Mandarin Chinese

Learning Mandarin ChineseA Step-by-Step Guide

by Qiu Gui Su, About.com Guide

Begin your study of Mandarin Chinese with the four tones. These are the cornerstones to good pronunciation, and once you have mastered them, everything else will fall in place.

There are four Mandarin tones - high and level; rising; falling and rising; and falling. A syllable (slog) takes its meaning from both the sound and tone. For example, the syllable "ma" can mean "horse," "mother," "scold," or "hemp" depending on which tone is used.

1. The Four Mandarin Tones:

Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language. The way a word or syllable is pronounced changes its meaning. Mastery of the four Mandarin tones is the essential first step to learning this language.

You must be able to pronounce and discern the four Mandarin tones.

Understanding Mandarin Tones

The Mandarin Tone System:

The Mandarin language has a fundamental difference from Western languages: it is tonal. Tones are one of the biggest challenges for Mandarin learners, but their mastery is essential. Incorrect tones can make your spoken Mandarin difficult or impossible to understand, but using the correct tones will allow you to express yourself clearly.

Mandarin tones are especially difficult for speakers of Western languages. English, for example, uses tones for inflection (promena), but this is a very different usage from Mandarin. Rising tones in English often imply a question or sarcasm. Falling tones may be used for emphasis (naglašavanje). Changing the tones of a Mandarin sentence, though, could completely change the meaning.

Let’s take an example. Suppose you are reading a book and your brother (or sister or child) keeps on interrupting you. You are likely to become exasperated and say “I’m trying to read a book!” In English, this would be said with an emphatic falling tone at the end.

But if you use a falling tone in Mandarin, the meaning completely changes.

Wǒ yào kàn shū = I want to read a book. Wǒ yào kǎn shù = I want to cut trees!

The second version of this sentence would have your listeners scratching their heads.So practice your tones! They are essential for speaking and understanding Mandarin.

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Mandarin Chinese

Introducing the Four Tones

The Four Tones of Mandarin:

Mandarin uses four tones to clarify the meanings of words. Since many characters have the same sound, tones are used to differentiate words from each other.

The four tones in Mandarin are: high level – first tone rising – second tone falling rising – third tone falling – fourth tone

Pinyin uses either numbers or tone marks to indicate the tones. Here is the word ‘ma’ with tone marks:

First tone: ma1 or mā Second tone: ma2 or má Third tone: ma3 or mǎ Fourth tone: ma4 or mà

The tones are used to determine the meaning of a Mandarin word. So mǎ (horse) is very different from mā (mother).

When learning new vocabulary you must practice both the pronunciation of the word and its tone. The wrong tones can change the meaning of your sentences.

Pinyin Chinese Character Meaning mā 媽 mother

má 麻 hemp (konoplja)

mǎ 馬 horse

mà 罵 scold (grditi)

The tones must be practiced individually as well as in combination with other tones!!!

First and Second Tones

pā pá dā dá māo máo tī tí kāng káng mēn mén

First and Third Tones

māo mǎo fēi fěi lā lǎ lēi lěi guī guǐ tā tǎ

First and Fourth Tones

kāi kài mā mà bā bà nā nà guī guì qiān qiàn

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Mandarin Chinese

Second and First Tones

tái tāi máo māo pá pā bá bā ké kē dú dū

Second and Third Tones

gé gě guí guǐ góu gǒu bú bǔ shí shǐ fú fǔ

Second and Fourth Tones

hú hù mú mù gé gè shén shèn ái ài qú qù

Third and First Tones

hǎn hān tǎn tān tǒu tōu fǎ fā sǎn sān wěi wēi

Third and Second Tones

rě ré tǎo táo gě gé bǎi bái nǎn nán gǔ gú

Third and Fourth Tones

sǐ sì lěi lèi měi mèi yǒu yòu wǔ wù hǔ hù

Fourth and First Tones

shù shū bèn bēn fèn fēn shì shī qì qī bà bā

Fourth and Second Tones

wàn wán èr ér dì dí fàn fán liù liú jiù jiú

Fourth and Third Tones

pà pǎ mà mǎ bèi běi tà tǎ shù shǔ kè kě

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