Basics · Chapter 3Tones
Mandarin has four tones plus a light (neutral) tone. The tone is part of the word: get it wrong and you say a different word.
Speed:Male voice:
The four tones
1st ¯high and level, like singing a note
2nd ´rising, like a surprised “yes?”
3rd ˇlow, dips and slightly rises
4th `sharp fall, like a firm “Stop!”
Light tone — short and unstressed, no mark: 妈妈 māma, 吗 ma.
mā “mum” (妈), má “hemp” (麻), mǎ “horse” (马), mà “to scold” (骂).
Tone changes
- 3 + 3 → 2 + 3. Two third tones in a row: the first is said as a second tone. Written 你好 nǐ hǎo, said “ní hǎo”: 你好 nǐ hǎo.
- 不 bù before a 4th tone becomes bú: 不是 不是 bú shì, but 不好 不好 bù hǎo.
- 一 yī before a 4th tone is yí (一个 一个 yí ge), before 1st–3rd tones yì (一天 一天 yì tiān); when counting — yī.
Exercises
1. Listen and name the tone
Answer
1st — shū “book”Answer
2nd — chá “tea”Answer
3rd — shuǐ “water”Answer
4th — qù “to go”
2. How is it actually pronounced?
- 很好 hěn hǎo
Answer
hén hǎo - 不去 bù qù
Answer
bú qù - 一起 yī qǐ
Answer
yì qǐ - 一样 yī yàng
Answer
yí yàng
Phrase audio — Microsoft speech synthesis (voices Xiaoxiao, Yunyang, Yunxi); syllables and some words — native recordings (audio-cmn, CC BY-SA).