Today I will tell you how to speak Mandarin Chinese. Here's a quick guide to get you started:
1. Learn Pinyin:
- This is the foundation. Pinyin works like "IPA PRO." It uses the Roman alphabet to represent Chinese sounds.
- For instance, you can see the Chinese and English of the word "mother."
- Above them are Pinyin and IPA.
- "mā" is Chinese Pinyin, which represents both the pronunciation and the tone for the character 妈 (meaning "mother").
- I know you may still be a little confused about Pinyin. I will explain it slowly and let you master it in a wonderful way. Just wait for the next video.
2. Master the Tones:
- Mandarin has four main tones that change the meaning of words:
- First tone: flat and high (mā - 妈 mother)
- Second tone: rising like a question (má - 麻 hemp)
- Third tone: dips and rises (mǎ - 马 horse)
- Fourth tone: sharp and falling (mà - 骂 scold)
- As you can see, even though the pronunciation of the syllable "ma" is the same, the different tones completely change the meaning of the word.
Pinyin：It not only tells you how to say the sounds of Mandarin Chinese using the Roman alphabet but also indicates the tone. So, I think Pinyin works like "IPA Pro."
OK guys, I will tell you in detail how Pinyin is composed and how Chinese letters are pronounced in the next video.