Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

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|description=A comprehensive, free resource comprehensively covering Mandarin Chinese pronunciation, tones, and pinyin for learners of all levels.}}
 
|description=A comprehensive, free resource comprehensively covering Mandarin Chinese pronunciation, tones, and pinyin for learners of all levels.}}
  
[[initials-mockup]] [[finals-mockup]] [[syllables-mockup]]
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<span style="font-size:120%">Your practical, free, ''comprehensive'' online resource for Chinese pronunciation, tones, and pinyin. '''[[Special:Statistics|{{NUMBEROFARTICLES}}]] pages''' and growing!</span>
  
<span style="font-size:120%">Your practical, free, ''comprehensive'' online resource for Chinese pronunciation, tones, and pinyin. '''[[Special:Statistics|{{NUMBEROFARTICLES}}]] articles''' and growing!</span>
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== Pronunciation of Mandarin Chinese is not just for Beginners! ==
  
==Beginners Start Here!==
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[[File:Pinyin-Chart-screenshot.png|200px|thumb|right|Pinyin Chart|link=Pinyin chart]]
  
If you've just started learning Mandarin Chinese, you're probably confused by all the conflicting information out there. Well, you've come to the right place. We'll give you all the information you need at each stage of your learning progress and help dispel some of the misinformation out there. Pinyin is definitely the place to start!
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If you've just started learning Mandarin Chinese, you're correct to put a lot of effort into learning correct pronunciation. You really need to [[Pinyin quick start guide|learn pinyin]] right away, and we strongly recommend you take the time to familiarize yourself with our [[pinyin chart]]. If you want to know ''what pinyin is'', our article on [[Introduction to pinyin|pinyin's background]] will clear things up.
  
===[[Learn Pinyin]]===
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But even if you're an [[A2|elementary]] learner or an [[B1|intermediate]] learner, chances are you could still gain a lot from working a bit more on your pronunciation. Below is an example of how pronunciation topics can and ''should'' be studied across various levels.
  
===[[The Four Tones]]===
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<table class="table table-striped table-bordered table-hover">
 +
<tr>
 +
<th class="text-center">Level</th>
 +
<th>Pinyin</th>
 +
<th>Tones</th>
 +
<th>Other</th>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="text-center cell-large">[[A1]]</td>
 +
<td>[[Pinyin quick start guide]], [[Pinyin gotchas]]</td>
 +
<td>[[The four tones]]</td>
 +
<td>-</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="text-center cell-large">[[A2]]</td>
 +
<td>[[Erhua]]</td>
 +
<td>[[Tone change rules]]</td>
 +
<td>-</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="text-center cell-large">[[B1]]</td>
 +
<td>[[Rare syllable]]s</td>
 +
<td>[[Tone pair]]s</td>
 +
<td>[[Accent]]s</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td class="text-center cell-large">[[B2]]</td>
 +
<td>-</td>
 +
<td>[[Tone exception]]s</td>
 +
<td>-</td>
 +
</tr>
 +
</table>
  
===[[Pronunciation Misconceptions]]===
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This is just a small sample, though. Check out the [[pronunciation points by level|growing list of pronunciation points]], divided by level.
 
 
==Have you Learned Pinyin?==
 
 
 
[[File:Popup-Plugins-3.png|link=Tools#Browser Extensions: Pinyin Popups|left|Pinyin Popup Plugins]]
 
 
 
Congratulations! That's the first major step to learning Chinese. With the right '''[[Tools#Browser Extensions: Pinyin Popups|free browser plugins]]''' installed, you can now start making sense of any Chinese text you encounter on the web.
 
 
 
Try it out with this: <span class="liju">你 会 中文 吗 ?</span><br clear="all" />
 
 
 
==[[Pinyin Syllables]]==
 
 
 
Certain Chinese words appear in lots of different grammar points. Get clear on how these words work in different ways by examining the keyword pages. Here are some examples to get you started:
 
 
 
==[[Translations|English Translations]]==
 
 
 
Sometimes it's useful to start with English words and look at the different ways those English words can be translated into Chinese. Here are some English words worth a closer look in translation:
 
 
 
<div class="flat" style="font-size:110%">
 
* [[very]]
 
* [[then]]
 
* [[also]]
 
* [[and]]
 
* [[but]]
 
* [[or]]
 
* [[after]]
 
* [[all]]
 
* [[always]]
 
* [[have]]
 
* [[just]]
 
* [[at]]
 
* [[because]]
 
* [[for]]
 
* [[in]]
 
* [[more]]
 
* [[want]]
 
* [[about]]
 
* [[again]]
 
* [[almost]]
 
* [[although]]
 
* [[both]]
 
* [[can]]
 
* [[either]]
 
* [[every]]
 
* [[go]]
 
* [[later]]
 
* [[really]]
 
* [[too]]
 
* [[will]]
 
* [[able]]
 
* [[already]]
 
* [[before]]
 
* [[etc.]]
 
* [[how]]
 
* [[however]]
 
* [[is]]
 
* [[less]]
 
* [[need]]
 
* [[so]]
 
* [[some]]
 
* [[therefore]]
 
* [[when]]
 
</div>
 
 
 
There are about [[Translations|100 English translation words in the full list]]. Check it out.
 
 
 
==We got your Textbooks Covered==
 
 
 
This is the Internet Age, but it's not yet time to throw out those textbooks!  We see the value in textbook grammar explanations and exercises, and are doing our best to link textbook to the Chinese Grammar Wiki content.  To see how it works, [[Chinese textbook grammar index#Textbooks|'''try finding your own textbook in our list''']], and then seeing what it links to. ''Purchasing these books by clicking on the textbook references linked within this website will also help to support this project.''
 
 
 
<div class="grampt-img plainlinks clearfix">
 
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0887276385 <img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL110_&ASIN=0887276385&MarketPlace=US&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=allset-20&ServiceVersion=20070822" />]
 
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7301075294/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=7301075294&linkCode=as2&tag=allset-20 <img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=7301075294&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=allset-20" />]
 
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561910401/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=7561910401&linkCode=as2&tag=allset-20 <img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=7561910401&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=allset-20" />]
 
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561913648/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=7561913648&linkCode=as2&tag=sinosplice-20 <img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=7561913648&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=sinosplice-20" />]
 
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0520066103/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0520066103 <img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL110_&ASIN=0520066103&MarketPlace=US&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=allset-20&ServiceVersion=20070822" />]
 
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415700108/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0415700108 <img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL110_&ASIN=0415700108&MarketPlace=US&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=allset-20&ServiceVersion=20070822" />]
 
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933330899/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1933330899&linkCode=as2&tag=allset-20 <img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1933330899&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=allset-20" />]
 
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415472156/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0415472156&linkCode=as2&tag=allset-20 <img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0415472156&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=allset-20" />]
 
</div>
 
  
 
== About AllSet Learning ==
 
== About AllSet Learning ==

Revision as of 03:13, 2 September 2016


Your practical, free, comprehensive online resource for Chinese pronunciation, tones, and pinyin. 599 pages and growing!

Pronunciation of Mandarin Chinese is not just for Beginners!

Pinyin Chart

If you've just started learning Mandarin Chinese, you're correct to put a lot of effort into learning correct pronunciation. You really need to learn pinyin right away, and we strongly recommend you take the time to familiarize yourself with our pinyin chart. If you want to know what pinyin is, our article on pinyin's background will clear things up.

But even if you're an elementary learner or an intermediate learner, chances are you could still gain a lot from working a bit more on your pronunciation. Below is an example of how pronunciation topics can and should be studied across various levels.

Level Pinyin Tones Other
A1 Pinyin quick start guide, Pinyin gotchas The four tones -
A2 Erhua Tone change rules -
B1 Rare syllables Tone pairs Accents
B2 - Tone exceptions -

This is just a small sample, though. Check out the growing list of pronunciation points, divided by level.

About AllSet Learning

AllSet Learning is a Shanghai-based learning consultancy dedicated to helping foreigners better learn Mandarin Chinese. This wiki is maintained by John Pasden and the rest of the team at AllSet Learning. While many of the company's services are only available to clients physically in Shanghai, this wiki is open to the public through a Creative Commons license.

You can also find us on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Google+.

All content on this wiki © AllSet Learning, and may not be reproduced without attributions or used for commercial purposes.