How to remember and use the four tones of Chinese?
23 answers from our tutors
Best answer
Tackling Chinese tones? Picture this: 1st tone is like holding a steady note 2nd tone is asking a question 3rd tone is a quick dip then rise 4th tone is like scolding your friend Practice mimicking, use visuals, and get chatty with native speakers. Tones are your language melody :)
Just read the four tones following in this order: May I? What? Really? Opps!
It’s actually not that hard to memorize the four tones, you can listen to some examples of Chinese letters using all four tones and see the difference among them. And my trick is to use your hand to help you memorize it better, it goes flat when it’s the first tone, goes up when it’s second tone, and goes down first then up for the third tone, and simply goes done for the fourth tone. With some practice, I’m sure you can master it pretty well!
The following notes can be used to represent each tone: First tone: high-pitched "55" Second tone: rising from low to high, "35" Third tone: dipping down from high to low, then rising to high, then falling to low, "214" Fourth tone: falling from high to low, "51" This way of memorizing can help learners better understand and remember the four tones in Mandarin Chinese
1.Learn to hear tones.Captitalize on what you hear. Think about how your native language uses pitch.listen for aspects of tone besides pitch.Practice hearing tones on one syllable,then in combination. 2.Practice pronouncing .listen and repeat. Speak slowly at first. Exaggerate.
y......yes, what? really? opps!
so here is a tip for you to remember them quickly , for example ,妈，in chinese ,we pronouce " ma " which is frist tone , so in English ,you also can find the other one just like " um~" ,you know, when somebody make you think of something ,or you are going to think of something that you wanna know how you should answer it , so English person would pronouce it " UM ~ " ,right ? and the other 3 ones , please turn your mind and think of how to deal with it ^^
We just simply say 您好 ning2hao3 to greet elderly in China.
- BunnyGraduation in UoN with distinction/ Live in the UK/ Ten years of business management experience
I would like to say, no need to remember it if not for the professional test. Just try to speak out as much as possible. Chinese people can easily get your idea from the whole sentence, even if the tone is incorrect. Always ask someone to correct you when it happens, and you'll generally remember it. Just like the native English speaker can understand different accents of English, so just be braver.
You can remember the four tones of Chinese by singing the song!
EASY. picture that you hit your toe to the couch by accident, the first thing you would do is? screaming out a painful Ah,right? that's the fourth tone sounds like.
Other student questions
- How do English students think to chat with native Chinese speakers ,do you think it’s useful
If you think so,come to find me,I can make you feel the glamor of communication, I believe you can harvest something through chatting with me ,you can trust me.
- How long do you think it will take for an English speaker to learn Chinese?
Do you believe it's possible to start learning it effectively, or do you think it will require a significant amount of time and effort?
Best answer
Language is a skill, you should to use it constantly, and it depends on how often you review it and use it. As a Chinese teacher I can help you review and learn new things at the same time. We will take about 1-3 lessons to learn pinyin and 1-3 lessons to learn characters. And then you need take a long time to learn new words, grammars and expressions. During this time, you must not only learn it, but also find opportunity to use it. For example, watch Chinese TV show, listen Chinese music and so on.
