World Languages: Mandarin Chinese: Tones, Pinyin, and Greetings
Practice Mandarin tones, pinyin spelling, and simple greetings
World Languages: Mandarin Chinese: Tones, Pinyin, and Greetings
Practice Mandarin tones, pinyin spelling, and simple greetings
World Languages - Grade 6-8
- 1
Mandarin Chinese has four main tones plus a neutral tone. Match each tone to its basic pitch pattern: first tone, second tone, third tone, fourth tone, neutral tone.
Think of tone marks: ā, á, ǎ, à, and a.
The first tone is high and level. The second tone rises. The third tone dips low and may rise. The fourth tone falls sharply. The neutral tone is short and light. - 2
Write the tone number for each syllable: mā, má, mǎ, mà, ma.
Mā is first tone, má is second tone, mǎ is third tone, mà is fourth tone, and ma is neutral tone. - 3
The pinyin syllable nǐ has a tone mark over the vowel i. What tone is it, and what does nǐ mean in the greeting nǐ hǎo?
The mark ǐ shows a dipping tone.
Nǐ is third tone. In the greeting nǐ hǎo, nǐ means you. - 4
Translate the greeting nǐ hǎo into English. Then write it using Chinese characters.
Nǐ hǎo means hello or you good in English. It is written as 你好 in Chinese characters. - 5
Choose the correct pinyin with tone marks for 你好: ni hao, nī hāo, nǐ hǎo, nì hào. Explain your choice.
Look for the pinyin that has two third-tone marks.
The correct pinyin is nǐ hǎo. Both syllables use the third tone, so each has the dipping tone mark. - 6
In pinyin, tone marks are usually placed over the main vowel. Add tone marks to write ma1, ma2, ma3, and ma4 correctly.
Ma1 is written mā. Ma2 is written má. Ma3 is written mǎ. Ma4 is written mà. - 7
Read this short dialogue: A: Nǐ hǎo! B: Nǐ hǎo! A: Nǐ hǎo ma? B: Wǒ hěn hǎo. What is the main purpose of the dialogue?
Nǐ hǎo ma asks how someone is doing.
The main purpose of the dialogue is to greet someone and ask how they are. The response says that the speaker is very well. - 8
Translate wǒ hěn hǎo into English. Identify the meaning of each word: wǒ, hěn, hǎo.
Wǒ hěn hǎo means I am very good or I am fine. Wǒ means I or me, hěn means very, and hǎo means good. - 9
A classmate says xiè xie after you help them. What does xiè xie mean, and what could you say in English as a response?
This phrase is used to show thanks.
Xiè xie means thank you. A good English response would be you are welcome or no problem. - 10
Look at the pinyin syllables qǐng, xiè, and zài jiàn. Which phrase means goodbye, and how is it written in Chinese characters?
Zài jiàn means goodbye. It is written as 再见 in Chinese characters. - 11
The Mandarin third tone can change in speech when two third tones are next to each other. In nǐ hǎo, the first syllable is often pronounced with a rising sound. Why does this happen?
This is a pronunciation rule called tone sandhi.
This happens because two third tones occur together. In spoken Mandarin, the first third tone often changes to sound like a second tone before another third tone. - 12
Write a four-line Mandarin greeting conversation using pinyin with tone marks. Include hello, asking how someone is, answering, and saying goodbye.
You may use nǐ hǎo, nǐ hǎo ma, wǒ hěn hǎo, and zài jiàn.
A correct conversation could be: A: Nǐ hǎo. B: Nǐ hǎo. A: Nǐ hǎo ma? B: Wǒ hěn hǎo. Zài jiàn. The conversation includes a greeting, a question about how someone is, an answer, and goodbye.