Introduction to
Mandarin Phonetics
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Initial + Final +Tone Syllable
(Pinyin)
m
tone
final
initial
Not all the syllables have an initial, but every syllable must have a final and a tone.
Tones
The neutral tone
They are pronounced both shortly and lightly.
There is no tone mark for this kind of syllables.
For example:
n men you (pl.)
n ho ma? How are you?
b ba father
m ma mother
21 Initials
b p m f
d t n l
g k h
j q x
z c s
zh ch sh r
6 single finals
ma m, m, m, m
la 1, 3, 2, 4
fa 3, 1, 2, 4
ti 1,2,4
mo 2,4,3
pai 3,2,4
lao 1,2,3
nan 2,4
bang 1,3,4
Read out loud
long ,2,4,3
fo 2
gei 2
deng 1,2,4
ji 2,4,3
qi 3,2,4
zhi 1,2,3,4
chi 2,1,3,4
Shi 1,2,3,4
qian 2,1,4,3
jiang 1,3
jiu 1
qin 2
qing 2,3,4
qiong 2
xi 1,2,3
jia 2,1,3,4
qie 1,2,3,4
wa 1
gua 2,4
bo 2
juan 3,4
quan 1,2,4,3
guang 3,4
lun 2, 4
jue 2,1, 4
shui 2,3,4
zoshang morning
chfn eat
sge rn four persons
rng y rngexcuse me(on
the road)
zh nl where (do you)
live?
zul walk, on foot
gin give (to you)
hnli very tied
xushng student
yzh b one pen
ych tooth
shubio watch
yuyng to swim
Niruminbeef noodle
soup
bich dont eat
lingg two
ynyu music
mngtin tomorrow
migu rose
dusho how much
how many
lowi forigner
W hushu Hny. I can
speak Chinese.
Shngwngsurf on internet
sunl sour and spicy
qchung get up
chntin spring
tngsh colleague
wji my home/my house
xhun to like
xizi shoes
qitin autumnfall
liyu June
Lxng to travel
nhi girl
yndng sport
qnzi skirt
Topic 1:
Meet someone for the first time
Saying a bit about yourself1
Greetingswhats your name, where are you
from
Warm up words:
n Pr you
ho adj. good; well; fine; O.K.
ma Pt a modal particle used for questions
hn adj. very
y adv. also; too
hojibjin long time no see
(1)Greetings
1. n ho.
Hello!
2. N ho m?
How are you?
3. Hojibjin.
Long time no see.
4. W hn ho.
I am fine.
5. W y hn ho.
I am fine,too.
Key sentences
(2)Whats your name?
Warm up words:
n Pr you
jio v to call, to be known as
shn me Q Pr what
mng zi N name
nn Pr polite form, you
gu adj. honourable
xng v. ones surname is---
w Pr I, me
ne Pt a modal particle used for
elliptical questions
Key sentences
1. n jio shn me mng zi?
?
Whats your name?
2. w jio ------.
.
My name is -----.
Key sentences
3. nn gu xng?
Whats your honorable surname?
4. w xng------.
..
My surname is ------.
5. n ne?
And you?
Cultural tips
Chinese people put their surnames (family
names) before their given names. When giving
their names to others, Chinese people generally
give their full names: surnames, and then given
names.
Dialogue 1: A famous Chinese Kungfu star
A: n ho, n jio shn me mng zi?
B: w jio Chng Lng.
A: nn gu xng?
B: w xng Chng.
Dialogue 2: When William met Kate
A: n ho, n jio shn me mng zi?
B: w jio ki t.
n ne?
A: w jio wi lin.
nn gu xng?
B: w xng Middleton.
Midlleton.
Role-play
1. Greet to your classmates and ask for their
names and surnames.
2. Work in pairs and do Q&A based on the
following pictures.
t Pr he; him / she; her
(3)Where are you from?
Warm up words:
n Pr you
sh V to be(am, is, are)
n Q Pr which
gu N Country
rn N People
nl Q Pr where
Warm up words:
yng gu UK
yng gu rn British people
zhng gu China
zhng gu rn Chinese people
ln dn London
ln dn rn London people
nu dng hn Nottingham
nng b Ningbo
Warm up words:
ma Pt a particle used at the end of
a question sentence expecting a yes-no answer
b Negative Adv not; no
du adv. both; all
men Suf used after personal pronouns or
certain nouns to denote plural
Key sentences
1. Q:n sh n gu rn?
Whats your nationality?
A:w sh yng gu rn.
Im British.
2. Q:n sh n l rn?
Where is your hometown?
A: w sh ln dn rn.
Im from London.
Key sentences
3. Q: n sh yng gu rn ma?
Are you British?
A: sh. / b sh. /
Yes. / No.
4. Q:n sh b sh yng gu rn?
Are you British?
A: sh. / b sh./
Yes. / No.
Role-play
Q: n sh n gu rn?
A: w sh yng gu rn. UK
zhng gu China
h ln Holand
d gu Germany
m li x y Malaysia
mi gu o d l y d gu
ji n d f gu ru sh
Role-play
Q: n sh n l rn?
A: w sh ln dn rn. London
nu dng hn Nottingham
ni yu New York
m r bn Melbourne
nng b Ningbo
shng hi Shanghai
Class Activity
Ask your classmates about their nationality and
hometown. You need to ask at least 3 different
people.
Homework Make friends
Interview at least 3 Chinese people, you should:
1) Greetings
2) Introduce yourself and ask their
names/surnames
3) ask their nationalities.
The introduction of Chinese characters
hnz
The two characters above mean Chinese Characters. Chinese Characters are
the founding block/unit of Chinese language, because one or more Chinese
characters form words, phrases, and sentences, etc.
The introduction of Chinese characters(1)
1. Six categories of Chinese
charactersliushu
2. Basic structure&strokes of
Chinese characters
Six categories of Chinese characters
liushu
[Link] xinxn
[Link] ideographs zhsh
[Link] ideographshuy
The minor majority of characters belong to above 3 categories.
The vast majority of characters belong to below 3 categories.
[Link] characters jiji
[Link] compoundxnshn
[Link] characters(zhunzh)
[Link]
r l shn
m shu m
tin rn hu
yu ku
2
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
3
1 2
6
9
11
8
10
5
4 7
[Link] ideographs
shng up
Characters consisting of simple diagrammatic indications of ideas.
y one
r two
xi down
gn sweet (used in ancient Chinese)
[Link] ideographs
Characters whose meaning is the combination of the meanings of their parts.
+ =
(xi, )
have a rest
+ =
(yn, )
pregnant
[Link] characters
li ,come
(homonymous)
shng, unripe; give birth to
[Link] compound
What if both the original word and the word for which the
character was borrowed exist side by side?
rn to burn
thus,so
How to differentiate the two?
+
Phonetic compound
signific/radical
(indicate the meaning)
Phonetic/sound
More examples
qn Sunny + (qng )
similar sound
tn Candy/suger + (tng)
same sound
chn to sing + (chng)
similar sound
sh to try () + (sh)
same sound
Radicals
chn to sing
cho to quarrel with
t to spit
ji to borrow
zh to live
t the body
c word
shu to speak
rnsh to meet
The membership of this class is both small and uncertain.
[Link] characters
lo old
ko old(ancient times)
How the characters are formed
1 2
3
4
5
6
8
7
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
20
19 21
22
24
25
27
26
28
29
23
The basic
strokes
Basic structure of Chinese characters
Order of the stroke
General principle
1Left right as
2Topbottomas
Special principle:
1) A character containing a vertical stroke with two systematical
parts on both sides, like verticalleft right
2) Complete enclosureslike :
left top/right stroke made in one strokeinsidebottom
linx exercises
