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Tones & Pronunciation
Master Chinese tones
mā / má / mǎ / mà / ma
Four tones + neutral tone on 'ma'
mā má mǎ mà ma
Tone 1=high flat
māo (猫)
cat
māo
Tone 1 example — high level pitch
máng (忙)
busy
máng
Tone 2 example — rising pitch
mǎi (买)
to buy
mǎi
Tone 3 example — dipping pitch
mài (卖)
to sell
mài
Tone 4 example — falling pitch
nǐ hǎo → níhǎo
hello
níhǎo
Tone sandhi: 3rd + 3rd → 2nd + 3rd
bā
pā
mā
fā
bī
bū
lǖ
front/back/rounded vowels
mén vs méng
door vs something
mén méng
Nasal finals -n vs -ng distinction
yī → yí / yì (tone sandhi)
the number one changes tone
yī yí yì
yī→yí before 4th tone; yī→yì before 1st/2nd/3rd