---
title: "How to Pronounce qi (气) in Chinese, With Audio | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "qi (life energy) is 气 in Chinese, written qì in pinyin and said chee. Hear it from two native speakers, slow or normal, sound by sound with its tones, then say it and see if you got it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/qi"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[How to pronounce](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce)

# How to pronounce qi

qi (life energy) is 气 in Chinese, written qì in pinyin and said chee.

气 qì

chee

## Sound by sound

1. 气qìcheeFourth tone: falling sharply

### Letters to watch

- Q is said like the ch in “cheese”, with the tongue forward. Never “k” or “kw”.

## Everyday words

- [ni hao (hello) 你好 nee-how](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/ni-hao)
- [xie xie (thank you) 谢谢 shyeh-shyeh](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/xie-xie)
- [zai jian (goodbye) 再见 dzye-jyen](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/zai-jian)
- [tai chi (taiji) 太极 tie-jee](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/tai-chi)
- [kung fu (gongfu) 功夫 goong-foo](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/kung-fu)
- [feng shui 风水 fung-shway](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/feng-shui)
- [yin and yang 阴阳 yeen-yahng](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/yin-yang)
- [Putonghua (Mandarin) 普通话 poo-toong-hwah](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/putonghua)
- [hanzi (Chinese characters) 汉字 hahn-dzuh](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/hanzi)
- [pinyin 拼音 peen-yeen](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/pinyin)
- [xin nian kuai le (Happy New Year) 新年快乐 sheen-nyen-kwye-luh](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/xin-nian-kuai-le)
- [jia you 加油 jyah-yoh](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/jia-you)
- [guanxi 关系 gwahn-shee](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/guanxi)
- [mianzi (face) 面子 myen-dzuh](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/mianzi)
- [shifu 师父 shr-foo](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/shifu)
- [laoshi (teacher) 老师 low-shr](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/laoshi)
- [meimei (little sister) 妹妹 may-may](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/meimei)
- [gege (big brother) 哥哥 guh-guh](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/gege)

[Every name, or type your own](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce)

## How do you pronounce qi?

qi (life energy) is 气 in Chinese, written qì in pinyin and said chee.

## What are the tones in qi?

qì: fourth tone, falling sharply.

## What do English speakers get wrong in qi?

Q is said like the ch in “cheese”, with the tongue forward. Never “k” or “kw”.

## More free tools

- [Chinese text to speech](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-text-to-speech)
- [Chinese name to pinyin](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-name-to-pinyin)
- [Tone practice](https://mandarinthewild.com/tone-practice)
- [Pronunciation checker](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-pronunciation-checker)
- [Pinyin chart](https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-chart)

Voices recorded for our word cards. A spelling such as “shyow-mee” is the nearest English sound, not the sound itself: hear the voices.