| 主音 | zhǔ yīn | keynote / principal tone / tonic / vowel |  |
| 元音 | yuán yīn | vowel |  |
| 母音 | mǔ yīn | vowel | |
| 呀 | ya | (particle equivalent to 啊 / after a vowel, expressing surprise or doubt) | |
| 哇 | wa | replaces 啊[a5] when following the vowel "u" or "ao" | |
| 卷舌元音 | juǎn shé yuán yīn | retroflex vowel (e.g. the final r of putonghua) | |
| 鼻韵母 | bí yùn mǔ | (of Chinese pronunciation) a vowel followed by a nasal consonant | |
| 闭元音 | bì yuán yīn | close vowel | |
| 元音失读 | yuán yīn shī dú | vowel devoicing | |
| 元音和谐 | yuán yīn hé xié | vowel harmony (in phonetics of Altaic languages) | |
| 母音调和 | mǔ yīn tiáo hé | vowel harmony (in phonetics) | |
| 复合母音 | fù hé mǔ yīn | diphthong / compound vowel | |
| 韵腹 | yùn fù | main vowel in diphthong | |
| 韵头 | yùn tóu | leading vowel of diphthong | |
