How to Improve Your Mandarin Chinese Pronunciation
Find someone from China to help you with tones!, First tone is a high, flat tone., The second tone is most similar to the tone used to ask a question in English, as in "You asked who?"., The third tone is a deeper rising sound., Fourth tone starts...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Find someone from China to help you with tones!
There are four main tones: ā, á, ǎ, à. (flat, rising, falling/rising, falling). -
Step 2: First tone is a high
In pinyin, this is written as ā. , It starts in the middle of the voice and rises.
In pinyin, second tone is written like á. , The tone starts low, and then rises.
It is differentiated from a second tone because it starts lower, dips down just a little, and then rises.
The closest approximation in English is probably "huh?" when said in disgust.
In pinyin, third tone is written ǎ. , It is the shortest tone.
It sounds like an emphatic "No!" Sometimes fourth tone is described as a "scolding" tone because it is terse and quick. , Particles and the second syllables in some words lack a tone.
The exact tone that these syllables take depends on the tone that came in the previous syllable, but the neutral tone is always short, about half the length of a full syllable.
If it was a first tone, the neutral tone is a little lower than the first tone.
If it is after a second tone, the neutral tone is near the same pitch as the high end of the second tone.
If it is after a third tone, it is after a little higher than the end of the third tone.
If it is after a fourth tone, the neutral tone is a little lower than the end of the fourth tone.
Neutral tone words are not marked with anything in pinyin. , (Note that the letters are not pronounced as in English and that the pinyin is very different from English spelling!) ,, A (a) O (uo) E (e) I (i) U (wu) Ü (üe) AI (ai) EI (ei) UI (uei) AO (ao) OU (ou) IU (iu) IE (ie) ÜE (üe) ER (er) AN (an) EN (en) UN (un) ANG (ang) ENG (eng) ING (ying) ONG (ong) , So, if a word has both A and I in it, such as XIA, the accent goes over the A when written.
Exception:
When U and I are in the same word, the accent goes over U. -
Step 3: flat tone.
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Step 4: The second tone is most similar to the tone used to ask a question in English
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Step 5: as in "You asked who?".
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Step 6: The third tone is a deeper rising sound.
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Step 7: Fourth tone starts high and falls rapidly.
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Step 8: Technically
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Step 9: there is a fifth or "neutral/zero" tone.
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Step 10: Learn the Pinyin alphabet.
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Step 11: Consonants: B (bo) P (po) M (mo) F (fo) D (de) T (te) N (ne) L (le) G (ge) K (ke) H (he) J (ji) Q (qi) X (xi) ZH (zhi) CH (chi) SH (shi) R (ri) Z (zi) C (ci) S (si) Y (yi) W (wu)
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Step 12: Vowels.
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Step 13: Tonal accents go over the a
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Step 14: ü-- in this order.
Detailed Guide
There are four main tones: ā, á, ǎ, à. (flat, rising, falling/rising, falling).
In pinyin, this is written as ā. , It starts in the middle of the voice and rises.
In pinyin, second tone is written like á. , The tone starts low, and then rises.
It is differentiated from a second tone because it starts lower, dips down just a little, and then rises.
The closest approximation in English is probably "huh?" when said in disgust.
In pinyin, third tone is written ǎ. , It is the shortest tone.
It sounds like an emphatic "No!" Sometimes fourth tone is described as a "scolding" tone because it is terse and quick. , Particles and the second syllables in some words lack a tone.
The exact tone that these syllables take depends on the tone that came in the previous syllable, but the neutral tone is always short, about half the length of a full syllable.
If it was a first tone, the neutral tone is a little lower than the first tone.
If it is after a second tone, the neutral tone is near the same pitch as the high end of the second tone.
If it is after a third tone, it is after a little higher than the end of the third tone.
If it is after a fourth tone, the neutral tone is a little lower than the end of the fourth tone.
Neutral tone words are not marked with anything in pinyin. , (Note that the letters are not pronounced as in English and that the pinyin is very different from English spelling!) ,, A (a) O (uo) E (e) I (i) U (wu) Ü (üe) AI (ai) EI (ei) UI (uei) AO (ao) OU (ou) IU (iu) IE (ie) ÜE (üe) ER (er) AN (an) EN (en) UN (un) ANG (ang) ENG (eng) ING (ying) ONG (ong) , So, if a word has both A and I in it, such as XIA, the accent goes over the A when written.
Exception:
When U and I are in the same word, the accent goes over U.
About the Author
Dennis Reed
Specializes in breaking down complex organization topics into simple steps.
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