[ [2] In the mandarin Dictionary 五方元音, the initial ng is placed with u and a under w; i is placed with ǔ under y.

70. The remaining initials are ng, n, ni, m, v, l, and j. They belong with few exceptions to the lower tones.

Ng, I. Many words classed in the Dictionaries under this initial are pronounced differently in this dialect. Thus 堯 yau, 言 íen, have no initial consonant, 疑 ní, 爾 ’nü, 義 ní‘, belong to the tooth nasal (n), 午五魚 are read ü, ú, but spoken ng. Ng precedes a, e, o, ö, u, but not i, ü.

II. Other words as 月 niöh, 牛 nieu, 願 niön, belong more properly to the class headed ni, or the Spanish circumflexed n. The Sú-cheú dialect agrees better with the Dictionaries in this class of words, than that of Shánghái.

III. All the words in Morrison with the initial g belong to this class, except such as are in the upper tones. Such words as he writes aou, ae, yae, follow the same rule.

71. N, NI. These though distinguished in some alphabets as in Sanscrit and Spanish, may be for our purpose more usefully regarded as identical, the i being considered to belong to the final. Accordingly such words as 女 ’nü 你 ’né, 鈕 nieu, though placed under the palatal nasal ni in the native system, will be regarded as belonging to the tooth nasal n, and the remainder of the sound reckoned as the final. Even in the tables, these two consonants are in intentional juxtaposition. The consonants t, ch, to which they respectively belong are also naturally allied, as may be illustrated from our dialect, where ch becomes ts.

Many words written by Morrison yǔh, yin, yen, ying, yŏ, yu, yuen, yuĕ, take this initial, when they are in the lower tones. N, when thus prefixed, precedes no vowel but i, ü. The following are examples:—

玉 niók,硯 níen‘,獄 niók,源 niön,
銀 niun,騐 níen‘,語 ’nü,願 niön‘,
諺 níen‘,迎 niung,愚 nü,月 niöh, r. yöh.

72. M. V. The class headed m includes not only the mandarin words in m, but some that in mandarin begin with w. They are therefore placed together in the Dictionary system. Words thus transformed have v in reading as an intermediate sound, and often retain that form in the colloquial. If they are not words in very common use, they do not assume m as their initial. The following are examples:—