Chinese Tones! (四声)

 

Hi everyone! So, let’s end the week by learning the four main Chinese tones and an additional neutral tone. These tones are used in the pronunciation (发音fāyīn) of Chinese characters, since Chinese is a tonal language. However, you must be careful when pronouncing these words, since different tones give the words different meanings. For example, using 我要睡觉wǒyāoshuìjiào (I want to sleep) instead of 我要水饺wǒyāoshuǐjiǎo (I want dumplings) can really confuse the person you’re conversing with.

Now, let’s get started!

一声-yī shēng (First Tone)

The First Tone has no change in pitch. Use a high and even voice to say the word. Some examples of words with the first tone are:

中Zhōng (Middle) as in 中国Zhōngguó (Middle Country/Kingdom= China)

一yī (one) as in 一二三 yī èr sān (one two three)

书 shū (book) as in 读书 dú shū (to study/to read books)

Notice that the way to represent the first one is a short straight line on top of the 拼音pīnyīn (phonetic writing).

二声-èr shēng (Second Tone)

The Second Tone is different from the first tone in that the pitch rises when the word is said. You can think of the pitch of the second tone to be similar to the pitch when asking a question. Some examples are:

文wén (language) as in 中文Zhōngwén (Chinese)

福fú (fortune) as in 幸福xìngfú (happiness)

节 (festival) as in 节日jiérì (holiday)

Draw a diagonal line (from left to right) to represent the second tone.

三声-sān shēng (Third Tone)

Now, the third tone is a challenging one, so do not get discouraged if you don’t perfect it right away. To pronounce the third tone, drop the pitch of your voice, and then raise it up again. Practice with these words:

姐jiě (older sister) as in 姐姐jiějie (older sister)- Be sure to keep this example in mind.

水shuǐ (water) as in 喝水hēshuǐ (drink water)

笔bǐ (pen) as in 铅笔qiānbǐ (lead pencil/pencil)

The third tone representation is similar to a “v” or a check mark.

四声-sì shēng (Fourth Tone)

Finally, we are up to the last tone, the fourth tone. For the fourth tone, all you have to do is start the pitch high (not as high as the first one though) and abruptly drop to the bottom of the pitch. Here are some examples:

世shì (generation) as in 世界shìjiè (world)

蜜mì (honey) as in 甜蜜tiánmì (sweet)

练liàn (to practice) as in 练习liànxí (practice)

The fourth tone representation is basically the opposite of the second tone representation in that it is also a diagonal line, but instead it is drawn from right to left.

(The representation of the four tones belongs on the vowel of the pinyin)

轻声-qīng shēng (Neutral Tone)

Now, remember when I told you to keep that example in mind? Well, there is one more tone that you should know about. Actually, it is a toneless one. There is no change in pitch and it is pronounced softly and quickly. This tone is always used in a pair. It cannot exist by itself. Let’s go back to the example.

姐姐jiějie (older sister) is a pair of characters. It repeats the word 姐 , so a neutral tone is necessary.

妈妈māma (mom)

妹妹mèimei (younger sister)

But, a word does not have to be repeated to have a neutral tone. For example:

帽子màozi (hat)

你呢?nǐne? (What about you?)

The neutral tone does not have a representation.

Now, we are finished with the four main tones and the fifth neutral tone. It is not the end of the world if you don’t get it the first time so PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!