Pinyin Tone
Get the Mandarin Tones Right
One of the first things that you need to know before learning Chinese is its tone.
It is sometime referred to as pinyin tone,mandarin tone, chinese tone.
If you’re a speaker of non-tonal language like English, it may be difficult for you to comprehend. In Chinese, a slight change of Intonation would change the meaning of a syllable altogether.
In other words, even if you have got everything right but speak in a wrong tone, you will not be understood.
Listen to the audio clip below. You’ll hear two Mandarin phrases. There is no difference between them in terms of pronunciation. Both are pronounced as Si. The only difference between them is the tones of their first syllable. The first one in the first tone, and the second in the third tone.
Guess what! The first phrase means private, and the other means a dead body or a corps.
Just imagine how embarrassing you can be if you get the tone wrong!
So when you are learning a new word in Mandarin, remember its tone!
Don’t ever think that you just get the pronunciation right first, and come back to learn the tone later. It does not work that way!
Here is another example. The sound ma, can mean ‘mother’ if it is pronounced in the first tone mā 妈. When the same sound is pronounced in the second tone, má, it can mean ‘being numb’ 麻. If it is pronounced in the third tone, mǎ, it could mean ‘horse’ 马. If it is in the forth tone, mà, it could mean ‘to scold’ 骂.
If you don’t get the tone right, you don’t get the word right.
Chinese is a tonal language, so it is better that you master the pinyin tones before you learn the language. This will avoid confusion for both you and your listener.
The Four Mandarin Tones
| First tone |  |
| Second tone |  |
| Third tone |  |
| Forth tone |  |
The symbols depict the directions of the pitches of the tones very well. Using the sound 'ma' as an example, the tones are shown in the following
Use any word to practice the tones. Do it diligently. It will help you to speak in a clearer and more precise manner.
P.S. After you have mastered the four tones, you may want to learn the neutral tone as well.
When a tone is neutral, it is pronounced weakly, just like the unstressed syllables in English. In the written form, no tone mark is used. For example: érzi 儿子; wǒde 我的.
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