How to greet each other in Putonghua? How to order a cup of coffee or some dumplings in a restaurant? Here are some situational conversations and basic knowledge we have prepared for you. They are practical and easy to learn. You can click the links to listen to the vocabulary or the conversations. You are most welcome to tell us your comments and feedback about the online lessons.
A Chinese syllable is usually composed of an initial, a final and a tone. 汉语音节通常由声母 、韵母和声调三部分组成。
声母就是音节开头的辅音。汉语共有21个声母。 An initial is a consonant that begins a syllable. There are altogether 21 initials in Chinese.
b
p
m
f
d
t
n
l
g
k
h
j
q
x
zh
ch
sh
r
z
c
s
bo po mo fo
de te ne le
ge ke he
ji qi xi
zhi chi shi ri
zi ci si
A final is the part that follows an initial. 韵母就是声母后面的部分。
a
o
e
ê
i
u
ü
er
ai
ei
ao
ou
an
en
ang
eng
ong
ia
ie
iao
iou(iu)
ian
in
iang
ing
iong
ua
uo
uai
uei (ui)
uan
uen (un)
uang
ueng
üe
üɑn
ün
Tones are the variation of the pitch of syllables. There are four basic tones in standard Chinese: the first, second, third and the 4th tone, and are indicated by the four tone marks －ˊˇˋ respectively. 声调是音节的音高变化。汉语中有四个基本声调：第一声、第二声、第三声、第四声，并分别以－ˊˇˋ四个声调符号表示。。
一声 高 又 平
二声 上 山坡
三声 下 坡 又 上 坡
四声 滚 下 坡
八
拔
把
爸
坡
婆
叵
破
妈
麻
马
骂
呼
胡
虎
户
When two 3rd tones are in succession, the first 3rd tone is pronounced as a 2nd tone. 两个第三声连在一起时，前一个读成第二声。
xiǎo + jiě 小姐 (miss)
xiáo + jiě 小姐
shǒu + zhǐ 手指 (finger)
shóu + zhǐ 手指
When a 3rd tone is followed by other tones, it is only half-pronounced (named as "half 3rd tone"). 第三声出现在其他声调的音节前时，第三声变成半三声。
gǎn xiè 感谢 (thank you)
huǒ chē 火车 (train)
yǔ yán 语言 (language)
"1" is pronounced in its original tone, i.e., the first tone when it: (i) stands alone; (ii) refers to a sequence; (ii) is the last word of a phrase; 「一」字单念、用作序数，或处于词句末尾时，读本调（即第一声）。
yī lóu 一楼 (the 1st floor)
dì-yī 第一 (the 1st)
wéiyī 唯一 (the only one)
yī jiā yī 一加一 (one plus one)
When "bu" or "yi" appears before a syllable of the 4th tone, it is pronounced as a 2nd tone. 「不」或「一」出现在第四声前时，读作第二声。
bù + biàn 不变 (unchange)
bú + biàn 不变
yī+ dìng 一定 (certainly)
yí + dìng 一定
When "bu" or "yi" appears before a syllable of any other tones, it is pronounced as a 4th tone. 「 不」或「一」出现在其他声调的音节前时，都读第四声。
yī + tiān 一天 (one day)
yì + tiān 一天
yī + tóng 一同 (together)
yì + tóng 一同
yī + běn 一本 (a copy)
yī + běn 一本
bùdān 不单 (not only)
bùhé 不和 (in conflict)
bù hǎo 不好 (not good)
In some special cases, "yi" and "bu" are pronounced as a neutral tone. Neutral tone is much shorter than a normal tone and is identified by the absence of a tone mark. 「一」和「不」在某种特殊情况下读轻声。轻声的音长比重读短得多，而且不标调号。
shuōyishuō 说一说
jiǎngyijiǎng 讲一讲
hǎobuhǎo 好不好
huìbuhuì 会不会