Basic Mandarin Chinese | Lesson 1 | Grasp the tones in Mandarin!

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Nǐ hǎo Lesson 1 on
Basic Mandarin!

Welcome to Culture Alley - Mandarin

Welcome to your first Mandarin lesson!
We hope you're as excited as we are about your
cultural voyage to China!
Today, we will introduce you to Mandarin and
discover different tones in the language!
So let’s get started…


Mandarin
There are about 13 sub-languages
within the Chinese language

The most spoken is Mandarin (about
850 million), followed by Wu (90

million), Cantonese (Yue) (70 million)
Mandarin has the largest number of
native speakers in the world

Mandarin is the official language of
China and Singapore


Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese
(including Mandarin) characters into Latin script

It is often used to teach Chinese (including
Mandarin) and
spell names in foreign publications and used as an
input
method to enter Chinese characters into
computers
You = 你 (Chinese characters)
You = nǐ (Pinyin)

Lesson objectives

1

Tones in Mandarin


Tones in Mandarin
Let's get started by understanding the concept
of tones in Mandarin
You will usually encounter symbols on certain
characters, eg: ǒ, ě, ā etc
Each letter in Mandarin has a distinct tone
(pitch of voice) associated with it
Pinyin uses four easily - remembered marks to
tell you what the tones of words are

Tones in Mandarin
Eg: 'mā' means 'Mother'
But
'mǎ' means 'Horse'
So if you don't say the word right, you'd end up
calling your mother a horse and land into trouble!
:)


Tones in Mandarin

Let's look at the tonal variations of 'ma'
mā má mǎ mà ma
Meaning : 'mother', 'hemp', 'horse', 'scold' and a
question particle respectively


As we saw...

Each syllable in Mandarin has a distinct tone
(pitch
of voice) associated with it
Let's now look at the easily - remembered marks
which will help us in identifying the tones


Tones in Mandarin

We shall now take a look at various tones using
'Ma' as an example
Let’s begin!


Tones in Mandarin - First tone
The first tone ( ˉ ) starts at
a high level and remains
constant at that level
It is the same as saying 'Aaaaa'
without a change in voice
Say it as if singing a high note
This will now be referred
to as the 'high level tone (1st)'

Tonal tip

Mother = Mā
It is pronounced using a high level tone (1st)


Tonal tip

Let's try and say Mā
It is said with a high level tone - also known
as the first tone, Mā


So remember!
The first tone is denoted by ( ˉ )
It is a constant, high level tone
It is said as 'Aaaaa'
For example : Mā


Tones in Mandarin - Second tone
The second tone (ˊ) starts at the middle of the
tone and goes
to the top
It is similar to saying 'Whát?' in English
to as the 'mid rising tone (2nd)'

Tonal tip

Hemp (type of fabric) = Má
It is pronounced using a
mid rising tone (2nd)


Tonal tip

Let's try and say Má
It is said with a mid rising tone
- or second tone, Má


So remember!

The second tone is denoted by (ˊ)
It is said with a mid rising tone
It is similar to the ‘a’ in ‘Whát?’
For example : Má


Tones in Mandarin - Third tone
The third tone (ˇ) starts at the
middle, drops and picks up again

It is a falling-rising tone
Say it by pushing the tone and then letting
go, 'Ǎ'
to as the 'falling rising tone (3rd )'

Tonal tip

Horse = Mǎ

falling rising tone (3rd )


Tonal tip

Let's try and say Mǎ
Once again,with a falling rising tone - also
known as the third tone, Mǎ


So remember!
The third tone is denoted by (ˇ)
It is said in a falling rising tone
It is said by pushing the tone and then
letting it go
For example : Mǎ


Tones in Mandarin - Fourth tone
The fourth tone (ˋ) starts at a
high level and falls sharp at the
bottom
It has a rapidly falling pitch,
like while saying a command,
example (Stop!)
to as the 'falling tone (4th )'


Tonal tip

Scold = Mà
falling tone (4th)


Tonal tip

Let's try and say Mà
It is said with a falling tone - also known as
the fourth tone, Mà


So remember!
The fourth tone is denoted by (ˋ)
It is a falling tone
It shares intonation with
commands such as Stop!
For example : Mà


Revision - Tones in Mandarin
1.High level tone (1st) ( ˉ ) : Say
the first tone as if you were
singing a high note
2.Mid rising tone (2nd) (ˊ) :
Pronounced like a question in
English, with your pitch
rising at the end of the
syllable (Whát?)


Revision - Tones in Mandarin
3. Falling rising tone (3rd) ( ˇ )
: middle to low to high,
dipping pitch
4. Falling tone (4th) (ˋ) : high to
low, rapidly falling pitch
that is pronounced like a
command (Stop!)


Did you notice?


Let's see if you remember…


Pick the right option

How do we say 'mother' in Mandarin?

1

2

3

Mā

Mǎ

Mà


Solution

How do we say 'mother' in Mandarin?

1
Mā

2

3

Mǎ

Mà


So remember!

Mother = Mā is said with a constant high
level tone - also known
as the first tone



How do we say 'horse' in Mandarin?

1

2

3

Mā

Mǎ

Mà


Solution

How do we say 'horse' in Mandarin?

1

2

3

Mā

Mǎ

Mà


So remember!

Horse = Mǎ is said with a falling rising tone
- also known as the third tone



What tone does 'Má' carry?

1

2

3

High
level
(First)

Falling
(Fourth)

Mid
rising
(Second)


Solution

What tone does 'Má' carry?

1

2

3

High
level
(First)

Falling
(Fourth)

Mid
rising
(Second)


So remember!

The mid rising tone is the second tone
In this tone 'Má' means 'Hemp'



What tone does 'Scold' = Mà carry?

1

2

3

High
level

Mid
rising

Falling


Solution

What tone does 'Scold' = Mà carry?

1

2

3

High
level

Mid
rising

Falling


So remember!

'Mà' means 'Scold' and carries
the falling tone
The falling tone is also known as
the fourth tone


Tones in Mandarin

It might seem overwhelming, but don't worry, you
will get
a hang of the tones as you go along!
They are important as different tones
convey different meanings


Let's revise!


Revision - Tones


Revision-Vocabulary

English

Mandarin

Mother

Mā

Hemp

Má

Horse

Mǎ

Scold

Mà


Culture Leaf


Culture leaf- History of China
China boasts of more than 5000 years of
history beginning with the semi-mythological
Shang
dynasty around 1500 B.C
It was at this time that the Chinese symbolic
writing was developed by priests


Culture leaf

The Chinese civilization originated in
and along the Yellow River (China's
mother River) in the Neolithic era
(12000- 10,000 B.C)


Culture leaf
Chinese society has progressed through
five major stages - Primitive Society,
Slave Society, Feudal Society, Semi-feudal and
Semi-colonial Society, and Socialist Society
It has seen the rise and fall of several ruling
dynasties in its 4500 year history


Culture leaf

Today China is a vibrant economy and a leading
superpower which is making strides in all fields from manufacturing to technology to culture, arts,
and tourism as well!


What's next?

In the next lesson we will learn how to say
‘Hello’ in Mandarin!


Credits
Content
Team CultureAlley, Sunny Dang
http://www.chinatraveldiscovery.com/china-history/inde
x.htm
Images
http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/China/West/phot
o306017.htm
André Holdrinet


See you at the Alley!

Basic Mandarin Chinese | Lesson 1 | Grasp the tones in Mandarin!

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Basic Mandarin Chinese | Lesson 1 | Grasp the tones in Mandarin!