Learn Chinese Tones Lesson 2


This is the second of five free lessons about Mandarin Chinese tones.

Lesson 2:
Combinations of Tones?

Lesson 2
Combinations of Tones?

As you already know, Chinese is a monosyllabic language. Anyway, the majority of Chinese words are composed of two characters, that is two syllables.

While in Lesson 1 you learned how to pronounce single characters with the correct tone, now please pay attention to how two characters are pronounced together. In this lesson you are going to learn how to pronounce with the correct tones about one fourth of all Chinese words!

The Neutral Tone

The pronunciation of the neutral tone must be short and weak. It's used when pronouncing a few single-character words and at the end of a lot of two-characters words.



Stress Marks

Chinese dictionaries use four different stress marks to indicate the character's tone (there's no stress mark for the neutral tone).

Tone
1st
Stress Mark
   
Example of Pin Yin

Tone
2nd
Stress Mark
/
Example of Pin Yin

Tone
3rd
Stress Mark
V
Example of Pin Yin

Tone
4th
Stress Mark
\
Example of Pin Yin

Tone
neutral
Stress Mark
 
Example of Pin Yin
ma

All five "ma" together (mā­má­mǎ­mà­ma)


So, let's start with your first 5 combinations of tones: first-first, first-second, first-third, first-fourth, and first-neutral.


Words Starting With The First Tone

1st 1st
1st 1st
1st 2nd
1st 2nd
1st 3rd
1st 3rd
1st 4th
1st 4th
1st neutral
1st neutral
mā­ma

The meaning of what you say is not important now. Please concentrate only on the sounds and try to repeat them with the same pitch variation.

Click here for lesson 3 on Chinese tones.

I wish you like my website and go on clicking and clicking on its other sections!




Thank you!

WearYourChineseName.com - By Giuseppe Romanazzi
Biaoyu Business Consulting Services LTD
Shanghai, China
Copyright © 2001-2023 All Rights Reserved
wearyourchinesename.com Home Page
| About Us | Privacy Policy | Site Map | Italiano English |


Free 1-on-1 Chinese Lessons on WhatsApp?

Learn Chinese Tones for Free

WhatsApp:
Email: