Why Mandarin Chinese Pronunciation Matters

Let’s talk about something super important for anyone learning Chinese. Pronunciation. Yep, this post will cover a vital aspect of mastering Mandarin. So grab a cup of tea, get cozy, and let’s get started exploring the fascinating world of Mandarin Chinese pronunciation.  

Every small step counts when you embark on a journey to learn a new language. It’s like creating a beautiful painting, where each brush stroke plays a crucial role in the finished masterpiece. In the case of learning Chinese, mastering the pronunciation is an essential stroke that paints the foundation of your language skills. 

It’s one that I sadly ignored and had to spend hours going back and re-studying. Also, once you learn proper pronunciation, it’s not a one-and-done. You need to actively work to keep your pronunciation correct.  

But it’s never too late to return to the basics and strengthen your foundation in a foreign language. I underwent and completed a Master’s taught in Chinese and still struggled with the tones. I couldn’t speak clearly until I realized I had to go back to the basics and relearn Chinese pronunciation. So, please learn from my mistake and value Mandarin Chinese pronunciation early on. 

Complexity of Chinese Pronunciation

Unlike learning Spanish, where you might have to learn to roll your Rs (technically called an “apical-alveolar trill”), in Mandarin, you must master tones. As a tonal language, the tone you use in Mandarin Chinese pronunciation changes a word’s meaning.

This might sound intimidating, but we use tones in English to indicate emotion. Curiosity is often expressed with a raised inflection, like when asking questions. When you’re doing this, the tone you’re using isn’t that far off from the Chinese second tone. Or if you’re training your dog to “sit,” your commanding voice (the dropping from a high to low register) is like the fourth tone in Chinese.  

So fear not—you already use tones. Now, you just need to learn a complex linguistic system to apply them to. Because if you don’t study tones correctly, you might end up calling someone’s mother (mā) —first tone) a horse (mǎ —third tone). Oops!

To avoid these funny and sometimes awkward misunderstandings, it’s important to get your four tones right. 

What Are the Chinese Tones?

Every language has its own unique sound system. Mandarin Chinese is no different. The four tones used in Mandarin are essential to the Chinese phonological system.

As mentioned earlier, a word’s meaning changes based on what tone is used. Take, for example,these words:

• 媽 (mā) — mom
• 麻 (má) — hemp or flax
• 馬 (mǎ) — horse
• 罵 (mà) — to scold or verbally abuse
• 嗎 (ma) — a question particle

Each word has the same spelling ma, but the tones change the meaning. 

The First Tone

The first tone is high and flat. Raise your voice to your highest natural speaking pitch and pronounce the syllable with a drawn-out tone that doesn’t rise or fall.

In pinyin, the first tone is indicated by a long line above the vowel or as the number 1 (for example, instead of mā , you might occasionally see ma1). However, the numerical version is seldom used because people find it difficult to type the tone symbols using a standard ASCII keyboard.

Here are some examples of Chinese syllables using the first tone:

• 說 (shuō)—to speak
• 多（duō)—many
• 都 (dōu)—all
• 他 (tā)—he
• 新 (xīn)—new
• 天 (tiān)—sky

The Second Tone

The second tone is made with a rising voice. Think of when you ask a question. For example, you ask, “What?” in disbelief. The pitch starts low and becomes higher. In pinyin, the second tone is written as a rising dash above the vowel or the number 2 (i.e., 魚 (fish) commonly appears in pinyin as yú and rarely will be written as yu2).

Here are some examples of Chinese syllables using the second tone:

• 難 (nán)—difficult 
• 盆 (pén)—pot
• 河 (hé)—river
• 池 (chí)—pool
• 忙 (máng)—busy
• 學 (xué)—to study

The Third Tone

The third tone is a falling and rising tone. Let your voice drop to the lowest comfortable range of your vocal cords before lifting your voice in a raised inflection.  It is often tricky for Mandarin learners to distinguish between second and third tone. 

In pinyin, the third tone is written as a dip above the vowel or the number 3 (i.e., 你 commonly appears in pinyin as nǐ and rarely will be written as ni3).

Here are some examples of Chinese syllables using the third tone:

• 我 (wǒ)—I
• 你 (nǐ)—you
• 狗 (gǒu)—dog
• 小 (xiǎo)—small
• 好 (hǎo)—good
• 很 (hěn)—very

The Fourth Tone

The fourth tone is a falling tone. To pronounce the tone correctly, forcefully say the word. Think of when you say a command. Your voice usually falls and clips at the end of a syllable. When training a dog, the same short, clipped tone is applied (I always use this example because I have three dogs, two tǔ gǒu (土狗) and a teacup poodle, all from Taiwan).

In pinyin, the fourth tone is written as a falling dash above the vowel or the number 4 (i.e., 大 commonly appears in pinyin as dà and rarely will be written as da4).

Here are some examples of Chinese syllables using the fourth tone:

• 叫 (jiào)—call 
• 就 (jiù)—(right away)
• 是 (shì)—(is/to be verb) 
• 會 (huì)—(can) 
• 爸 (bà)—(dad)這 (zhè)—(this)

The Fifth Tone

There is some debate as to whether the fifth tone can actually be considered a tone.  The fifth tone is neutral, meaning it is spoken without any upward or downward inflection.

Pinyin doesn’t mark the fifth tone because it doesn’t require any change in the tone of your voice, although, on rare occasions, I’ve seen a dot above the vowel or a numerical value (e.g., de5).

The fifth tone is present in the second character of a Chinese word set. For example, the second ma (媽) in the word mother (媽媽) is a neutral tone. The fifth tone is also present in Chinese particles:

• 嗎 (ma)-particle for asking questions
• 吧 (ba)–suggestion particle
• 呢 (ne)–particle for asking a rhetorical question
• 的 (de)–possessive particle

And can be present in other Chinese words:

• 子 (zi)–child/son
• 兒 (er)-son

Chinese Pitch Contour

Knowing about the concept of Chinese pitch contour might help you master the four tones. There are five pitch contour levels. If you have ever studied music, you will recognize that a Chinese pitch contour resembles a five-note bar.

The five pitch contour corresponds to the pitches below:

• 5 – High
• 4 – Mid-high
• 3 – Middle
• 2 -Mid-low
• 1 – Low

Each tone has a pitch level:

First tone is at level 5 to level 5. It is at the highest pitch and maintains a steady pitch.

Second tone starts at level 3 and raises to level 5. Begin at a middle pitch and reach the highest range of your spoken vocal cords.

Third tone starts at level 2 drops to level 1 and lifts to level 4.

Second tone starts at level 5 and drops to level 1. 

Fifth Tone has no pitch and thus is not represented. 

Character components

Now that you know the basics of the five tones in Mandarin Chinese pronunciation, let’s talk about the components of a character. To pronounce a character correctly, you must master each character’s three components: initials, finals, and tones. 

The Initials

The initials are the consonants at the beginning of a Mandarin syllable. In other words, initials are the first sound you pronounce in a character with a complete or partial closure of the vocal cords. There are 23 initials in Chinese. 

Several of the sounds of Mandarin initials don’t exist in the English alphabet. Sounds like “zh,” “ch,” “sh,” “r,” “z,” “c,” “s,” “j,” “q,” and “x” can feel like a real mouthful. 

For example, the Chinese pinyin “x” is pronounced as a nasal “sh” sound with a twist. Your tongue is flat behind your bottom row of teeth.

The Finals

In pinyin, the finals are the very end of a Chinese syllable. They consist primarily of vowels or at least start with a vowel, though they can end with a consonant.  There are 36 finals: 6 Chinese Simple Finals, 13 Chinese Compound Finals, 16 Chinese Nasal Finals, and 1 Chinese Special Final. 

The finals contain several sounds with no English equivalent; one particularly challenging one is “ü.” However, there are resources to master these tricky sounds. An excellent jumping-off place is the YouTube series What is Pinyin & How Does it Help Me Speak Mandarin Chinese?

A Chinese Syllable

A Chinese character is formed when the initial, final, and tone are combined; for example, the initial b plus the final a put together is ba. The last component is the tone. If you add a fourth tone, you have the pinyin syllable bà, which is the character 爸 (dad).

Learning the sounds of each initial and final and getting the tones down will really help you master Chinese pronunciation. An excellent resource for listening to the pinyin initials and finals in isolation is Chinesefor.us. But if you want a chart of all the possible combinations that could exist between initials and finals, which is 409 (isn’t that great news? You only have to learn 409 sounds to master Chinese)， Yoyo Chinese’s interactive pinyin Chart is a great resource. 

Tone Pairs

Most Chinese words are syllable pairs, like 爸爸, 媽媽, 朋友, 美感,說話… The list goes on and on. So now that you have learned the components that make up a Chinese syllable, you will need to know a crucial component of pronouncing these syllables: You will need to learn how to pronounce tone pairs.  

You might not be clear on what a tone pair is. Put simply, tone pairs are the way two tones are pronounced when they are next to each other. For example, Zhōngguó (中國) is a 1-2 tone pair because Zhōng is first tone and guó is second tone.

Chinese verbs, nouns, and almost all adjectives are two characters. In Mandarin Chinese pronunciation, the natural speech pattern often involves breaking up speech into two-character segments. Mastering how tones are pronounced in combination is a key part of pronouncing and speaking Chinese fluently.  

Yoyo’s interactive tone pair chart is a great free resource for learning tone pairs.

Chinese Tone Changes

Something to be aware of early on when learning tones is that certain tone pairs cause the tone to change. 

For example, when you say hello (你好) or literally “you good,” both characters are third tone. But it is awkward to say two third tones together. So, the first syllable, in this case, “你,” becomes a second tone. Thus, the tone pair changes from 3-3 to 2-3.  

If you want to examine more in-depth examples of tone changes, check out this article by Brooke Bagley on FluentU. 

How Do You Practice the Tones?

Learning tones is a headache for many Chinese students. But I found tracing out the sounds with your index finger helpful. 

When saying the first tone, trace a straight line in the air. 

To make the motion for the second tone, trace an upward slash starting from the bottom left and moving up to the top right. 

For the third tone, draw a U in the air.

For the fourth tone, trace a downward slash. Start at the top right and drop to the bottom left.

For neutral, poke the air with your finger. 

It may sound silly, but adding motion to the sounds is a great way to memorize the tones. You aren’t just saying them but acting them out. 

Record Yourself Speaking

Another great way to practice tones and pronunciation in general is to record yourself. By recording yourself while you speak, you will be able to hear where you are succeeding with your tones and where you’re falling short. 

When first learning the tones, try to overenunciate. You might sound silly, but it’s better to overdo than underdo it. After you are comfortable with the tones and able to expand your listening and shadowing (speaking simultaneously with a recording of a native speaker), you can make your tones a bit more subtle. 

Pronunciation and Comprehension 

As with any language, pronunciation is essential to communication. But pronunciation isn’t just about being understood; it’s also about understanding others. When you know the correct Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of a word, it’s easier to identify these sounds in conversation. So, speaking correctly helps improve your listening, too. 

What Does Your Pronunciation Say About You?

People will judge you by your pronunciation, especially when learning Mandarin Chinese. China has a long culture, going back to Confucianism, that favors scholars and believes being studious is a moral virtue. If you do not have your tones down, people will be less willing to converse with you. And if you plan on using Chinese for business, you must speak clearly to sound professional.

How we communicate says what we value. If you value learning tones, you show you are meticulous, determined, and detail-oriented. 

Don’t despair. Hopefully, you will feel motivated. It’s like the Chinese expression goes, “Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere”（學習是永遠跟隨主人的寶物 xuéxí shì yǒngyuǎn gēnsuí zhǔrén de bǎowù). 

Imagine the feeling of satisfaction you’ll experience when you’ve mastered your tones. Keep practicing, because every effort you make brings you one step closer to achieving your goal.

Are you interested in reading more about learning Chinese? Check out this post with 17 Tips for self-study.