Simple Vowels

In Mandarin, vowels are called 韵母 (Yùnmǔ).

There are 6 simple vowels, all of which consists of only 1 letter, and about 18 compound vowels, each of which comprises multiple letters.

Vowel	Pronunciation	English Counterpart	Example
a		a in ma	tā 她
e		/əː/ or /ə/, as in earth	lè 乐
i		ee in bee	tǐ 体
o		/ʊə/ as in poor, or quite like awe	bō 波
u		/uː/ as in do	tǔ 土
ü		rue with lips pursed	lǘ 驴