Inner and Outer Vowel Series

The inner series of vowels (NeiZhuan 內轉) and outer series of vowels (WaiZhuan 外轉) plays an important role in differentiating the 16 She (攝) or rhyme categories, and also has a role to play in the Deng (等) or divisions of Chinese character rhyme tables.

 
Front
Central
Back
 
C
l
o
s
e
H
i
g
h
M
i
d
M
i
d
O
p
e
n
L
o
w
 
Unrounded
Rounded
Unrounded
Half rounded
Rounded
Unrounded
Rounded
 

The above table shows some of the principle vowels. The Inner Series is represented by pale highlighted areas, whilst the rest of the table shows the Outer Series and tongue positioning.

Non-contrasting and allophone pairs are as follows.

Outer
Inner


Initials : Guangyun Rhymes : Inner and Outer Series : She : Deng : Rhyme Tables : Chinese

© Dylan W.H. Sung
This page was created on Saturday 13th January 2001 and recently updated on Thursday 25th April 2002