Today is the easy stretch. Seven initials, and every one of them has a near-equivalent in English, so the work is attaching a new shape to a sound you can already produce rather than learning a new sound.
Zhuyin groups its symbols by where in the mouth the sound is made, and the groups are taught in that order. That ordering is doing real work: it means symbols that sound similar are learned together, where the contrast between them is obvious, instead of scattered.
Today’s symbols
Tap each one to hear it. Every recording is by a native speaker from Taiwan.
Tongue-tip sounds
Throat sounds
What to notice
Tongue tip: ㄉㄊㄋㄌ
The tip of the tongue touches the ridge behind your upper teeth. ㄉ and ㄊ are the same shape of mouth with and without a puff of air, which is a distinction that runs right through the whole system.
Throat: ㄍㄎㄏ
Further back. ㄏ is worth a moment: it is closer to the ch in Scottish "loch" than to an English h, a little rougher and further back than you would guess.
The aspiration pairs
ㄅ/ㄆ, ㄉ/ㄊ and ㄍ/ㄎ are three versions of one distinction. Hold a hand in front of your mouth: the second of each pair should move it, the first should not.
Practice today’s symbols
Eleven symbols now. This is the point where the earlier ones start to fade unless something brings them back, which is what the app’s spaced repetition is for.