Tones Prefer Company! Part II – An exciting new audio-visual way to practice Mandarin tones

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, resonated with a lot of readers.

It was also through my article. We put together the very useful chart below, showing the 20 tone pairs in standard Mandarin, with a familiar example for each. The 20 comes from the fact that a 2-character word can begin with one of the four tones, and end in one of the four or the fifth neutral tone.

(For extra credit, note that 3-3 pairs are pronounced exactly the same as 2-3 pairs, so really there are only 19 unique Mandarin tone combinations – you can read more about why here.)

To review the concept – if a Chinese 2-character word begins with 1^st tone and ends with 1^st tone, we put it in the 1-1 tone pair bucket. All words in the 1-1 bucket have the same intonation, so if you know one well, you can apply that pronunciation to all other words in that bucket. It helps to pick one familiar word as the label for that bucket. So you may call 1-1 words the “today” bucket or the “airplane” bucket. Let’s give it a try.

Pinyin	Translation	Simplified / Traditional	Audio
Jīntiān	today	今天
fēijī	airplane	飞机/飛機
yīshēng	Doctor	医生/醫生

Let’s try another, the 1-2 tone pair, you may call this the “forest” or “China” bucket. Here, there is a distinctive jump from the 1^st tone down to the start of the rising 2^nd tone.

Pinyin	Translation	Simplified / Traditional	Audio
sēnlín	forest	森林
gōngrén	worker	工人
ānquán	safety	安全
zhōngguó	China	中国/中國
bīnghé	glacier	冰河

We covered the 3-2 tone pair in the last article, but it’s worth revisiting. It is a beautiful phonetic pattern, with the 3rd and 2nd tones blending together in a smooth curve. Notice that the 3rd tone is not falling and rising, as often described – it is a deep, throaty sound.

Pinyin	Translation	Simplified / Traditional	Audio
cǎoméi	strawberry	草莓
nǚ’ér	daughter	女儿/女兒
měiguó	United States	美国/美國
yǎnyuán	actor	演员/演員
hǎitún	dolphin	海豚

Now let’s have a look & listen at tone pairs that include the 4th, falling tone.

Pinyin	Translation	Simplified / Traditional	Audio
gōngzuò	work	工作
gāodà	tall, lofty	高大
yīnyuè	music	音樂

Pinyin	Translation	Simplified / Traditional	Audio
niúròu	beef	牛肉
chéngkè	passenger	乘客
juéshì	Jazz	爵士

Pinyin	Translation	Simplified / Traditional	Audio
rùkǒu	entrance	入口
zìdiǎn	dictionary	字典
diànnǎo	computer	电脑/電腦

Here again is a useful word list for illustrating tone combinations. Use it in addition to the “mā má mǎ mà” example, to not only impress your friends but give them a more realistic point of reference for understanding Chinese pronunciation.

Pinyin	Tone Pair	Translation	Simplified / Traditional
zhǔjiǎo	3-3 pronounced like 2-3	lead actor	主角
zhùjiào	4-4	assistant professor	助教
zhùjiǎo	4–3	footnote	注脚/註腳
zhūjiǎo	1–3	pork knuckle	猪腳

And let’s close with another useful example, of two common words that sound alike except for the difference in tone pairs – also two of my favorite things after a long day of studying Mandarin:

Pinyin	Tone Pair	Translation	Simplified / Traditional
shuǐjiǎo	3-3 pronounced like 2–3	crescent-shaped boiled dumplings	水饺/水餃
shuìjiào	4–4	sleep	睡觉/睡覺

Related reading resources:

Chinese pronunciation foundation:  The Complete Chinese Pronunciation Guide

Experience sharing:

• From Frustration to Fluency: Master Chinese Pronunciation with 6 Techniques
• How to Get the Tones in Chinese Right, and then Fix Them in Your Head!
• How to Master Tones without Using Tone Marks
• Recommended Chinese Songs for Perfecting Your Accent
• How to Improve Your Mandarin Chinese Pronunciation
• Top Tools to Help You Learn Chinese Pronunciation and Pinyin