Trouble with Mandarin Chinese tones?

There are 4 main tones and one "toneless tone":

mā - flat and high tone

má - begins mid-tone and ends in a higher tone

mǎ - begins mid-tone, goes low and ends in a mid-tone again

mà - it's like the "ha!" when saying "Aha!"

ma (toneless)

I'd recommend listening to Chinese dialogue and practicing sounding them out on your own, consecutively so you can hear the differences. Websites that sound out the pinyin for you will be useful too. They're actually very different. Hope this helps you a little. :))

1

The pitch of your voice is highest for the 1st tone (mā). It is also the longest tone, as you hold out the vowel. That is the main difference between pronouncing the 1st tone and the one without a marking above it--you hold it out. maaa (ā) vs ma (unmarked).

The 2nd tone (má) starts with a mid-high voice and rises up to the high (it sounds sort-of nasally) pitch that's used in the 1st tone. It's not a far jump, it isn't strongly emphasized, so it can sometimes sound very similar to the unmarked tone. But the more you listen to words specifically noting which tone is being used, the more your ears will become accustomed to the subtlest changes in pitch and you'll get better at recognizing them.

When I learned how to pronounce each tone. I often tell my students to think of the 2nd tone as "surprised" tone and the 4th tone as "angry" tone, because it helps visualize the sound.

The 4th tone (mà) starts from the high nasally pitch then drops dramatically to a very low pitch. It's a very blunt tone.

The 3rd tone (mǎ) starts low, quickly drops lower, then rises to an almost nasally pitch.

I'd be glad to explain tones in further detail: eChineseLearning - jenniferzhu@echineselearning.com

this is complicated to pay attention it with community audio device, yet there's a difference. nevertheless, once you learn, attempt to magnify the tones somewhat (with the 0.33 tone, initiate intense, come down slowly, then upward thrust returned up so which you will definitely distiguish between the two), that way you may no longer make any errors. it ought to sound weird and wonderful, even nonetheless this is of course comprehensible. this is in basic terms somewhat prepare, I discovered it for 3 years and that i had no clue for a while, yet you get the carry of it quite quickly.

Try listening to some news broadcasts, news announcers have the most distinguished tones.

If you just made a decision to understand this popular language Mandarin why don’t you find out at the most popular on the web program

i only knows chinese hv 4 tones, if u hv any question with pronunciation u could add my skype :liuzpboy, i will like to help u^^

Chinese have 4 tones only.

Chinese has 4 tones.

mā ; the 'neutral' sound. (http://mandarin.about.com/library/audio/tones/1.mp...

má ; don't know how to explain this one. (http://mandarin.about.com/library/audio/tones/2.mp...

mǎ ; deep sound. (http://mandarin.about.com/library/audio/tones/3.mp... < the one in this one should be a bit lower but that will do. ^^'

mà ; rising sound. (http://mandarin.about.com/library/audio/tones/4.mp...