When to write ü, what apostrophes do, and where tone marks go.

How to Pronounce ü

The letter ü represents a sound that does not exist in English. To pronounce it, position your tongue as if you were going to say “ee,” then round your lips as if you were going to say “oo.” It is similar to the French u in lune or the German ü in Müller.

The rule is: j, q, x, y + u = ü.

In other words, whenever you see ju, qu, xu, or yu, the u is pronounced as ü. This remains true when other letters follow, as in xue, yuan, and jun.

With other consonants, pronounce ü only when the two dots appear in the pinyin. Otherwise, pronounce a regular u sound. Compare 女 [nǚ] “woman” and 努 [nǔ] “to strive.” In the first word, the two dots indicate the ü sound; in the second, they are absent and the vowel is pronounced u. However, 雨 [yǔ] is always pronounced with ü even though the two dots are omitted in pinyin, because u after y is pronounced as ü, just as it is after j, q, and x.

The Apostrophe in Pinyin

In pinyin, an apostrophe prevents ambiguity between syllables and makes it clear where one syllable ends and the next begins.

This matters because some combinations can be read in more than one way when they are written together, especially when two vowels could be interpreted as a single syllable. Here are some examples:

Place an apostrophe before any syllable that begins with a, e, or o, unless that syllable is the first in a word or follows a hyphen.

Where Do Tone Marks Go in Pinyin?

Tone marks always go above a vowel. If a syllable has more than one vowel, follow these rules:

• If there is an a or e, place the tone mark there: hǎo, xué.
• In ou, place the tone mark over the o: kǒu.
• In all other cases, place the tone mark over the last vowel: huì, jiǔ.

With ü, the tone mark is written above the two dots: nǚ, lǜ.

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