n vs l

How to tell them apart

n goes through the nose: pinch your nose and you can’t say it. l lets the air out past the sides of the tongue, with the nose closed. Both start with the tongue tip behind the top teeth.

In parts of southern and western China (Sichuan, Hunan, Fujian) many people mix the two, so 你 nǐ can sound like lǐ. Hearing the nose in n is what tells 女 nǚ from 旅 lǚ.

Questions

What is the difference between n or l in pinyin?

n goes through the nose: pinch your nose and you can’t say it.

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: all 20 tone pairs, each a word to hear. Pinyin trainer: hear a word and name its tones. Tone practice: say a word and see your pitch over a native speaker’s. Pinyin chart: every syllable in all four tones.