Introduction to

Mandarin Phonetics

http://learning.chinese.cn/pinyin_en/index.html

http://file.chinese.cn/flash_jt/pinyinchart_win/m
ypinyin.swf

http://learning.chinese.cn/wordbookr335/



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
1.Pictographs xinxn
2.Simple ideographs zhsh
3.Compound ideographshuy
The minor majority of characters belong to above 3 categories.
The vast majority of characters belong to below 3 categories.
4.Loan characters jiji
5.Phonetic compoundxnshn
6.Derivative characters(zhunzh)


1.Pictographs
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
2.Simple ideographs
shng up
Characters consisting of simple diagrammatic indications of ideas.
y one
r two
xi down
gn sweet (used in ancient Chinese)
3.Compound ideographs
Characters whose meaning is the combination of the meanings of their parts.
+ =
(xi, )


have a rest
+ =
(yn, )


pregnant
4.Loan characters
li ,come
(homonymous)
shng, unripe; give birth to
5.Phonetic 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.

6.Derivative 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