1 · Sounds and characters
The four tones
pitch that changes the word
Every syllable has a pitch shape, and a different shape makes a different word.
Every Mandarin syllable carries a tone, a pattern of pitch, and the tone belongs to the word just as much as its consonants and vowels do. 妈 is mother, 麻 is hemp or numb, 马 is horse and 骂 is to scold: the same letters, four words. English uses pitch for attitude — a rising “really?”, a falling “right.” — and that instinct has to be unlearned. In Chinese the pitch of each syllable is fixed, whatever mood the speaker is in.
The first tone is high and level, like a held note: 书, book. The second rises from the middle to the top, like a surprised “what?”: 茶, tea. The third is low: on its own it dips and comes up again, but in the middle of a sentence it mostly just stays low: 好, good. The fourth falls sharply from high to low, like a firm “no!”: 是, to be. The marks over the vowels draw the shapes: ā, á, ǎ, à.
Some syllables have no tone of their own. They are short and light, take their pitch from the syllable before them, and carry no mark: the particles 吗, 的 and 了, and the second syllable of many words, such as 妈妈 and 谢谢. This is the neutral tone, sometimes called the fifth.
The mark goes on a or e if the syllable has one, on the o of ou, and otherwise on the last vowel: 学, 都, 对, 六. The common mistake is to learn words without their tones and plan to add them later. Later never comes, and a word in the wrong tone is another word or no word at all. Learn every word with its tone from the first day, and say it aloud.
The form
| first tone: high and level | 妈、书、喝 |
| second tone: rising | 麻、茶、来 |
| third tone: low | 马、好、我 |
| fourth tone: falling | 骂、是、去 |
| neutral tone: short and light, no mark | 吗、的、妈妈 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
The tone is part of the word: the same syllable in another tone is another word.
我想买东西，不想卖东西。I want to buy things, not sell them.
The mark goes on a or e if there is one, on the o of ou, and otherwise on the last vowel.
六个学生都来了。All six students have come.
A syllable without a mark has the neutral tone: short, light, and pitched by the syllable before it.
这是你的书吗？Is this your book?
A question is made with words, not with a rising voice, so every syllable keeps its tone.
他是老师吗？Is he a teacher?
A closer look
The tones in a real sentence
In a dictionary each syllable is said on its own, and the third tone dips and rises again. In a sentence the syllables follow each other quickly, and the third tone usually only dips: the rise is kept for the end of a phrase, or for a word said in isolation. The whole sentence may still be a little higher when someone is excited or asking something, but inside it every shape stays recognisable.
The quickest way to hear the tones is in pairs. Listen to two-syllable words and copy them as units: 中国 is first plus second, 北京 third plus first, 上海 fourth plus third, 电话 fourth plus fourth. Twenty such pairs cover every combination, and a word learned as a pair stays a pair.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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two third tones follow each other
the first is said in the second tone, but it is still written with the third-tone mark: 你好 sounds like níhǎo.
我也很好。I am fine too.
Two low dips in a row are hard to say, so every speaker raises the first one without thinking. The change is automatic, and writing it would hide the tone the word really has.
How to spot it
- 妈
- 麻
- 马
- 骂
- 吗
Example sentences
我要一碗汤，不要糖。I want a bowl of soup, not sugar.
我喜欢喝茶。I like drinking tea.
妈妈在家吗？Is Mum at home?
这是一匹白马。This is a white horse.
别骂他了。Stop telling him off.
他很高，我很矮。He is tall and I am short.
7 more example sentences
我想吃水饺，不想睡觉。I want to eat dumplings, not go to bed.
树下有一本书。There is a book under the tree.
他卖水果，我买水果。He sells fruit and I buy fruit.
我儿子十岁，女儿四岁。My son is ten and my daughter is four.
这把椅子是新的。This chair is new.
谢谢你的礼物！Thank you for your present!
你会说中文吗？Can you speak Chinese?
Worth knowing (2)
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Tones as numbers
Where a keyboard cannot type the marks, the tone is often written as a number after the syllable: ma1, ma2, ma3, ma4, and ma5 or ma0 for the neutral tone. Many learners’ notes and some dictionaries work this way. It means exactly the same as the marks.
我会写拼音。I can write pinyin.
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Same letters, different jobs
The question particle 吗 has the neutral tone and looks like the first syllable of 妈妈; only the tone mark and the character tell them apart. In a sentence the two can stand side by side.
你妈妈好吗？How is your mother?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Said with a rising tone, táng is sugar, and the waiter brings you a bowl of sugar. Soup is tāng, high and level. The tone is not an accent laid over the word that people will overlook; it is part of the word, and a Chinese listener hears a different word.
Learn every word with its tone, because the same syllable in another tone is another word.
Your turn
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.