Pinyin final: "(e)ng4"

Mouth Mechanics (step-by-step)

1. Start with a relaxed “uh” mouth shape.
   • Jaw: slightly open, loose.
   • Lips: neutral (not rounded, not smiling).
   • Tongue: relaxed in the middle of the mouth (not pulled back).
2. Make the vowel very short and “plain.”
   • Aim for a quick, central “uh” (not “eh,” not “oh”).
   • Keep the throat and jaw relaxed; don’t “push” the sound.
3. Close into “-ng” by lifting the back of the tongue.
   • Move the back of your tongue up until it seals against the soft back part of the roof of the mouth.
   • Do not touch the roof with the tongue tip; the front of the tongue stays fairly relaxed.
4. Let the sound finish through the nose.
   • The mouth is “closed” by the tongue in back, so the airflow goes out through the nose, creating the ng ending.
5. Add the 4th tone (falling) cleanly.
   • Start higher and drop quickly (like a firm “No.”).
   • Keep the mouth shape steady while the pitch falls; don’t let the vowel change as you drop.

English Approximation (2–3 words)

These are approximations; English doesn’t have this exact vowel+ending combination in the same way Mandarin does, but you can get very close:

• “sung” (the “-ung” ending)
  • Match: the final “ng” closure and nasal finish.
  • Modify: make the vowel more plain/central (less like English “uh” colored by surrounding sounds), and keep it short.
• “hung” (the “-ung” ending)
  • Match: again, the back-of-tongue “ng” and nasal finish.
  • Modify: avoid turning it into a long, heavy English syllable—keep the vowel quick.
• “young” (focus on the final “-ng”)
  • Match: the ng ending.
  • Modify: remove the English “y” glide unless the Mandarin syllable actually has it (for example, yong4 does).

If your “-ng” in English sometimes becomes “n” (common in fast speech), slow down and make sure the back of the tongue rises for ng, not the tongue tip for n.

Common Mistakes (English speakers)

• Mistake 1: Saying “en(g)” like “eng” in “English.”
  In Mandarin -eng, the vowel is more like a short, central “uh”, not a clear “eh.”

• Mistake 2: Ending with “n” instead of “ng.”
  Don’t let the tongue tip touch behind the teeth. The ending must be ng (back of tongue up, nasal finish).

• Mistake 3: Adding an extra vowel after the ng.
  Avoid “-eng-uh” or “-eng-er.” The syllable should stop cleanly right after the nasal ending.

• Mistake 4: Over-rounding the lips.
  For (e)ng, lips are usually neutral, not rounded (rounding is more typical in -ong sounds like dong4).

• Mistake 5: Tone drift (4th tone becomes “angry English stress”).
  The 4th tone is a pitch drop, not just loudness. Keep it firm but controlled.

Practice Pairs (visual matching table)

(English anchors are only to “grab” the -ng ending; the Mandarin vowel is typically cleaner and more centered.)

Comparisons & Caveats (nearby Pinyin sounds)

A) -eng vs -en

• -eng ends in ng: back of tongue lifts, nasal airflow; example: deng4, sheng4, zheng4.
• -en ends in n: tongue tip touches near the ridge behind upper teeth; example contrast idea: ben vs beng.

Key difference: tongue tip (n) vs tongue back (ng).

B) -eng vs -ang

• -ang has a more open “ah” quality before ng (wider mouth, lower tongue).
• -eng uses a more central, “uh”-like vowel (smaller mouth opening).

Quick check: if your mouth is very open like “father,” you’ve probably drifted toward -ang.

C) -eng vs -ong

• -ong is noticeably rounded and “oo/oh-ish” before ng; examples: dong4, tong4, zhong4, xiong4.
• -eng is neutral-lipped and central; examples: peng4, meng4, zeng4, weng4.

Key difference: lip rounding and vowel color—-ong is round/back; -eng is central/neutral.

D) Special note on syllables like ying4 / jing4 / xing4

These end with -ing, where the vowel is “ee-ish” before ng.
- -ing: front “ee” feeling + ng (tongue body forward).
- -eng: central “uh” feeling + ng (tongue more neutral).

Don’t let -eng become -ing by smiling/spreading the lips or pushing the tongue forward.

E) Tone reminder (4th tone across all examples)

In peng4, meng4, feng4, deng4, …, the 4th tone is a fast, decisive fall. Keep the vowel stable while the pitch drops, and end cleanly on -ng without trailing off.