Faye
Teacher of Pinyin LessonsMandarin Chinese Tones: 4 Tones & the Neutral Tone
| Basically, there are four Chinese tones in pinyin, but some consider that there are five tones as there is also a neutral tone. Now let's learn them one by one.Chinese Tones Practice Guide: |
| First Tone:The first tone is a Flat Tone. When we pronounce it, we have to keep our voice at a very high pitch and flat throughout the whole syllable. The tone mark to represent the flat tone is a horizontal line, just as the line depicts, keep your voice flat and even. |  |
| Second Tone:The second tone is the Rising Tone. The rising tone is similiar to the tone which we use when asking questions, for example, when we say “really?” “What?” “Huh?” We use the rising tone. The tone mark is represented by a rising line, Start your voice in the Middle of your toneandMove your head all the way Up. |  |
| Third Tone:The third tone is the Falling-Rising Tone. The symbol of third tone is very similar to a tick which goes down first then goes up. When pronouncing the third tone, Drop your chin first then Move it up, this little movement will give you a clue to pronounce the 3rd tone properly. |  |
| Fourth Tone:The Fourth Tone is a Falling Tone. The fourth tone is represented by a dropping line which starts at a High pitch but sharply Drops to the bottom. The fourth tone is very similar to the tone we use when we get angry, just like when we say “oh! No!” |  |
| Neutral Tone:TheNeutral Tone is a toneless tone. It is pronounced very weakly. As you can see, the neutral tone has no mark above the vowel. |  |
Chinese Tones Practice: 4 Tones & the Neutral Tone
In this part, we will make some practice of Chinese tones. Please listen to the audio first, then repeat and try to figure out the correspondence between these sounds and the spelling patterns (graphemes) that represent them.
| No. | Tones | Used in Pinyin | Characters | Meanings | Pronounciation Tips |
| 1 | Flat Tone | | 妈 | n. mother | Keep your voice flat and even. |
| 2 | Rising Tone | | 鱼 | n. fish | Start your voice in the middle of your tone and move your head all the way up. |
| 3 | Falling-rising Tone | | 我 | pronoun. I or me | Drop your chin first then move it up |
| 4 | Falling Tone | | 不 | no or not | Start your voice at a high pitch but sharply drop to the bottom. |
| 5 | Neutral Tone | | 爸爸 | n. father | Pronounce it without any stress on the syllable. |
Chinese Four Tones Drills with Single Finals
Listen to the audio first, and then repeat four tone drills of a, o, e, i, u, ü.
| Single Vowels with four tones |
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« Chinese Pinyin Lesson 2 | Six Simple Finals/Vowels: a, o, e, i, u, ü
Chinese Pinyin Lesson 4| Compound Finals: ai ei ao ou iu ui ie üe er >> »
