Pinyin &

Greetings
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Instruction on Chinese Phonetics
Syllable is the basic unit of Chinese Phonetics. Chinese syllables are combined of initials,
finals and tones.
Example:
m!
----- Initial m
Final a
First tone -
Some of the Chinese syllables have no initials but they must have finals and
tones. r y
Example:

Tone rules:

1. The 3rd tone is a changeable tone. When two 3rd tones come together, the
first 3rd tone should be changed into a 2nd tone,
e.g., n" h#o (hello) should be pronounced n h#o.

2. When a sentence has three third tones next to each other, it can be
changed into the following two patterns: 2-2-3 / 3-2-3.
For example: w$ h%n h#o (I am fine) can be pronounced either w$ hn h#o or
w hn h#o.

3. Some elements in Chinese sentence like particles pronounced as light tone
(the 5th tone):
n" h#o ma. (ma ba la ne)

4. Words with repeated characters: xi xie / m! ma / ji% jie

5. 4-4 tones or 1-4 tones pronounced as 2-4. Like bu4-yao4 = bu2 yao4.


Pinyin &
Greetings
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Exercise 1

pn bin p bin

bo bi bin po

b b b bo

b bo bi po

pn b bi po

b bi bi bin

p p p bo

b pio p b


Exercise 2

Matching the picture with the words below, choose the right
picture for each word. There is one word missing. Can you
guess which one is not on the picture?

h! l b" t

bi k hn m

k! f#i

k ku k l



Pinyin &
Greetings
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Exercise 3
yn




q$ xin xin tin

bi mo f l shu

hn zhn b qn b


Ode to the Goose
By: Luo Binwang





Goose goose goose
Bend neck towards sky sing
White feather float green water
Red foot push clear wave
Goose, goose, goose,
You bend your neck towards the sky and
sing.
Your white feathers float on the emerald
water,
Your red feet push the clear waves.