Initial Sounds:

These initial letters have the same pronunciation as in English:

M-- (as in "man")
N-- (as in "no")
L-- (as in "letter")
F-- (as in "from")
S-- (as in "sheep")
W-- (as in "woman")
Y-- (as in "yes")

The following initial letters have slight differences as noted below. If the comment calls for a strong puff of breath, hold your open hand several inches from your mouth and make certain that you can actually "feel" the breath as you pronounce the letter.

P-- (as in "pun") note: use a strong puff of breath
K-- (as in "cola") note: use a strong puff of breath
T-- (as in "tongue") note: use a strong puff of breath
B-- (as in "bum") note: no puff of breath
D-- (as in "dung") note: no puff of breath
G-- (as in "good") note: no puff of breath
H-- (as in "hot") note: slightly more aspirated than in English

The following initial letters are more difficult for English speakers:

ZH-- (as in "jeweler")
CH-- (as in ZH above, but with a strong puff of breath)
SH-- (as in "shoe")
R-- (as in "run")
C-- (like the "ts" in "it's high", but with a strong puff of breath)
J-- (as in "Jeff")
Q-- (like the "ch" in "cheese")
X-- (like the "sh" in "sheep")

Rules given in terms of English pronunciation
All rules given here in terms of English pronunciation are approximate.

Pronunciation of initials

Pinyin	IPA	Explanation
b	[p]	unaspirated p, as in spit
p	[pʰ]	as in English
m	[m]	as in English
f	[f]	as in English
d	[t]	unaspirated t, as in stand
t	[tʰ]	as in English
n	[n]	as in English
l	[l]	something between the l in English and the continental r
g	[k]	unaspirated k, as in skill
k	[kʰ]	as in English
h	[x]	like the English h if followed by "a"; otherwise it is pronounced more roughly (not unlike the Scots ch)
j	[tɕ]	like q, but unaspirated. (To get this sound, first take the sound halfway between joke and check, and then slowly pass it backwards along the tongue until it is entirely clear of the tongue tip.) While this exact sound is not used in English, the closest match is the j in ajar, not the s in Asia; this means that "Beijing" is pronounced like "bay-jing", not like "beige-ing".
q	[tɕʰ]	like church; pass it backwards along the tongue until it is free of the tongue tip
x	[ɕ]	like sh, but take the sound and pass it backwards along the tongue until it is clear of the tongue tip; very similar to the final sound in German ich, Portuguese enxada, luxo, xícara, puxa, and to huge or Hugh in some English dialects
zh	[tʂ]	ch with no aspiration (take the sound halfway between joke and church and curl it upwards); very similar to merger in American English, but not voiced
ch	[tʂʰ]	as in chin, but with the tongue curled upwards; very similar to nurture in American English, but strongly aspirated
sh	[ʂ]	as in shinbone, but with the tongue curled upwards; very similar to undershirt in American English
r	[ʐ] or [ɻ]	similar to the English r in rank, but with the lips spread and with the tongue curled upwards
z	[ts]	unaspirated c (halfway between beds and bets), (more common example is suds)
c	[tsʰ]	like ts, aspirated (more common example is cats)
s	[s]	as in sun

In each cell below, the first line indicates IPA, the second indicates pinyin.

[ʐ] and [ɻ] are interchangeable.