Mandarin minimal pairs · un / ong
un vs ong
11 pairs to hear, from 顿 dùn and 动 dòng on. Take the quiz, then tap any pair below to hear both.
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Which did you hear?
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Add to Chrome, free (opens the Chrome Web Store in a new tab)How to tell them apart
un is short for uen: an oo sliding through a light e to a front -n, the tongue tip ending on the ridge behind the teeth. ong keeps the lips rounded from start to end and closes at the back with -ng, as in English “song” said with rounder lips.
So 顿 dùn ends short and bright, 动 dòng rings on in the nose. After j, q, x and y the un is ün (军 jūn), which these pairs leave out.
All 11 pairs
Questions
What is the difference between un or ong in pinyin?
un is short for uen: an oo sliding through a light e to a front -n, the tongue tip ending on the ridge behind the teeth.
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.
Voices by ElevenLabs, the same two as the app’s word cards.