1.2.0 - Phonetics (Pinyin)

1. In modern Chinese, we use Pinyin to record the pronunciation of Chinese. Pinyin syllable usually includes three parts: the initial(声母), the final(韵母), and the tone(声调). There are 21 initials, 36 finals and 4 tones in Chinese.

Now, let’s check out the initials and finals we’ve learned in today’s lesson.

汉字

Character

声母

Initial

韵母

Final

声调

Tone

n

i

ˇ

h

ao

ˇ

l

ao

ˇ

sh

i

ˉ

n

in

ˊ

m

en

z

ai

ˋ

j

ian

ˋ


Let's practice them in syllables.

Pinyin chart

i

ao

in

en

ai

ian

n

ni

nao

nin

nen

nai

nian

h

--

hao

--

hen

hai

--

l

li

lao

lin

--

lai

lian

sh

shi

shao

--

shen

shai

--

m

mi

mao

min

men

mai

mian

z

zi

zao

--

zen

zai

--

j

ji

--

jin

--

--

jian

Note:

"--" means it does not exist in Chinese.

In the syllable “shi” and “zi”, the “i” sound is different with other syllables, so you have to remember them specifically.

2. Third-tone sandhi

When two third-tone syllables are read in sequence, the first syllable turns into the second tone. But notice that, when put in the written form, the original tone is kept.

ˇ + ˇ → ˊ + ˇ

你好(hello)

nǐ hǎo

hǎo

可以 (can)

kěyǐ

老虎 (tiger)

lǎohǔ

láo


Practice:

shǒubiǎo

手表

watch

yǔsǎn

雨伞

umbrella

mǎyǐ

蚂蚁

ant

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