system to learn how to pronounce them. There are a few Cantonese romanization systems, with Jyutping（粵拼） and Yale romanization of Cantonese（耶魯粵語拼音）being the mainstream.
We recommend learners to learn with Jyutping due to its convenience in typing and its system completeness.
What is the structure of Jyutping?
It is important to understand how Jyutping works before learning Cantonese pronunciation. Jyutping defines the pronunciation of a character in three different parts, initial（聲母）, final（韻母） and tone（聲調）.
Structure of Jyutping
- Initial comprises consonants（輔音）only.
- final may comprise a single vowel（元音）, a combination of vowels or a combination of vowel and consonant.
- Initial is not necessary for pronouncing a character.
Cantonese pronunciation: single vowels（單元音）
Single vowels（單元音）are sounds created with little or no audible friction in our vocal tract. Syllabic consonants are consonants（輔音）that can be pronounced alone like a vowel.
Cantonese pronunciation: Syllabic consonants
Syllabic consonants are consonants that can be pronounced alone like a vowel.
Cantonese pronunciation: complex vowels（複元音）
Complex vowels（複元音）are the result of pronouncing two vowels rapidly. The complex vowels in Jyutping are generally are created by adding i or u into another vowel.
INCOMPLETE