Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced na
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced na, including 那 nǎ / nà / nèi, 拿 ná, 哪 nǎ / na / něi, 纳 nà, 娜 nà / nuó. Compare tones, meanings…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
For na, start on n and let it run into a without pausing; keep the mouth moving and hold the tone to the end.
Initial n
Start the syllable on the initial n, then run straight into the final a — keep them joined instead of sounding out separate English letters.
Final a
Settle the final a into a steady mouth shape first, then lay the tone on top.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (那 nǎ / nà / nèi, 拿 ná, 哪 nǎ / na / něi, 纳 nà, 娜 nà / nuó) and lock in their tones. 5 common characters share the sound na, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
na turns up here with 3 different tones; a change of tone usually means a different character, so the groups below are split by tone.
2nd tone
Taking the 2nd tone here: 拿 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
3rd tone
Taking the 3rd tone here: 那, 哪 (2 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 纳, 娜 (2 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing na inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
5 common characters in this group.