Chinese Tones: Tips on How to Learn the Tricky Change

Every language has its own sound system. Chinese is a tonal language, which means the same syllable with different tones can distinguish between words’ meaning. Learning how to pronounce different tones correctly is an essential and fun part of studying Chinese. In this article, we will talk about Standard Mandarin Chinese tones. Even though Chinese tones differ by dialect, Standard Mandarin will be a great place to start! The Basic Four Tones In Mandarin Chinese, there are four basic tones. Each of them has a distinctive pitch contour. Pitch may vary from speaker to speaker, but you can get the general picture from the tone diagram below. Here is a brief introduction of the four basic tones. The numbers in parentheses reflect changes in pitch. Tone Mark Description 1st tone mā High and flat. (5-5) 2nd tone má Starting high in tone then rising. (3-5) 3rd tone mǎ Starting low, falling to the bottom, then rising. (2-1-4) 4th tone mà Starting high, then falling sharply to the bottom. (5-1) First tone The first tone, also called high-level tone, is very easy to pronounce. It starts high and maintains the pitch the whole time, which tends to be longer in duration than the other three tones. Some examples: Syllable Example Translation bō 水波/shuǐbō water wave mā 妈妈/māma mom tī 踢腿/tī tuǐ kick yī 衣服/yīfu clothes Second tone The second tone, or rising tone, starts semi-high (medium), and then goes up. It sounds like asking a question. Some examples: Syllable Example Translation bó 伯伯/bóbo uncle má 麻烦/máfan trouble tí 提高/tígāo improve yí 移民/yímín immigration Third tone The third tone, or dipping tone, is the most difficult one for most non-native Chinese speakers. It starts semi-high (lower than the starting pitch of the second tone), dips down to the bottom of the tonal range, and then goes up again. Some examples: Syllable Example Translation bǒ 跛子/bǒzi cripple mǎ 马上/mǎshàng immediately tǐ 体会/tǐhuì experience yǐ 已经/yǐjīng already Fourth tone The fourth tone, or high-falling tone, starts very high but sharply goes down to the bottom of the tonal range. It sounds a little bit angry but you don’t need to do so intentionally. It tends to be shorter in duration than the other three tones. Some examples: Syllable Example Translation bò 薄荷/bòhe mint mà 骂人/màrén curse tì 剔牙/tì yá floss yì 意思/yìsi meaning Neutral Tone The neutral tone is called “轻声/qīngshēng” in Chinese and often referred to as “toneless”, which does not have a defined pitch contour but is roughly in the middle of your voice range. It’s always very easy to pick up because they are generally somewhat shorter than tonic syllables and pronounced quickly and slightly. Frankly speaking, it’s not the “fifth tone”. Instead, it’s just a kind of tone change for certain words and can be classified into two groups: the regular neutral tone and the irregular neutral tone. Bear in mind that no word starts with a neutral tone! It usually occurs in a final unstressed syllable of a disyllabic word. The regular neutral tone The neutral tone can be found in many words, which can be divided into the following groups. Noun suffixes Some characters put after a noun are pronounced with a neutral tone. They don’t have a concrete meaning, but function as an abstract indication. Character Example Translation 头/tóu 枕头/zhěntou pillow 子/zǐ 房子/fángrzi house 儿/ér 花儿/huā er flower 巴/bā 结巴/jiēba stammer Auxiliary particles Some auxiliary particles, such as “得/de，的/de，地/de，了/le，着/zhe，们/men”, are very commonly read with neutral tone. Character Example Translation 的/de 好的/hǎo de ok 得/de 走得快/zǒu de kuài go fast 地/de 慢慢地跑/màn man de pǎo run slowly 了/le 走了/zǒule gone 们/men 我们/wǒmen we 着/zhe 看着/kànzhe watching Modal particles Modal particles, such as “吗/ma，啊/a，吧/ba，呢/ne”, used at the end of a sentence to indicate emotion or mood, should be read with neutral tone. Character Example Translation 吗/ma 好吗?/ hǎo ma? Okay? 啊/a 真不容易啊!/ zhēn bù róngyì a! It's not easy! 吧/ba 好吧!/ hǎo ba! Alright! 呢/ne 你说呢?/ nǐ shuō ne? Don’t you? Measure words When “个/gè” is used as a measure word, it should be pronounced with a neutral tone. Character Example Translation 个/gè 这个苹果/zhège píngguǒ this apple 那个梳子/nàge shūzi that comb 一个包/yīge bāo a bag Duplicated words As for duplicated nouns or verbs, such as" 妹妹/mèimei, 星星/xīngxing, 看看/kànkan", the second character should be read with a neutral tone. Plus, when “一/yī” or “不/bù” is used between a duplicated word, “一’ or “不” is pronounced with a neutral tone. Character Example Translation 妹/mèi 妹妹/mèimei younger sister 哥/gē 哥哥/gēge older brother 爸/bà 爸爸/bàba father 星/xīng 星星/xīngxing star 找/zhǎo 找找/zhǎo zhao look for 不/bù 好不好/hǎobuhǎo ok? 一/yī 看一看/kànyikàn take a look Location character after noun Some location characters, such as “上/shàng，下/xià，里/lǐ，外/wài”, always take on the neutral tone when put after a noun. Character Example Translation 上/shàng 桌上/zhuō shang on the table 下/xià 乡下/xiāngxia countryside 里/lǐ 屋里/wū li in the house 外/wài 窗外/chuāngwai outside the window Monosyllabic verb suffixes indicating the direction Verb suffixes "来/lái" and "去/qù", which indicate the direction towards or away from the speaker respectively, always take on the neutral tone. Character Example Translation 来/lái 回来/huílai come back (towards the speaker) 走上来/zǒu shànglai come up (towards the speaker) 去/qù 出去/chūqu go out (away from the speaker) 跑下去/pǎo xiàqu run down (away from the speaker) The irregular neutral tone In some cases, the neutral tone is used even though none of the above rules apply. Learners have no choice but to learn such words by heart. Example Translation Example Translation 衣服/yīfu clothes 喜欢/xǐhuan like 兄弟/xiōngdi brothers 家伙/jiāhuo guy 芝麻/zhīma sesame 大爷/dàye uncle 月亮/yuèliang moon 伙计/huǒji dude 打扮/dǎban dress up 钥匙/yàoshi key Tone Sandhi Chinese tones are not static: sometimes tones of individual characters change depending on the pronunciation of adjacent characters. This phenomenon is called “tone sandhi”. Those tone changes are not reflected in pinyin tone marks, so getting to grips with the rules of tone sandhi is vital for any learner of Chinese. For T3 Among the four tones, the third tone is the most prone to tone changes. It’s only pronounced in its full “falling-rising” form when standing alone. In any other situation, rules of tone sandhi will apply. T3 + non-T3 → Half T3 + non-T3 The third tone preceding the first, the second, or the fourth tone will be pronounced as a half-third tone, starting low then falling even lower, never to rise again. Some examples: Dictionary pronunciation Actual pronunciation Translation 首先 (shǒu+xiān) 首先/shǒuxiān first of all 祖国 (zǔ+guó) 祖国/zǔguó motherland 广告 (guǎng+gào) 广告/guǎnggào advertising 导师 (dǎo+shī) 导师/dǎoshī tutor T3 + T3 → T2 + T3 When a third tone is followed by another third tone in a pair, the former changes to a second tone. Some examples: Dictionary pronunciation Actual pronunciation Translation 广场 (guǎng+chǎng) 广场/guángchǎng square 许可 (xǔ+kě) 许可/xúkě permit 想法 (xiǎng+fǎ) 想法/xiángfǎ idea 可以 (kě+yǐ) 可以/kéyǐ can For T4 T4 + T4 → Half T4 + T4 When two fourth-tone syllables are used together, the former changes to the half-fourth tone. Unlike the full fourth tone, the half-fourth tone doesn’t drop all the way down but stops semi-high. Some examples: Dictionary pronunciation Actual pronunciation Translation 再见 (zài+jiàn) 再见/zàijiàn goodbye 看见 (kàn+jiàn) 看见/kànjiàn see 放弃 (fàng+qì) 放弃/fàngqì give up 睡觉 (shuì+jiào) 睡觉/shuìjiào go to bed For 一 (yī) “一/yī” is probably one of the first Chinese words you’ve ever learned, but despite its simplicity, you still have to pay special attention to its pronunciation. When used in isolation, as a number, or at the end of a word or a sentence, “一/yī” is pronounced with the first tone. However, 一 changes to the fourth tone if it precedes the first, the second, or the third tone. Finally, before the fourth tone, “一/yí” is pronounced with the second tone. 一（yī) Character Example Translation 一/yī 第一/dì yī the first 统一/tǒngyī unite 感情专一/gǎnqíng zhuān yī devoted love 一（yī) + T1/T2/T3 → 一 (yì) Dictionary pronunciation Actual pronunciation Translation 一天 (yī+tiān) 一天/yì tiān one day 一直 (yī+zhí) 一直/yìzhí always 一点 (yī+diǎn) 一点/yìdiǎn a little 一 (yī) + T4 → 一 (yí) Dictionary pronunciation Actual pronunciation Translation 一切 (yī+qiè) 一切/yíqiè all 一片 (yī+piàn) 一片/yí piàn one slice 一半 (yī+bàn) 一半/ yíbàn half For 不 (bù) When “不(bù)” is used before the fourth tone in a group, it should be changed into “bú”. 不 (bù) + T4 → 不 (bú) Dictionary pronunciation Actual pronunciation Translation 不要 (bù+yào) 不要/búyào don’t need 不错 (bù+cuò) 不错/búcuò not bad 不是 (bù+shì) 不是/búshì not How to Practice Mandarin Chinese Tones Even with the introduction above, Chinese tones might still feel like a frustrating mystery to you. The key here is practice. Increase your confidence and improve your spoken Chinese with these simple exercises! Start with numbers Chinese numbers from 1 to 10 are the best start for a beginner. They’re short, simple, widely used, and, more importantly, contain all four tones. Listen and repeat with gestures Using your hand to follow the changes in pitch will help you memorize the four tones faster and keep your pronunciation in check. Step 1. Listen to the character carefully and identify its tone. Step 2. Listen again, following the changes in pitch with your hand. Tone 1. Draw a horizontal straight line. Tone 2. Draw a diagonal line from bottom left to top right. Tone 3. Draw a “V”. Tone 4. Draw a diagonal line from top left to bottom right. Step 3. Try to say the tones with gestures by yourself. Step 4. Repeat the exercise with different tones to strengthen your memory. Exaggerate the tones To an unpracticed ear, tones pronounced in fast succession are nearly impossible to differentiate, so don’t rush to speak as fast as a native speaker would. Take your time: speak slowly and exaggerate the four tones, pronouncing the lows really low and the high really high. This doesn’t seem like an efficient way to memorize correct pronunciation, but it will pay off in the long run. Remember: many learners who started using Chinese to communicate without mastering the tones first now find themselves struggling to correct their pronunciation mistakes. Better start off slow and lay a solid foundation for your further progress. Practice tones in pairs After practicing tones in isolation, move on to practicing tones in pairs. Tone sandhi will affect different combinations in different ways, so make sure to cover all of them for better results. Tone 1 2 3 4 Neutral 1 (1+1) 今天/jīntiān today (1+2) 中国/Zhōngguó China (1+3) 身体/shēntǐ body (1+4) 天气/tiānqì weather (1+neutral) 妈妈/Māma mum 2 (2+1) 房间/fángjiān room (2+2) 学习/xuéxí study (2+3) 没有/méiyǒu not (2+4) 学校/xuéxiào school (2+neutral) 回来/huílái come back 3 (3+1) 体贴/tǐtiē considerate (3+2) 旅游/lǚyóu travel (3+3) 理想/lǐxiǎng ideal (3+4) 勇气/yǒngqì courage (3+neutral) 嫂子/sǎozi sister in law 4 (4+1) 看书/kànshū read books (4+2) 大学/dàxué university (4+3) 电影/diànyǐng film (4+4) 再见/zàijiàn goodbye (4+neutral) 爸爸/bàba dad Record your voice Recording your voice isn’t just a great way to keep tabs on your learning progress: you can use it to gauge if your pronunciation is off in real-time! Here’s how to do that with the Shadow Speaking feature in ChineseSkill app: Step 1. Listen to standard pronunciation. Step 2. Click the “recording” button on the bottom left and repeat what you just heard. Step 3. Click the “ear” icon on the bottom right. Listen to your recording and compare it to the standard pronunciation to see if you got anything wrong. Step 4. Click the “arrow” button on the middle right or left to see the explanation of the corresponding word. ChineseSkill is available on App Store and Google Play. Don’t miss out! Practice with a native speaker Don’t be shy and make some native speaker friends! Mimic the way they speak and ask for honest feedback. Don’t just stick to one or two language buddies though: they might get used to your accent and stop correcting your mistakes. Use online resources to practice Once you have mastered the basic four tones and tone sandhi, make full use of modern technology and practice longer combinations of Chinese tones with the help of resources available online: ⇒ Sing in Chinese This relaxing and fun activity is perfect for all learners, not just the ones with an ear for music. Check out the recommendations below: 《刻在你心底的名字》--- 卢广仲 《有你的快乐》--- 王若琳 ⇒ Watch Chinese TV shows 《流星花园》 《爱情公寓》 ⇒ Watch Chinese films This video shows 13 of the most popular movies in China even in the world: ⇒ Listen to podcasts: Top 10 Chinese Podcasts to Improve Your Listening Skill will tell you some fabulous podcasts.

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