Pinyin is essential for anyone learning to speak Mandarin Chinese. It is a pronunciation guide based on the English alphabet. In the first lesson on Pinyin, you will learn the basics of the Pinyin system, including the parts of each Pinyin syllable such as the initial, final, and the tone. As tones are one of the most challenging parts of learning to speak Chinese, we present them here so that you can practice them from the very beginning.