b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l, g, k, h, s are pronounced in a similar way to those letters in English.
ji like jee in jeep
qi like chee in cheese
xi like shee in sheep
z like ds in cards
c like ts in cats
zh like j in jelly
ch like ch in march
r like r in road
a like a in father
o like o in or
e like e in her
i like ee in see
u like oe in shoe
ü like eu in pneumonia
ia like yah
ie like ye in yes
er like er in sister
ai like y in sky
ei like ay in day
ou like owe
an like an in man
*most of the above is taken from Chinese Express Talk Chinese by Moon Tan and Haitong Wang.
Mandarin Chinese has five tones. Different tones on the same word will completely change its meaning.
For instance, 妈mā, 麻má, 马mǎ, 骂mà, 吗ma all have different meanings and tones. They mean "mother", "hemp", "horse", "scold" and a question particle, respectively.
1st tone: 妈mā; high and flat sound
2nd tone: 麻má; rising sound
3rd tone: 马mǎ; dropping then rising sound
4th tone: 骂mà; sharp/staccato dropping sound
5th tone: 吗ma neutral/no tone
My friend, Jessica told me that the tones sound as follows:
1st tone: robot
2nd tone: valley girl
3rd tone: punch in the gut
4th tone: stub your toe