Tones
In Mandarin, words that have the same pronunciation can have different meanings depending on how the word is said. The "tone" of a word describes how the pitch changes as the word is said. There are four "tones" in Mandarin. The tones are represented in pinyin by marks above the words and are read from left to right. The absence of a tone also has meaning.
Here are the four tones
· 1. Flat 3. Dipping
2. Rising 4. Falling
In the first tone your voice is flat and does not go up or down. In the second tone your voice goes up, as if somebody were telling you something and you answered them with a question, saying, “Yeah?”. The third tone is the trickiest. You voice starts at its “natural” level, dips low, then comes back to its natural level. Sometimes it’s hard to hear the difference between the second and third tone. The fourth tone is pretty easy. Your voice starts at its “natural” level then drops fast. When you’re practicing the tones it’s okay to use a loud voice and exaggerate your voice. By the way, if you cannot get the tones right away don’t worry too much. The Chinese people will probably understand you and be happy just to ear that you’re trying!
Change of tone
The tone of a word sometimes changes when used in a sentence depending on the
tone of the word that preceds or comes after it.
Rule 1: If a 3rd tone is followed by a 3rd tone, the first 3rd tone becomes second tone.
Example: The word for "hello" in Mandarin is: nǐhǎo which literally means "You good."
When these two words are pronounced seperately, they are both pronounced
using the third tone. When they are used together to form the word "hello" ni
takes the second tone and hao remains in third tone.
Note that the word nǐhǎo is still written with two third tones, but it is said with
the the nǐ in second tone.
Rule 2: If a 3rd tone is followed by any tone other than the 3rd tone
(covered by rule 1) the 3rd tone changes to a "half 3rd tone." A "half 3rd tone" is
one that falls, but does not rise.
Example: ni mamma
Rule 3: The word "bu" is 4th tone, but when it is followed by another 4th tone,
it becomes 2nd tone.
Rule 4: Rules concerning the word "yi."The word "yi" is 1st tone when used as part of a number (yi, er, san, ... shiyi).
The word "yi" is 4th tone when preceeding 1st, 2nd, or 3rd tones. (yi ge ren)
The word "yi" is 2nd tone when proceeding a 4th tone.
