Pinyin & Tones
How Mandarin sounds and how pinyin writes it: the four tones and the neutral tone, every initial and final, tone changes, spelling rules, and how characters are built -- before the Foundations level.
0 of 24 required lessons completed · 2 units
- listeningI can hear the four tones and the neutral tone, and tell them apart in two-syllable words.
- readingI can read any syllable written in pinyin aloud, including tone marks, apostrophes and erhua.
- speakingI can pronounce the initials English doesn't have: the aspirated pairs, j/q/x and zh/ch/sh/r.
- speakingI can apply tone changes as I speak: two third tones, and 不 and 一.
- readingI understand how characters are built and can use radicals as clues to meaning.
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How Chinese Works: Characters, Syllables and Pinyin
What you're actually learning: one spoken language (Mandarin), written in characters, with pinyin as the pronunciation guide.
The Four Tones and the Neutral Tone
Mandarin's four tones plus the light neutral tone: what each one sounds like and how pinyin marks it.
Tone Pairs: Hearing Two Tones at Once
Most words have two syllables, so tones come in pairs. Hear them, type them and say them.
Simple Finals: a, o, e, i, u, ü
The six basic vowels of Mandarin, including the two that English doesn't have.
Initials b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l: Aspiration
The first consonants -- and the puff of air that tells b from p and d from t.
Initials g, k, h and j, q, x
Back-of-the-mouth sounds, and the three palatal sounds that trip up English speakers.
Initials zh, ch, sh, r and z, c, s
The retroflex sounds (tongue curled back) and the dental sounds (tongue behind the teeth) -- plus the special vowel after them.
Minimal Pairs: b/p, j/q/x, zh/z and More
Pairs of syllables that differ by one sound: aspiration, j/q/x and the curled-tongue initials.
Unit 1 review
A quiz, listening and speaking on Syllable structure, The four tones, Neutral tone, Simple finals and more.
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