Pinyin chart · chi
How to say chi
chi in all four tones, said in a female or a male voice. Tap a tone to hear it.
chi
Tap a tone to hear it; tap it again to hear it slower.
How to say it
ch: Said like zh with a strong puff of air: like the ch in “church” with the tongue tip curled back.
The i: The i in chi is not “ee”. Keep the tongue curled back from the ch and let the voice carry on, a soft “rr” buzz.
Its tones
chī 吃 to eat · chí 持 to hold · chǐ 尺 chi · chì 斥 to scold. The pinyin trainer practices telling them apart in real words.
Sounds near it
Learners often mix chi up with these. Listen to them one after the other.
Words with chi
The voices are generated speech (ElevenLabs), the same two the app’s word cards use, each tone said as one real word. The words are from the official HSK list (the exam’s 2025 syllabus), easiest first. Every syllable is on the pinyin chart.