Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced bei
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced bei, including 被 bèi, 北 běi, 备 bèi, 背 bēi / bèi, 贝 bèi. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
To say bei, lead with the initial b, then flow without a break into the final ei, holding the tone across the whole syllable.
Initial b
Start the syllable on the initial b, then run straight into the final ei — keep them joined instead of sounding out separate English letters.
Final ei
Settle the final ei into a steady mouth shape first, then lay the tone on top.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (被 bèi, 北 běi, 备 bèi, 背 bēi / bèi, 贝 bèi) and lock in their tones. 11 common characters share the sound bei, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
bei turns up here with 3 different tones; a change of tone usually means a different character, so the groups below are split by tone.
1st tone
Taking the 1st tone here: 背, 悲, 杯… (5 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
3rd tone
Taking the 3rd tone here: 北 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 被, 备, 贝… (5 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing bei inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
11 common characters in this group.