The Four Tones
In English, tone of voice can be used to indicate the speaker’s feelings or attitude. For example, if we don't believe someone we might say "Go on!" (meaning “Really?’’) with a falling tone. We can use the same words with a rising tone to encourage someone "Go on !" (“You can do it”).
However, in Mandarin we must be more careful! Let’s take the syllable ‘ma’. The meaning changes quite significantly depending on the tone used. Said with one tone it means ‘mother’/mā/ , with another tone it means ‘horse’/mǎ/!
You would not want to call your mother (or your new girl/boyfriend’s mother) a horse!
Mandarin has four tones. Listen to these examples:
First tone (level) |
(mā) |
(mother) |
Second tone (rising) |
(chuáng) |
(bed) |
Third tone (fall/rise) |
(wǒ) |
(I) |
Fourth tone (falling) |
(dàn) |
(egg) |
Click below to play a game and test your listening skills.
