---
title: "un vs ong: 11 Mandarin Minimal Pairs with Audio | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "Hear the difference between un or ong in Mandarin: 11 minimal pairs (dūn/dōng, tūn/tōng, lún/lóng, gǔn/gǒng, kūn/kōng) 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/un-ong"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Mandarin minimal pairs](https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-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.

Voice

Hear

## 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

- 敦 dūn 东 dōng
- 吞 tūn 通 tōng
- 轮 lún 龙 lóng
- 滚 gǔn 拱 gǒng
- 昆 kūn 空 kōng
- 婚 hūn 烘 hōng
- 屯 zhūn 终 zhōng
- 春 chūn 冲 chōng
- 尊 zūn 宗 zōng
- 村 cūn 葱 cōng
- 孙 sūn 松 sōng

## 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](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.