Pinyin writes Mandarin sounds in Latin letters - but the letters do not carry English values. About a dozen sounds are the traps; the rest are close enough that your guess works.
The initials English speakers miss
- j q x - tongue flat behind lower teeth: jī like "gee" without the English glide; x is a soft hiss; q is x plus a puff of air.
- zh ch sh r - tongue curled up: zhī, chī, shī, rì. The r is not English r - it is closer to the s in "pleasure" with a curl.
- z c s - dental: z = "ds" in kids, c = strong "ts", s = plain s.
- b p, d t, g k - NOT voiced/unvoiced. They are unaspirated/aspirated pairs: p has a strong puff (English "pie"), b is p without the puff (like "spy").
The finals that matter
ü (written u after j/q/x/y): say "ee" with rounded lips - 女 nǚ, 去 qù, 学 xué. e alone is the back vowel in 哥哥 gēge, nothing like English "e". i after z/c/s and zh/ch/sh/r is a buzz, not a vowel: zī, zhī rhyme on nothing English has.
Tone marks
ā á ǎ à - flat, rising, dip-rising, falling. The mark sits on the main vowel (a/e beat i/o/u; ou takes o). The full tone mechanics are in the tones guide; the sound tables have native audio for every syllable and tone combination, both accents.
Spelling traps
A few pinyin spellings lie politely: -iu is really -iou (六 liù), -ui is -uei (水 shuǐ), bo/po/mo/fo carry a hidden uo. Once you know the abbreviations exist, they stop sounding surprising.
Common questions
How do you pronounce q and x in Chinese?
Tongue flat, tip behind lower teeth: x is a soft hissing "sh", q is x with a burst of air - not "kw" or "ks". 谢谢 xièxie, 请 qǐng.
What does ü sound like in pinyin?
Round your lips for "oo" while saying "ee" - the German ü/French u sound. After j/q/x/y the dots are dropped: 去 qù is actually qǜ.
Why is b not pronounced like English b?
Pinyin pairs mark aspiration, not voicing: p = strong puff (like "pie"), b = no puff (like "spy"). The same for d/t and g/k.