HSK 0 · Nghe và luyện tập bốn thanh điệu
Chinese Foundations Chủ đề 2 2:54 Giải thích bằng tiếng Anh + ví dụ bằng tiếng Trung · chú thích theo sau văn bản nói
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Chinese gives every syllable a tune, and the tune is part of the word. 妈, high and flat, is mother. 麻, rising, is hemp. 马, dipping low and lifting, is horse. 骂, falling like a firm no, is scold. Four tunes, four words, one syllable. Say them with your hand moving, because the hand will teach the mouth, and the tone mark mirrors the motion: flat, rising, dipping, falling.
Put the four tunes on one hand. Tone one, mother: hold your hand high and keep it still. Tone two, hemp: sweep it up like an English question. Tone three, horse: drop it low, then lift. Tone four, scold: chop it down like a firm no. Now say 妈，麻，马，骂 in a row, hand moving with each one. The marks on the page mirror the motion of the hand: the flat line, the rising stroke, the dipping hook, the falling slash.
In pinyin the tone mark sits on the main vowel, and the main vowel is decided by a simple order: a beats o, o beats e, and e beats u and i. So the mark in 妈 sits on the a; in 好, good, it sits on the a; in 中 it sits on the o. When two vowels share a syllable, like a-o or u-i, the order picks the winner: a-o marks the a, u-i marks the i. Find the main vowel, and place the tune on it.
Meaning rides on the tune. 买, with a dipping third tone, is buy. 卖, with a falling fourth tone, is sell. Ask for 卖 when you mean 买, and you are selling what you meant to buy. Count with tones to practise: 一，二，三, flat, falling, flat; then 四，五，六, falling, dipping, falling. The hand chooses the tune, not the English habit of rising at every question.
Watch out for two things. Do not say tone three as a full down and up every single time: in real speech it is often just low, and the full dip is the slow-motion version. And because English questions rise, beginners tend to give every second syllable a rising tune; let the hand, not the habit, choose.
Review. Which tone is the question tune, and which chops down like a no? Buy: is that tone three or four? And where does the tone mark sit in 好? If the tunes sort themselves, every new word you learn will land on the right meaning.