Pronunciation is the basic part of mastering mandarin Chinese. If you want to learn this language well, it`s necessary to lay a good foundation about Chinese pronunciation at the beginning. No matter which level are you in, making sure your…
I want to share a teaching cue I’ve been using with my students recently that’s been great for learning how to actually produce the tones. When it comes to learning any skill, you need to frame it in a way…
The first thing that most beginners learn in Chinese are the four tones – how the meaning of a sound changes depending on whether you say it in a flat pitch, a rising pitch, a falling then rising pitch or…
I’ve been learning Chinese for over 10 years and one thing I’ve seen countless students struggle with is the tones. Why is it that so many Chinese language students struggle with this aspect of the language? Well, without a doubt,…
I am from Spain and recently I lived and worked in Shenyang for 7 months where I learned Chinese by myself, including talking with my Chinese friends and coworkers. One month ago I began taking Chinese lessons as I felt…
Everyone has that one friend, the one with the terrible Mandarin accent. They speak in a flat monotone, with no emotion and no respect to timing. It's as if they were bored and reading pinyin as if it was English.…
My last Digmandarin article “Tones Prefer Company!“ generated a lot of interest, prompting me to pen this follow-up. The idea that tones should not be studied in isolation, and the limited usefulness of the classic “mā má mǎ mà” example,…
When you hear someone discuss the basics of Mandarin pronunciation, they usually start with the four tones, and give an example like the famous (mā má mǎ mà). To be fair, they might also mention the fifth, neutral tone. Learning…