Guide to Tone Changes in Chinese

Tone Sandhi

Chinese is a tonal language. There are 4 basic tones and 1 light tone in Chinese. A Pinyin with a unique tone makes up an individual character.

Let's use the initial "a" as an example and practice the five tones with the audios below:

• The 1st tone, ā, is the highest tone amongst the 5.

• The 2nd tone, á, is a rising tone that moves from the middle pitch upwards to reach the highest pitch, ā.

• The 3rd tone, ǎ, is a falling then rising tone that moves from the lower-middle pitch upwards to the upper-middle pitch.

• The 4th tone, à, is a falling tone that moves from the highest pitch down to the lowest pitch.

• The light tone, a, is also called the neutral tone. As the name suggests, there is not much pitch movement for this tone. It is light and soft.

After mastering the basics, let's look at some important tone changes that you encounter when learning Chinese.

#1 When Two 3rd-Tone Syllables Appear Together

When there are two syllables pronounced in the 3rd tone that appear together as a word, the first syllable will be read in the 2nd tone instead of the 3rd tone. This rule applies only to speaking because in writing, the first syllable will still be the 3rd tone. Let's look at some examples below:

• 你好(hello)

  Writing: nǐ hǎo

  Speaking: ní hǎo

• 手表(wristwatch)

  Writing: shǒu biǎo

  Speaking: shóu biǎo

• 语法(grammar)

  Writing: yǔ fǎ

  Speaking: yú fǎ

#2 Tone Changes for "不(bù)"

When you see a word in which the first syllable starts with "不", beware that it will not always be pronounced in the 4th tone. Its tone changes according to the tone of the second syllable that it pairs with.

If the second syllable is in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd tone, the tone for "不" remains unchanged, it will be pronounced as "bù". Let's look at a few examples below:

• 不喝(don't drink, bù hē)

• 不能(can't, bù néng)

• 不好(not good, bù hǎo)

If the second syllable is in the 4th tone, the tone for "不" will become the 2nd tone instead of the 4th tone. For example:

• 不要(don't want, bú yào)

• 不看(don't see, bú kàn)

#3 Tone Changes for "一(yī)"

Similarly, this Chinese character "一" will not be pronounced in the 1st tone all the time. Depending on the tone of the second syllable it pairs with, the tone of it changes as well.

If the second syllable is in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd tone, the tone for "一" will change to 4th tone. For example:

• 一筐(a basket of, yì kuāng)

• 一勺(a spoon of, yì sháo)

• 一种(a type of, yì zhǒng)

If the second syllable is in the 4th tone, the tone for "一" will change to 2nd tone. For example:

• 一块(a piece of, yí kuài)

• 一粒(a grain of, yí lì)

If "一" is purely used to express numbers, the tone will remain as the 1st tone. For example:

• 星期一(Monday, xīng qī yī)

• 百分之一(one percent, bǎi fēn zhī yī)

In this article, you've learned the three most important tone changes in Mandarin. If you want to speak Chinese authentically, remembering these rules are necessary. If you are not sure you are pronouncing the words correctly, check with your Chinese teachers at Hanhai Language Studio. You will be guided through your Chinese learning journey effectively. To learn Chinese with us, contact us for a free trial and consultation. Stay tuned to our blog and see you in the next post!