All pinyin syllables ›gei
Pinyin syllableHow to pronounce “gei” in Chinese
gei = g + ei,[keɪ].Used in 1 tone and 3 words from HSK 1–3.
Hear it, then say it
Tap play for each tone, then record yourself — your pitch curve is drawn on top of the model.
交给jiāo gěi — to give; to deliver; to hand over
In real speech this tone is mostly LOW, not a full dip-and-rise. Drop to the bottom of your range and stay there; the rise only appears when the syllable is said alone or at the end of a phrase.
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The initial: g
[k]
- What the mouth does
- Back of the tongue against the soft palate, released without a puff.
- Closest English sound
- The k in “sky”, not the g in “go”.
- Where learners slip
- Voicing it into an English g.
- Drill that fixes it
- Say “sky… ky”, drop the s — that unvoiced, unpuffed sound is g.
The final: -ei
[eɪ]
- What the mouth does
- Starts on a mid-front e and glides to i.
- Closest English sound
- The ay in “say”.
- Where learners slip
- Confusing it with the standalone e final, which is a totally different vowel.
- Drill that fixes it
- Remember: e alone = “uhh”, ei = “ay”. The i changes everything.
“gei” in real words
Every word below comes from the HSK 1–3 vocabulary, so you can practise on words you will actually meet.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| gěi | to | 1 | |
| jiāo gěi | to give; to deliver; to hand over | 2 | |
| sòng gěi | to send | 2 |
Tone change you need to know
When a third tone is followed by another third tone, the first one is pronounced as a second tone. 你好 is written nǐ hǎo but said “ní hǎo”. The writing never changes — only the mouth does.
Third tone before any other tone. Before a first, second or fourth tone, the third tone loses its rise entirely and stays low. This “half third” is what you hear in almost all real sentences.
Syllables you might confuse with this one
One sound apart from this syllable — the pairs that make natives mishear you.
Questions people ask about this syllable
How do you pronounce “gei” in Chinese?
“gei” is the initial g plus the final ei, pronounced [keɪ]. Back of the tongue against the soft palate, released without a puff. Starts on a mid-front e and glides to i. It occurs in 1 tone, and the tone changes the word completely.
Which mistake do English speakers make on “gei”?
Voicing it into an English g. Confusing it with the standalone e final, which is a totally different vowel. Fix it like this: Say “sky… ky”, drop the s — that unvoiced, unpuffed sound is g.
The other half is producing it so a native hears the right tone. The free 2-minute check tells you which syllables are actually your weak ones.