Pinyin lessons :
 Introduction
Initials
Finals
Spelling rules Combination tables Tones
Change of tone |
Tones
In
Mandarin, words that have the same pronunciation can
have different meanings depending on how the word
is said. The "tone" of a word describes
how the pitch changes as the word is said. There are
four "tones" in Mandarin. The tones are
represented in pinyin by marks above the words and
are read from left to right. The absence of a tone
also has meaning.
For
example, the word "ma" can have a number
of different meanings depending on how it is said.
|
Word with tone
|
Description
of tone |
Description
of tone |
Name
of tone |
| |
Mother |
The straight line over the word indicates
that the word should be said with a flat
and unchanging high tone.
|
1st
tone |
| |
To
bother |
The mark going up above the word indicates
the word should be said in a rising tone.
|
2nd
tone |
| |
Horse |
The down and then up mark above the word
indicates that the word should be said with
a falling and then rising tone.
|
3rd
tone |
| |
To
scold |
The down mark above the word indicates
that the word should be said with a falling
tone.
|
4th
tone |
| |
Grammatical
marker used in a question. |
When a word has no tone or mark above the
word it is said to be neutral and is pronounced
in an abbreviated manner with no emphasis.
|
Neutral
|
Using
tones 1, 3, 4, and 5 in order we can form the sentence:
mā mà mǎ ma?
This sentence asks the question: Did mother scold
the horse?
The
following diagram shows how the tones are pronounced
in relation to each other.
|
