Lesson 4: Chinese Language Tones
课程四: 中文声调

Chinese language is a tonal language whereby different tones denote different meanings. There are four tones which are denoted by the following tone marks:  (1)  ̶  (2)  ̷  (3) ˅ and (4) \.

Figure of Tones:

For syllables with a simple final, the tones are marked above the final. Examples are é, lú, and yì.

For syllables with a nasal final, the tones are marked above a, o or e if present. Otherwise marked above I, u or ü. Examples are dóng, jīng and xún.

For syllables with a compound final, the tones are marked in priority of a, o, e, I, u and ü. Examples are duō, jiǎng and xué.

Finally for syllables with finals iu and ui, the tones are marked above the latter vowel. Examples are niú, shuǐ and huī.





Copyright @ www.eChinaExpat.com