French Vowels Compared to Standard Mandarin Vowels

Standard Mandarin is said to have anywhere from 2-8 phonemic vowels.  The two nucleus vowels in the barest Mandarin phonology are /a/ and /ə/.  This is expanded by some to include some or all of the following: /e/ ([e ~ ɛ ~ œ]), /o/ ([o ~ ɔ]), /ɨ/ ([z̩ ~ ʐ̩]), /i/ ([i]), /u/ ([ʊ ~ u]), and /y/ ([y]).  The allophones are listed in brackets.


Compare these to the French vowel chart below.  

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