Lesson 2: Understanding Four Tones
The best way to explain tones is probably do so by using examples. Here, we can use English pronunciation of letter "i" as one example.
Tone 1: flat
In English, it is the default tone we use to pronounce 'i' emotionlessly as in saying "I am ....".
The audio material will show flat tone 'i', and how 'i' would sound on other tones as if with strong emotions although you should keep in mind that in Chinese, tones have nothing to do with meanings or emotions.
Tone 2: up
This tone is a little like the tone used in English for questions. For example: "Is he right?" The tone of "i" used in word 'right' here is equivalent to the up tone used in Chinese.
Tone 3: curve
There is not exact equivalent for Tone 3 in English. However, Tone 3 can be delivered through a quick combination of tone 4 and tone 2 in a very quick way. Remember, tone 4 before tone 2. So maybe you want to learn to use tone 4 first.
Tone 4: down
The 4th tone is what you will use when saying "right" as in "Yes, he is right.”
Four tones together:
All vowels can be pronounced in 4 tones. It can be a great practice to play it on your own language.
Listen to this example that uses 4 four tones to pronounce English letters A, B, C, and D.
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