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Initials
Pronunciation

Initials

Teochew initial consonants.

Main features

Most Teochew initials correspond to Mandarin initials, but Teochew has no retroflex series.

A major difference from Mandarin is the presence of three voiced initials, produced with vocal-fold vibration.

  • bh: similar to the b in English ‘boy’, with vocal-fold vibration
  • gh: similar to the g in English ‘game’, with vocal-fold vibration
  • r: unlike Mandarin r, and closer to the z sound in English ‘zoo’

Teochew also uses ng as an initial. It resembles Mandarin’s final velar nasal, as in ngi (义).

Initials table

Place of articulationAspirated voicelessUnaspirated voicelessVoicedNasalLateral / fricative
Bilabialp（抱）b（波）bh（无）m（毛）
Alveolart（陀）d（朵）n（娜）l（罗）
Sibilantc（挫）z（槽）r（而）s（挲）
Velark（棵）g（哥）gh（鹅）ng（娥）h（河）

The zero initial is not listed. Including it, Teochew has 18 initials.