---
title: "j q x vs z c s: 38 Mandarin Minimal Pairs with Audio | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "Hear the difference between j q x or z c s in Mandarin: 38 minimal pairs (xī/sī, jī/zī, jiā/zā, jié/zé, jiāo/zāo) to hear in a female or male voice, a ten-question listening quiz and how to say each. Free, no sign-up."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-minimal-pairs/j-z"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Mandarin minimal pairs](https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-minimal-pairs) · j / z

# j q x vs z c s

38 pairs to hear, from 系 xì and 四 sì on. Take the quiz, then tap any pair below to hear both.

Voice

Hear

## How to tell them apart

**j**, **q** and **x** raise the middle of the tongue to the hard palate, the tip down behind the bottom teeth, and always come before an _i_ or _ü_ sound. **z**, **c** and **s** put the tip just behind the top teeth and never do. So _xi_ is a soft “shee”, _si_ a sharp _s_ with a buzz after it.

The vowel is the giveaway: 系 xì has a clear _ee_, 四 sì a buzz held on the _s_; 先 xiān glides through a _y_ to a vowel near _e_, 三 sān opens straight to _a_.

## All 38 pairs

- 西 xī 私 sī
- 机 jī 资 zī
- 加 jiā 匝 zā
- 节 jié 则 zé
- 交 jiāo 遭 zāo
- 究 jiū 邹 zōu
- 兼 jiān 簪 zān
- 仅 jǐn 怎 zěn
- 江 jiāng 脏 zāng
- 经 jīng 增 zēng
- 窘 jiǒng 总 zǒng
- 居 jū 租 zū
- 捐 juān 钻 zuān
- 均 jūn 尊 zūn
- 期 qī 疵 cī
- 掐 qiā 擦 cā
- 怯 qiè 侧 cè
- 敲 qiāo 糙 cāo
- 千 qiān 餐 cān
- 侵 qīn 参 cēn
- 枪 qiāng 仓 cāng
- 清 qīng 噌 cēng
- 穷 qióng 从 cóng
- 区 qū 粗 cū
- 圈 quān 蹿 cuān
- 囷 qūn 村 cūn
- 虾 xiā 撒 sā
- 谢 xiè 色 sè
- 消 xiāo 骚 sāo
- 修 xiū 搜 sōu
- 先 xiān 三 sān
- 新 xīn 森 sēn
- 香 xiāng 桑 sāng
- 星 xīng 僧 sēng
- 胸 xiōng 松 sōng
- 需 xū 酥 sū
- 宣 xuān 酸 suān
- 熏 xūn 孙 sūn

## Questions

### What is the difference between j q x or z c s in pinyin?

j, q and x raise the middle of the tongue to the hard palate, the tip down behind the bottom teeth, and always come before an i or ü sound.

### What is a minimal pair in Mandarin?

Two syllables that differ by one sound and nothing else, such as zhī and zī, or fàn and fàng. Hearing them apart is the first step to saying them apart, and to understanding fast speech.

## Practise the tones too

[Tone pair chart](https://mandarinthewild.com/tone-pairs): all 20 tone pairs, each a word to hear. [Pinyin trainer](https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-trainer): hear a word and name its tones. [Tone practice](https://mandarinthewild.com/tone-practice): say a word and see your pitch over a native speaker’s. [Pinyin chart](https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-chart): every syllable in all four tones.

Voices by ElevenLabs, the same two as the app’s word cards.