Lessons 1-2: Intro to Chinese Pronounciation
LESSON 1
Vocabulary
bā (八): Number eight.
dà (大): Adjective meaning big or large.
yī (一): Number one.
wǔ (五): Number five.
bù (不): Adverb meaning no or not.
dú: Verb, to read.
tǔ (土): Noun, soil or earth.
yú: Noun, fish.
nǚ (女): Noun, woman or female.
Phonetics
Finals
ao
e
i
u
ü
Initials
b
p
m
f
d
t
n
l
Notes
A syllable in Chinese is typically composed of an initial consonant (声母), a final vowel (韵母), and a tone (声调).
For example, in the syllable "bā," "b" is the initial, "a" is the final, and the "-" indicates the tone.
Beijing Mandarin has four basic tones.
1st Tone: High-level tone, marked with "-".
2nd Tone: Rising tone, marked with "/".
3rd Tone: Falling-rising tone, marked with "V".
4th Tone: Falling tone, marked with "`".
Exercises
Four Tones
ā, á, ǎ, à
bā, bá, bǎ, bà
dā, dá, dǎ, dà
yī, yí, yǐ, yì
wū, wú, wǔ, wù
bū, bú, bǔ, bù
dū, dú, dǔ, dù
tū, tú, tǔ, tù
yū, yú, yǔ, yù
nū, nú, nǔ, nù
Sound Differentiation
b vs. p: bā/pā, bá/pá, bó/pó, bò/pò, bí/pí, bi/pi, bū/pū, bù/pù
f vs. m: mā/fā, mǎ/fǎ, mà/fà, mō/fō, mó/fó, mū/fū, mǔ/fǔ, mù/fù
d vs. t: dā/tā, dá/tá, dí/tí, dǐ/tǐ, dì/tì, dú/tú, dǔ/tǔ, dù/tù
n vs. l: ná/lá, nǎ/lǎ, ně/lě, ní/lí, nǐ/lǐ, nú/lú, nù/lù, ně/lů
Tone Differentiation
bābā, pāpā, māmā, fāfā, dādā, tātā, nānā, lālā
bōbo, pōpo, mōmo, fōfo, dīdī, tīti, nīnī, līlī
bábā, pápā, máma, fáfa, búbú, púpú, múmú, fúfú
bībī, pīpī, mímí, fūfǔ, dúdù, tútù, núnù, lúlù
Syllabic Pronunciation in Sequences
fùfù: husband and wife; couple
fābù: announce; issue
míyǔ: riddle
bómǔ: aunt
dàyī: overcoat
dàpi: a large number of
dìtú: map
lìtí: example
dàmǐ: rice
dìlǐ: geography
mùdì: aim; purpose
mìmì: secret
LESSON 2
Vocabulary
nǐ (你): Pronoun, you.
hǎo (好): Adjective, good, fine, well.
kǒu (口): Noun, mouth.
mǎ (马): Noun, horse.
ma (吗): Particle, an interrogative word.
māma (妈妈): Noun, mother.
bàba (爸爸): Noun, father.
gēge (哥哥): Noun, elder brother.
dìdi (弟弟): Noun, younger brother.
mèimei (妹妹): Noun, younger sister.
dàifu (大夫): Noun, doctor.
Proper Nouns
Ālǐ: Ali (name of a person).
Mǒlì: Mary (name of a person).
Conversation
A: Ālǐ, nǐ hǎo! (Hello, Ali!)
B: Nǐ hǎo! (Hello!)A: Nǐ hǎo, Ālǐ! (Hello, Ali!)
B: Nǐ hǎo! (Hello!)
A: Mǎlì hǎo ma? (How is Mary?)
B: Hǎo! (Very well!)A: Ālǐ, nǐ hǎo! (Hello, Ali!)
B: Nǐ hǎo! (Hello!)
A: Nǐ bàba, māma hǎo ma? (How are your father and mother?)
B: Hǎo! (Very well.)
Phonetics
Finals
ai
ei
ao
ou
Initials
g
k
h
Notes
When two third-tone syllables are next to each other, the first syllable changes to the second tone.
Example:
Some syllables in Mandarin are pronounced lightly and shortly; this is called the neutral tone (轻声). Neutral tones are not marked with a tone mark.
Examples: mama, gēge
Exercises
The Four Tones
nī, ní, nǐ, nì
hāo, háo, hǎo, hào
kōu, kóu, kǒu, kòu
mā, má, mǎ, mà
māma (mama mǎ)
gē, gé, gě, gè
gēge
dī, dí, dǐ, dì
dìdi
mēi, méi, měi, mèi
mèimei
dāi, dái, dǎi, dài
dàifu
fū, fú, fǔ, fù
dàifu
Sound Differentiation
ai vs. ei:
gāi/gēi, kāi/kēi, hāi/hēi, bāi/bēi, pāi/pēi, māi/méi
dāi/dēi, dǎi/děi, nā/něi, nāi/nèi, lái/léi, lài/lèi
g, k, h:
gā/kā/hā, gē/kē/hē, gé/ké/hé, gè/kè/hè, gū/kū/hū, gù/kù/hù
gǎi/kǎi/hǎi, gài/kài/hài, gǎo/kǎo/hǎo, gào/kào/hào, gòu/kòu/hòu
Tone Differentiation
gāigāi, hàihāi, gàogāo, hàohāo
gègé, kèké, hèhé, húhú
gàigái, hàihǎi, gàogáo, hào hǎo
kàokào, hàohào, gòugòu, hòuhào
gǎkǎ, gěgě, gugů, kŭků, hěhů
gǎigǎi, kǎikǎi, hǎihǎi, hǎohǎo, kŏukŏu
Syllabic Pronunciation in Sequences
yǔfǎ: grammar
mǎyǐ: ant
fǔdǎo: coach
wǔdǎo: dance
bǐnǐ: compare
dǎbǎ: shooting practice
gǔlǎo: ancient
měihǎo: fine; happy
hǎidǎo: island
běihǎi: the North Sea
báomǔ: nurse; housekeeper
mǔnǚ: mother and daughter