Introduction to chinese language

1.

Beginning Chinese
10.21.2015

2.

Introduction to Chinese Language
• There are numerous regional dialects of Chinese. They are often divided into
eight different groups and are often mutually unintelligible.
• Modern Standard Chinese is known as Putonghua (common language) in
mainland China; Guoyu (national language), but also Hanyu (language spoken
by ethnic Chinese people), in Taiwan and other Chinese-speaking
communities such as Singapore and Malaysia.

3.

Introduction to Chinese Language

4.

Pronunciation of Modern Standard Chinese
• Chinese sounds are represented by Pinyin.
• The pinyin system uses 25 of the 26 letters of the Roman alphabet.
• Although pinyin symbols are thus the same as English letters, the actual
sounds they represent can be very different than their English counterparts.

5.

Syllabic Structure and Pronunciation
• There are six simple finals in
Modern Standard Chinese:
• a, o ,e, i, u, ü
• There are 21 initial consonants in Modern
Standard Chinese:
1. b, p, m, f
2. d, t, n, l
3. g, k ,h
4. j ,q, x
5. z ,c ,s
6. zh, ch, sh, r

6.

Practice
ba bi bu bo
pa pi pu po
ma mi mu mo
fa
fu fo
da
ta
na
la
di
ti
ni
li
du
tu
nu
lu
de
te
ne nü
le lü
gu ge ga
ku ke ka
hu he ha
za zu ze zi
ca cu ce ci
sa su se si
ji ju
qi qu
xi xu
zha zhuzhe zhi
cha chu che chi
sha shu she shi
ru re ri

7.

Syllabic Structures and Pronunciation
Compound Finals:
1. ai, ei, ao, ou
2. an, en, ang, eng, ong
3. ia, iao, ie, iu, ian, in, iang, ing, iong
4. ua, uo, uai, ui, uan, un, uang, ueng
5. üe, üan, ün
6. er

8.

9.

Tones
• Every Chinese syllable has a tone.
• There are four tones in Modern Standard Chinese: the first tone, the second
tone, the third tone, and the fourth tone.
First tone: ā (a1)
Second tone: á (a2)
Third tone: ǎ (a3)
Fourth tone: à (a4)
Neutral tone: a

10.

Tone Practice
dá dā dǎ dà
tǐ tī tì tí
ké kē kè kě
jǐ jī jí jì
bī bí bǐ bì
shē shé shě shè
shí shī shǐ shì
zhì zhǐ zhí zhī
chí chǐ chì chī
rí rī rǐ rì
jī jí jǐ jì
qì qǐ qí qī
xí xī xì xǐ
xiē xié xiě xiè
jiā jiá jiǎ jià
xiǎng
lóng
fēng
sòng
zhāng

11.

Tone Practice
yīshēng
xièxiè
suīrán
zhōumò
cèsuǒ
chǔlǐ
nǐhǎo
xǐlǐ
qǔshě
chǐrǔ
zhōngguó
xīwàng
māma
nǚ'ér
zàijiàn
duìbùqǐ
bùkèqǐ
shēngrì kuàilè
gōnggòng qìchē
gāosù gōnglù
• If two third tone syllables are spoken in succession, the first third tone becomes second tone.

12.

Useful Expressions
Nǐhǎo- Hello
Lǎoshī hǎo- Hello teacher
Duì- Right/correct
Hěn hǎo- Very good
Duìbùqǐ- Sorry
Zàijiàn- Good-bye
Xièxiè- Thanks
Qǐngwèn- Excuse me/May I ask
Bù dǒng- I don’t understand
Dǒngle- I understand
Zài shuō yībiàn- Say it again
Lǎoshī zàijiàn- Goodbye teacher