SAINT PAUL UNIVERSITY DUMAGUETE
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Prepared By: Bradley Gaspar Invierno
MANDARIN FOR BEGINNERS: MODULE 1 (BUILDING BLOCKS)
Lesson 2: The Tones
Learning Objectives: Upon completion of the lesson, the students will be able to:
a. Recall the Chinese Pinyin Initials and Finals
b. To distinguish the 4 basic tones of the Chinese language
c. To practice reading words with correct tones
d. To learn some vocabulary and use them in simple sentences
e. Read words with tone pairs
Classroom Expressions:
a. 上课！Shàng kè! (Class begins!)
b. 下课！Xià kè! (Class is over!)
c. 现在休息 Xiànzài xiūxi! (Take a break now!)
d. 跟我读！Gēn wǒ dú! (Read with me!/ Read after me!)
e. 对不起。我听不到您说话！Duìbuqǐ. Wǒ tīng bù dào nǐ shuō huà! (I’m sorry. I can’t hear you)
The 4 Tones
- There are four basic tones in Chinese, respectively called the first, second, third, and
fourth tone. They make difference in meaning.
- There is another light tone called “neutral tone”
Why is it important to speak Chinese with correct tones?
- Tones in Chinese can affect the meaning of a character or a word; this means that with
different Tones, the same exact syllable can mean two different things. That's why getting
the tones correctly is important to communicate with people.
SAINT PAUL UNIVERSITY DUMAGUETE
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Prepared By: Bradley Gaspar Invierno
MANDARIN FOR BEGINNERS: MODULE 1 (BUILDING BLOCKS)
The Four Tones
It starts high and remains HIGH.
It starts medium high and goes up.
It starts medium high, dips down, then goes up
It starts high and then immediately goes down.
SAINT PAUL UNIVERSITY DUMAGUETE
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Prepared By: Bradley Gaspar Invierno
MANDARIN FOR BEGINNERS: MODULE 1 (BUILDING BLOCKS)
Practice 1: Read the syllables aloud and pay attention to the tones. 01-5
ā á ǎ à
ō ó ǒ ò
ē é ě è
ī í ǐ ì
ū ú ǔ ù
ǖ ǘ ǚ ǜ
Monosyllabic words:
Look at the Pictures and read the monosyllabic words aloud.
Disyllabic words:
Look at the pictures and read the disyllabic words aloud.
SAINT PAUL UNIVERSITY DUMAGUETE
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Prepared By: Bradley Gaspar Invierno
MANDARIN FOR BEGINNERS: MODULE 1 (BUILDING BLOCKS)
TONE PAIRS: Practice Reading the tone pairs
1st/1st 1st/ 2nd 1st/ 3rd 1st/ 4th
yīshēng (doctor) zhōngguó (china) hēshuǐ (drink water) gōngzuò (work)
bīngxiāng (fridge) bāngmáng (to help) yingyǔ (english) tiānqì(weather)
jīntiān (today) kōngtiáo (aircondition) zhōngwǔ (noon) zhōumò (weekend)
xiāngjiāo (banana) gōngyuán (park) duōshǎo (how much) gāoxìng (happy)
gānbēi (cheers) fēicháng (very) jīnglǐ (manager) shēngrì (birthday)
2nd /1st 2nd / 3rd 2nd / 4th
zuótiān (yesterday) píngguǒ (apple) qiánmiàn (front)
fángjiān (room) méiyǒu (not have) yánsè (color)
shíjiān (time) niúnǎi (milk) yíyàng (same)
líkāi (leave) yóuyǒng (swimming) wénhuà (culture)
xióngmāo (panda) yáchǐ (teeth) xíguàn (used to sth.)
4th /1st 4th / 2nd 4th / 3rd
qìchē (car) qùnián (last year) diànnǎo (computer)
chànggē (sing) wèntí (question) diànyǐng (movie)
dàjiā (everyone) tèbié (especially, very) shàngwǔ (morning)
shàngbān (work) liànxí (connect) hànyǔ (chinese)
xìnxīn (confidence) shùxué (math) xiàyǔ (rain)
More Practice: Read the poem to practice your pronunciation.
Ode to the Geese
Geese! Oh, Geese!
Neck curved and singing to the
sky with gladness!
Your white feathers float on
green water!
Red feet paddling in the clear
and clean stream.
