Four tones

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Level

A1
Related to
1. Neutral tone (A1)
2. Pinyin chart (A1)
3. Tone change rules (A2)
4. Tone changes for "bu" (A2)
5. Tone changes for "yi" (A2)
6. Tone changes for third tones (A2)
7. Tone changes for multiple consecutive third tones (B1)
8. Tone pair 1-0 (B1)
9. Tone pair 3-3 (B1)
10. Tone pairs (B1)

Also known as: 四声 (sìshēng).

One of the first concepts you need to learn when tackling Mandarin Chinese is tones. You'll often hear that there are four main tones, although there is also a "neutral tone," so you sometimes hear it said that there are five.

Tone Diagram

First Tone

The first tone is high and flat.

Second Tone

The second tone is rising.

Third Tone

The third tone is low.

Fourth Tone

The fourth tone is falling.

Neutral Tone

This tone has its own page, so we won't cover it here. Just keep it short and light. Don't emphasize it.

Sources and further reading

Websites

Wikipedia: Standard Chinese phonology: Tones
Wikipedia: Mandarin Chinese: Tones
Wikipedia: Four tones (Chinese)
Sinosplice: Toward Better Tones in Natural Speech
Hacking Chinese: Tones are more important than you think
Sinosplice: Kaiser’s “Dude System” of Tones

Videos

YouTube: [The Most Effective Way to Learn Mandarin Tones - Tone Pairs - Google Hangout with Yangyang] (00:00-08:15)