Difference between revisions of "Tone pairs"

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#REDIRECT[[Tone pair]]
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{{Pronunciation Box}}
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'''Tone pairs''' are an important unit of pronunciation to focus on as learner's tones gradually improve.
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== The concept ==
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Most learners can accurately pronounce the tone of a single syllable after enough practice. But they find that once they try to pronounce two tones in a row, it all falls apart: they get the second one totally wrong, or the first, or even both. Stringing tones together is a skill that needs to be practiced, and the foundation for this skill is to practice every combination of tones in the smallest unit possible: '''tone pairs'''.
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The logic here is pretty clear: if you can string two tones together accurately, you can build on that, stringing more and more together, until you can do whole sentences. This is not a quick process, however. You're going to need quite a bit of practice, and you should expect this practice to take up a good chunk of your pronunciation practice as an elementary (A2) learner.
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== The 20 pairs ==
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There are '''20 tone pairs''' because there are [[four tones|four main tones]] and one [[neutral tone]], but a neutral tone can never be the first syllable in a word or phrase.
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<table class="table table-striped table-bordered table-hover">
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<tr>
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<th> </th>
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<th>+ 1st Tone</th>
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<th>+ 2nd Tone</th>
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<th>+ 3rd Tone</th>
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<th>+ 4th Tone</th>
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<th>+ Neutral Tone</th>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>1st Tone</td>
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<td>[[1-1]]</td>
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<td>[[1-2]]</td>
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<td>[[1-3]]</td>
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<td>[[1-4]]</td>
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<td>[[1-0]]</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>2nd Tone</td>
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<td>[[2-1]]</td>
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<td>[[2-2]]</td>
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<td>[[2-3]]</td>
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<td>[[2-4]]</td>
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<td>[[2-0]]</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>3rd Tone</td>
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<td>[[3-1]]</td>
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<td>[[3-2]]</td>
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<td>[[3-3]]❋</td>
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<td>[[3-4]]</td>
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<td>[[3-0]]</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td>4th Tone</td>
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<td>[[4-1]]</td>
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<td>[[4-2]]</td>
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<td>[[4-3]]</td>
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<td>[[4-4]]</td>
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<td>[[4-0]]</td>
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</tr>
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</table>
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❋ You might be tempted to think that 3-3 doesn't count, because after the [[tone change rules|tone change]] it's the same as 2-3. But actually, you really need to practice this tone change as part of a tone pair, so you'll definitely want to practice 3-3 pairs, just like all the others.
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The articles (meant to be read in order) are:
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<div class="points-big">
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{{Series Page}}
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</div>
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== Sources and further reading ==
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=== Websites ===
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* Sinosplice: [http://www.sinosplice.com/learn-chinese/learning-tones The Process Of Learning Tones]
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* Sinosplice: [http://www.sinosplice.com/learn-chinese/tone-pair-drills Mandarin Chinese Tone Pair Drills], [http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2006/10/29/new-feature-mandarin-chinese-tone-pair-drills New Feature: Mandarin Chinese Tone Pair Drills]
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* Hacking Chinese: [http://www.hackingchinese.com/focusing-on-tone-pairs-to-improve-your-mandarin-pronunciation/ Focusing on tone pairs to improve your Mandarin pronunciation]
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* About.com: [http://mandarin.about.com/od/How-to-learn-Mandarin-Chinese/fl/How-tone-pairs-can-improve-your-Mandarin-pronunciation.htm How tone pairs can improve your Mandarin pronunciation]
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[[Category:Tones]]
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{{Basic Pronunciation|B1|10|It's not enough to know the tones; you need to PRACTICE them in each combination, until it becomes second nature.|tone|ASP00018}}
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{{Related|Four tones}}
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{{Related|Tone change rules}}

Revision as of 08:01, 1 April 2020

This article is a stub. Editors can help the Chinese Pronunciation Wiki by expanding it.

Tone pairs are an important unit of pronunciation to focus on as learner's tones gradually improve.

The concept

Most learners can accurately pronounce the tone of a single syllable after enough practice. But they find that once they try to pronounce two tones in a row, it all falls apart: they get the second one totally wrong, or the first, or even both. Stringing tones together is a skill that needs to be practiced, and the foundation for this skill is to practice every combination of tones in the smallest unit possible: tone pairs.

The logic here is pretty clear: if you can string two tones together accurately, you can build on that, stringing more and more together, until you can do whole sentences. This is not a quick process, however. You're going to need quite a bit of practice, and you should expect this practice to take up a good chunk of your pronunciation practice as an elementary (A2) learner.

The 20 pairs

There are 20 tone pairs because there are four main tones and one neutral tone, but a neutral tone can never be the first syllable in a word or phrase.

+ 1st Tone + 2nd Tone + 3rd Tone + 4th Tone + Neutral Tone
1st Tone 1-1 1-2 1-3 1-4 1-0
2nd Tone 2-1 2-2 2-3 2-4 2-0
3rd Tone 3-1 3-2 3-3❋ 3-4 3-0
4th Tone 4-1 4-2 4-3 4-4 4-0

❋ You might be tempted to think that 3-3 doesn't count, because after the tone change it's the same as 2-3. But actually, you really need to practice this tone change as part of a tone pair, so you'll definitely want to practice 3-3 pairs, just like all the others.

The articles (meant to be read in order) are:

  1. Tone pair 1-1
  2. Tone pair 1-2
  3. Tone pair 1-3
  4. Tone pair 1-4
  5. Tone pair 1-0
  6. Tone pair 2-1
  7. Tone pair 2-2
  8. Tone pair 2-3
  9. Tone pair 2-4
  10. Tone pair 2-0
  11. Tone pair 3-1
  12. Tone pair 3-2
  13. Tone pair 3-3
  14. Tone pair 3-4
  15. Tone pair 3-0
  16. Tone pair 4-1
  17. Tone pair 4-2
  18. Tone pair 4-3
  19. Tone pair 4-4
  20. Tone pair 4-0

Sources and further reading

Websites


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