20 The Four Basic Tones

Pre-lesson activity

Mandarin is a tonal language, which means the pitch or intonation used affects the meaning of that syllable. The same Pinyin spelling with different tones can represent different meanings depending on the tone used.

• • Tone 1: High and level (First tone: ˉ)

    • Characteristics: Flat and steady pitch.

    • Examples: mā (妈 – mother).

    • Practice exercises:

      • chē (车) – car

      • gōng (工) – work

      • shū (书) – book

  • Tone 2: Rising (Second tone: ˊ)

    • Characteristics: Starts low and rises to a higher pitch.

    • Examples: má (麻 –hemp).

    • Practice exercises: (Imagine you’re surprised or asking something: “Huh?” Use that rising pitch for second tone practice.)

      • xué (学) – learn

      • míng (明) – bright
      • rén (人) – person

  • Tone 3: Falling-rising (Third tone: ˇ)

    • Characteristics: Starts low, dips down, then rises.

    • Examples: mǎ (马 – horse).

    • Practice exercises:

      • mǎ (马 – horse)

      • hěn (很 – very)

      • lǎo (老 – old)

  • Tone 4: Falling (Fourth tone: ˋ)

    • • Characteristics: Starts high and falls sharply.

      • Examples: mà (骂 – scold).

      • Practice exercises:

      • mà (骂 – scold)

      • bù (不 – not)

      • zài (再 – again)

  • The Neutral Tone (轻声)
    • Though not one of the four basic tones, Mandarin also has a neutral tone, called 轻声 (qīng shēng). It’s light, short, and unstressed.
    • Example: māma (妈妈 – mother): the first mā is first tone, and the second ma is neutral tone.

Pre-lesson activities

• Tone practice drills: Combine words from different tones.

I. Reading aloud the following tones and combinations:

First tone

ti____n k__ng (天空) – sky

zh___ng x___n (中心) – center

g___ngzu___ (工作) – work

y___sh___ng (医生) – doctor

g___ng q___n (钢琴) – piano

x___ng x___ng (星星) – star

d___ng gu___ng (灯光) – light

q___ng ch___n (青春) – youth

f___i jī (飞机) – airplane

b___ng xi___ng (冰箱) – refrigerator

sh___ b______ (书包) – school bag

hu___ yu______ (花园) – garden

m______ma (妈妈) – mom

Second tone:  

l______x______ (留学) – study abroad

d______sh______ (读书) – read

h______dá (回答) – answer

x______xi______ (学校 ) – school

xu___sh_________ (学生) – student

x______gu______ (习惯) – habits

húd______ (蝴蝶) – butterfly

hu______ d______ng (活动) – activity

h______p______ (湖泊) – lakes

rénm______ (人民) – people

tiányu______ (田园) – countryside

m______xīng (明星) – celebrity

chuány______ (船员) – sailor

líb______ (离别) – farewell

fú w______ (服务) – service

tiáoji______ (条件) – condition