What is Mandarin

The official standard dialect of Chinese: Called

ptnghu () in China, Guy () in Taiwan,
Huy (/) in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia
and Philippines. However, this definition of Mandarin is
different from a linguist's, which, we will NOT touch in
this course (Yeah!)

Mordern Chinese (language) : = Mandarin, *Min

(Hokkien), Wu, Jin, *Yue (Cantonese), Gan, *Hakka,
Xiang,

*Popular among Malaysian Chinese

 Why Learn Mandarin
About one in five (20%) of the world population
(1.4B) speaks Mandarin (native + 2nd ). To be able
to communicate to 1/5 or world population
thats cool!
It is one of the 6 official languages of the United
Nation. Influence of China to the world is getting
stronger Mandarin is of high importance.
The course is free and you have got nothing
better to do
 What to Expect
Understanding and mastering the 4 tones of Mandarin

Learn to use basic Mandarin for / to

i) Greetings
ii) Introduce yourself
iii) Order a meal
iv) Do some shopping
v) Get around and ask for direction
vi) Others

Will NOT concentrate on learning and writing Chinese

characters (Hooray!)
 The 4 Tones of Mandarin
Chinese is a tonal language - the pitch or tone
in which a sound is said affects the meaning.
There are four tones, indicated respectively by
the following tone marks:
Tone Tone Mark Description Example / meaning
First Tone high, level pitch m = mother
Second Tone starting high and rising m = hemp
Third Tone falling first, then rising m = horse
Fourth Tone starting high and falling m = scold
The 4 Tones of Mandarin (Ctnue)
 Natural and Changed Tone
There is also a neutral tone. It is short and
unaccented. Its pitch relies on a natural
extension of the preceding tone. It is conveyed
by the absence of a sign.
Eg : jio zi (dumplings), xi xie (Thank you)
When one low tone follows another, the first
one becomes a rising tone.
Eg : n ho (Hello / You good). The mark
of ni indicates the third tone but it is
pronouned in the second tone
 The Pinyin System
Each Chinese syllable is composed of three
parts: initial, final and tone. In the Pinyin
system there are 21 initials ( sheng mu), 2
semi-vowels (y and w), 36 finals (yun
mu), 4 tones and a neutral tone.
They are put together to make the
pronunciation of Chinese characters
(syllables).
Different Words can have same syllables.
(Oh no) Do not have to memorize (Oh Yes!)
The 21 Initials + y + w)
 The 36 Finals
i u
a ia ua
o uo
e ie e
er
ai uai
ei uei (ui)
ao iao
ou iou (iu)
an ian uan an
en in(ien) uen (un) en
ang iang uang
eng ieng ueng
ong iong
 Lesson One How Are you
A: How are you?
n ho ma?

B: I am fine, thank you.

w hn ho, xi xi.
And you?
n ne?

A: I am fine, too.

w y hn ho.