Pinyin final: "an1"

Mouth Mechanics (step-by-step)

1. Start with an open “AH” mouth shape.
   Drop your jaw comfortably and open your mouth more than you would for English “cat.”

2. Tongue stays low and relaxed for the vowel.
   The middle of your tongue should feel flat/low, not bunched up.

3. Aim the vowel toward a pure “AH.”
   Keep it warm and open—closer to “father” than to “fan.”

4. Close with a clear “n.”
   At the end, touch the tip of your tongue to the ridge just behind your top front teeth (the bumpy “gum ridge”), and let air flow only through the nose to make n.

5. Tone 1 (for an1): keep it high and level.
   Start high and hold steady—don’t glide up or down.

English Approximation (what to copy and what to change)

Because English “an” is usually æ (as in “fan”), it’s not a perfect match. Use these approximations and adjustments:

• “fAther” — use the “fa-” vowel (AH).
  Then add “n” at the end to get close to an.

• “cAlm” / “pAlm” (for many speakers) — use the open AH quality.
  Again, add “n” at the end: calm + n → an.

• How to modify English “fan”:
  If you start from “fan,” remove the “smile” and widen/open the mouth so the vowel becomes more AH and less “æ.” Then keep the final n.

What you’re matching is: - the open AH-like vowel (not the English “cat” vowel), - plus a real tongue-tip “n” at the end.

Common Mistakes (English-speaker traps)

• Mistake 1: Using the English “cat/fan” vowel.
  Don’t say “æn” (like English “an”). Make it more open and AH-like.

• Mistake 2: Turning it into “ang.”
  Don’t let the back of the tongue rise and don’t add a “ng” sound. The ending is n, made with the tongue tip, not ng.

• Mistake 3: Adding an extra vowel after the n.
  Avoid “ah-nuh”. The n should end the syllable cleanly.

• Mistake 4: Tone drift (for an1).
  Tone 1 is high and flat—don’t let it fall like a “serious” English statement, and don’t rise like a question.

Practice Pairs (Pinyin ↔ English cue)

These English words are pronunciation cues, not translations. Focus on the highlighted part.

(If your dialect doesn’t use AH in “palm/calm,” use the “Bah!” interjection as the vowel target.)

Comparisons & Caveats (similar Pinyin to watch out for)

A) -an vs -ang

• -an ends with n: tongue tip touches behind the top teeth ridge.
• -ang ends with ng: the back of the tongue closes near the back of the mouth.

Tip: If you feel the ending made in the back, you are drifting toward -ang.

B) an changes after y / i / ü-type glides in Pinyin spelling

You’ll see many syllables that look like they contain an, but the vowel quality shifts because of the y/i/ü glide:

• yan1, bian1, pian1, dian1, tian1, jian1, qian1, xian1, nian1
  These are not a pure “AH + n.” They sound closer to “ye(n)” with an n ending (a “yeh” quality before the n).

• yuan1, juan1, quan1, xuan1
  These include a rounded front glide (lips rounded like saying “oo,” but tongue positioned forward). The vowel quality is closer to “yüeh(n)” than to plain an.

Practical takeaway:
- Plain an (like an1, ban1, san1, nan1, gan1, han1) uses a clear open AH vowel.
- When you see y-/i-/ü- before it (like yan1 / yuan1 / bian1 / juan1), don’t force the same plain AH—let the beginning glide reshape the vowel.

C) -an vs -en

• -an is more open (more jaw drop; AH-like).
• -en is more central/“uh”-like in the vowel before n.

Tip: If your mouth barely opens and it feels like “uhn,” you’re drifting toward -en.

D) Tone reminder for an1

All examples here are Tone 1: high, steady, no glide. Keeping the tone stable makes an1 sound crisp and native-like even before you perfect the vowel color.