Foreign Language

Mandarin
Key Features of Chinese Language
• Chinese is the most widely spoken in the world
• Two most popular forms of Chinese language are:
Mandarin and Cantonese (Mandarin is the standard form widely
spoken in mainland China, whereas Cantonese is mainly spoken in
Taiwan)
• Chinese is a tonal language
• Chinese belongs to Sino Tibetan language family
What is the Sino-Tibetan language family?

Sino-Tibetan languages, family of languages spoken by over a 1.2 billion people

in central and SE Asia. This linguistic family is second only to the Indo-European
(3.2 B) stock in the number of its speakers. It is usually said to have three
subfamilies: Tibeto-Burman, Chinese, and Tai, or Thai.
The Sino-Tibetan languages have in common several features, which are
exhibited to a greater or lesser extent in the individual tongues. For example,
they show a tendency to be monosyllabic and isolating and to use tones or
musical pitch.
The number of tones differs in each language; three tones are found in Burmese,
five in Thai, four in Mandarin Chinese, and nine in Cantonese Chinese.
Chinese is the leading representative of the Sino-Tibetan family. 
Key Features of Chinese Language
• The written form of the language is called characters which
is basically kind of ideogram, looks like picture.

• There are almost 50,000 characters in Chinese language. But

learning 3000 to 4000 characters one can accomplish daily
communication, news paper reading or academic pursuit
• Speaking Chinese is like singing a song, the tonal ups and
downs add musical effect to the language
Everybody knows that Chinese is a kind of pictographic language. Each
Chinese word is made of Chinese characters, and each character is
monosyllabic and has its own pronunciation.
Chinese people mark the pronunciation of characters in pīn yīn (Chinese
phonetic alphabet).

Pinyin, or Hanyu Pinyin, is the official phonetic system for

pronouncing Chinese characters. pīnyīn ( 拼音 ) literally
means spelled out sounds
There are two groups of alphabets in pīn yīn.

One group is used at the beginning of a syllable and are called initials.

The other group follow initials and is called finals.

Initials

b p m f d t n l
g k h j q x
zh ch sh r z c s
y w
Finals
Single Finals

a o e i u ü
Finals
a: ai ao an ang
Compound Finals
o: ou ong
e: ei en eng
i: ia ie iao iu
in iang ing iong
u: ua uo uai ui
uan un
uang ueng
ü: üe üan ün
Syllables
Initial English Sound Chinese Example
Sound Equivalent

b bear 不 bù (not)

p pope 跑 pǎo (to run)

m more 妈 mā (mom)

f fate 分 fēn (cent)

d bed (unaspirated) 对 duì (correct)

t tap (aspirated) 天 tiān (sky)

n now 你 nǐ (you)

l lean 六 liù (six)

g get (unaspirated) 个 gè (piece)

k kangaroo (unaspirated) 客 kè (guest)

h help 很 hěn (very)

j jeep 见 jiàn (see)

q ch in “cheap” 请 qǐng
(please)
x in “she” 下 xià (below)
zh jam (with tongue curled backwards) 真 zhēn (real)

ch chirp (with tongue curled backwards) 吃 chī (eat)

sh shut (with tongue curled backwards) 说 shuō (say)

r azure (with tongue curled backwards) 热 rè (hot)

z woods 早 zǎo (early)

c its 错 cuò
(wrong)

s sink 三 sān (three)

These last two are special sounds because they are not true initial
sounds, but sometimes function as initial sounds.
y yes — yī (one)
(Not a true initial. The letter
i is written with a y when no
initial is present.)

w want 我 wǒ (I)
(Not a true initial. The letter o
is written with a w when no
initial is present.)
Single Finals
Final English Sound Equivalent Chinese
Sound Example

a pronounced as the a in “father” 妈 mā (mom)

e pronounced as the er in “serve” 客 kè (guest)

i pronounced as the ee in “bee” — yī (one)

o pronounced as the o in “fox” 我 wǒ (I)

u pronounced as the woo in “wood” 不 bù (not)

ü pronounced as in German or French. Similar to lure 女 nǚ (wo

(“ooh” with pursed lips)
Compound Finals
Final English Sound Equivalent Chinese
Sound Example

ai bike 来 lái (come)

ao now 好 hǎo
(good)
ei may 美 měi
(beautiful)
ia y in “yes” and slide to a as in British “are” 下 xià (below)

iao the combination of the beginning 小 xiǎo (small)

consonant in “yes” and the o in “how”

ie similar to the ye in “yes”. 谢 xiè (thanks)

iou/iu iu is always pronounced as iou – pronounced as a 久 jiǔ (long

slide from “y” as in ago)
“yes” to the “o” in “go“

ou o in “so“ 有 yǒu (have)

ua pronounced similar to the American 花 huā (flower)
“what” without “h” and “t”. Sounds
like the English spelling “wah”

uai pronounced similar to the English 快 kuài (fast)

word “why”

üe pronounced as a slide from pinyin “ü” 月 yuè (month)

(German “ü” or the French
“u”) to the vowel “e”
uei/ui pronounced similar to the sound in 喂 wéi (a
“wait”. It is spelt as “wei” when it greeting for
stands as an independent syllable. answering the
phone)

uo pronounced similar to the British 说 shuō (say)

English “war” . The spelling “wo” is
used when it stands as an independent
syllable.
Final English Sound Equivalent Chinese Example
Sound

an pronounced as the un in 安 Ān (peace)

“fun”

en pronounced as the en in 很 hěn (very)

“taken”

ian pronounced as the en in 天 tiān (sky)

“yen”
in pronounced as the in in ‘pin‘ 心 xīn (heart)

uan pronounced as the an in 欢 huān (happy)

“wan”

un pronounced as the on in 准 zhǔn (standard)

“won”

üan ü as pronounced above +an 元 yuán (dollar)

ün ü as pronounced above +n 军 jūn (army)

ang pronounced as the ong in “song“ 上 shàng

(above)

eng pronounced “e” is as described 朋 péng

above, followed by the nasal “ng” (friend)
sound

iang/yang pronounced similar to “young”. The 两 liǎng

spelling “yang” is used when it stands (two)
as an independent a syllable
ing/ying pronounced as the ing in “sing”. The 明 míng
spelling “ying” is used when there is no (bright)
consonant in the beginning of a syllable.

iong/yong Pinyin “y” + “u” + “ng”. The “o” is affected 穷 qióng

by “y”⑴ and so sounds similar to the vowel (poor)
in “too”. The spelling “yong” is used when
there is no consonant in the beginning.
ong pronounced “o” is as described 懂 dǒng (under-
above, followed by the nasal “ng” stand)
sound

uang/wang The spelling “wang” is used when it 黄 huáng

stands as an independent syllable. (yellow)
HSK 1 Vocabulary Exercise
Practice your skills in initials and finals by pronouncing the following pinyin.
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
我

wǒ

I, me
我们
wǒmen
we, us (pl.)
你
nǐ
you
你们
nǐmen
you (pl.)
他
tā
he, him
她
tā
she, her
他们
tāmen
they (male+female /male, pl.)
她们
t āmen
they (females ,pl .)
NOUN
家

jiā

home
学校

xuéxiào

school
饭店

fàndiàn

restaurant
商店

shāngdiàn

store
医院

yīyuàn

hospital
火车站

huǒchēzhàn

train station
爸爸

bàba

father
妈妈

māma

mother
儿子

érzi

son
女儿

nǚér

daughter
老师

lǎoshī

teacher
学生

xuéshēng

student
同学

tóngxué

shoolmate
朋友

péngyou

friend
医生

yīshēng

doctor
先生

xiānsheng

sir
小姐

xiǎojiě

Miss
衣服

yīfu

cloth
水

shuǐ

water
菜

c ài

vegetable
米饭

mǐfàn

rice
水果

shuǐguǒ

fruit
茶

chá

tea
杯子

bēizi

cup
钱

qián

money
飞机

fēijī

airplane
出租车

chūzūchē

taxi
电视

diànshì

television
电脑

diànnǎo

computer
电影

diànyǐng

movie
猫

māo

Cat
狗

gǒu

dog
东西

dōngxi

thing
人

rén

person
名字

míngzi

name
书

shū

book
汉语

hànyǔ

mandarin
Chinese
字

zì

character
桌子

zhuōzi

desk
椅子

yǐzi

chair
Pīnyīn Tones
• Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language. In order to differentiate
meaning, the same syllable can be pronounced with different tones.
Mandarin's tones give it a very distinctive quality, but the tones can
also be a source of miscommunication if not given due attention.
• Mandarin is said to have four main tones and one neutral tone (or, as
some say, five tones). Each tone has a distinctive pitch contour which
can be graphed using the Chinese 5-level system.
Vocabulary Exercise
• Go to – Qù • Can – kě yǐ/ hui
• Have – Yǒu • Can’t – Bù néng/ bu hui
• Don’t have – Méi yǒu • To watch – Kàn
• Want – Xǐ huān • Buy – Mǎi
• Don’t – Bù xǐ huān • Sell—Mài
• Want – yào • Come – Lái
• Would like – Xiǎng yào • Give – Gěi
• Work – zuò • Use – yòng
• Ask – Wèn • Speak – Shuō huà
• To live – zhù • Listen – Tīng
• Please – Qǐng • Cellphone – Shǒu jī (hàomǎ)
• Help – Bāng • Phone – Diàn huà
• Learn/Study – Xué xí • Laptop – Bǐ jì běn diàn nǎo
• To know / be acquainted with – Zhī dào
• Money – Qián
• Eat – Chī
• Eyeglass – Yǎn jìng
• Drink – Hē
• Write – Xiě • Bag – Dài zi
• Read – Dú • Books – Shū
• Walk—Zǒu • Car – Qìchē
• Rest –Xiū xí • Travel – Lǚ xín
The Standard Mandarin Tones

• First tone: 阴平 (yīnpíng), usually called 第一

声 (dìyīshēng), is steady and level.
The word 高 (gāo; high, tall)
• Second tone: 阳声 (yángpíng), usually called
第二声 (dì’èrshēng), is a rising tone.
The word 茶 (chá; tea) is pronounced using the
second tone. 
• Third tone: 上声 (shàngshēng), usually called
第三声 (dì sān shēng), is most commonly taught
as a dipping tone that falls and then rises, as in
买 (mǎi; to buy).
•Fourth tone: 去声 (qùshēng), commonly
referred to as 第四声 (dìsìshēng), is a falling
tone.
The word 树 (shù; tree)

•Neutral tone (sometimes called the fifth tone):

The neutral tone 轻声 (qīngshēng) is weak and
unstressed in the mid-flat range.

东西 (dōngxi; thing)
Guide to Tone Changes in Mandarin Chinese

What tones exist in Mandarin?

Standard Mandarin, or Standard

Chinese, commonly referred to as
Putonghua  普 通 话 (Pǔtōnghuà) in
mainland China and Guoyu 国语 (Guóyǔ)
in Taiwan, is China’s predominant
language.
The importance of tones in Mandarin

For example:
•外教 (wàijiào; foreign teacher)
•外交 (wàijiāo; diplomacy)
•崴脚 (wǎijiǎo; to sprain one’s ankle)

•教师 (jiàoshī; teacher)

•教室 (jiàoshì; classroom)
•礁石 (jiāoshí; reef)
What are Mandarin tone changes?

Tone changes in Mandarin are referred to

as 变 调 规 则 (biàndiào guīzé) in
Chinese.
- tone sandhi, which is a general term
used by linguists to describe tone changes
that occur in response to the way adjacent
words or syllables are pronounced.
The 3 most important Mandarin tone change rules

1. Third tone changes

When two consecutive third tones appear in a group, the first
third tone changes to a second tone. 

你好 (nǐ hǎo)
The 3 most important Mandarin tone change rules

1. Third tone changes

If several third tones appear in a row, only the last one in the
group is actually pronounced as a third tone. 

九九九 (jiǔjiǔjiǔ)
The 3 most important Mandarin tone change rules

1. Third tone changes

When used almost anywhere except after another third tone or by

itself, the third tone is pronounced as a low tone that falls slightly
without rising again.

开始 (kāishǐ)
The 3 most important Mandarin tone change rules

2. Tone changes with 不 (bù)

The original tone of the character 不 (bù) is fourth tone. When

followed by another fourth tone, however, 不 (bù) is pronounced as a
second tone.

不对 bù duì (incorrect)
The 3 most important Mandarin tone change rules

3. Tone changes with 一 (yī)

When followed by a fourth tone, 一 (yī) changes from first tone to

second tone.

yí gè ( 一个 )
The 3 most important Mandarin tone change rules

3. Tone changes with 一 (yī)

If 一 (yī) comes before anything other than a fourth tone, it changes from
first tone to fourth tone.

一起 (yīqǐ)
HSK 1 Vocabulary Exercise
Practice your skills in initials and finals by pronouncing the following pinyin.
ADVERB
不

bù

no
没

méi

no
很

h ěn

quite, very
太

tài

too
都

dōu

all
VERB
是

shì

be (am, is, are)

有

yǒu

have
看

kàn

look
听

tīng

listen
说话

shuōhuà

speak
读

dú

read
写

xiě

write
看见

kànjiàn

see
叫

jiào

call
来

lái

come
回

huí

return
去

qù

go
吃

chī

eat
喝

hē

drink
睡觉

shuìjiào

sleep
做

zuò

do
买

mǎi

buy
开

kāi

open
坐

zuò

sit
学习

xuéxí

study
工作

gōngzuò

work
下雨

xiàyǔ

rain
爱

ài

love
喜欢

xǐhuān

love, like
想

xiǎng

want
认识

rènshi

know
ADJECTIVE
好

hǎo

good
大

dà

big
小

xiǎo

small
多

duō

many,
much
少

shǎo

few, little
冷

lěng

cold
热

rè

hot
高兴

gāoxìng

happy
漂亮

piàoliàng

beautiful