CHAPTER ONE

Pronunciation Foundation I

AIMS
In this first chapter, the MPS spelling system and its general concept
is introduced. After the initial introduction, there will be pronunciation
practices for each initial and final. Please make good use of the audio
files available online for this section. After each section, there are
more exercises for you to check your progress. The short rhyme in this
chapter can also be used to improve your pronunciation.
In this chapter, you will also learn some sentences for every day use
and the basic concepts of written Chinese.
Note: This book is adapted to the needs of western students. Thus,
both the Mandarin Phonetic Symbols and Hanyu Pinyin systems are
used. In chapter one and twos Pronunciation Foundation, we will
focus on learning the MPS system, but there will also be Hanyu Pinyin
supplemented to help learners become accustomed to MPS more
quickly.

MANDARIN PHONETIC
SYMBOLS
Mandarin is a monosyllabic language with 21 consonants and 16 vowels. These
consonants and vowels combined or standing alone produce a total of just
over four hundred monosyllabic sounds. Most words have one syllable or a
combination of two or three.
Initials

zh

ch

sh

Chinese Acquisition 1

 Finals

ai

ei

ao

ou

an

en

ang

eng

er

 TONES
Tones are the pitch of a syllable. They are important elements of the Chinese
syllable. There are four basic tones in Chinese, represented respectively by the
following tone-graphs: the first tone (no need to place a tone mark), the second
tone (), the third tone () and the fourth tone ().
The main function of the tones is to distinguish the meanings of the characters.
Example:

(dumplings);

(to sleep)

In this case, their initials and finals are the same, but with different tones, the
meanings are different.

The Four Tones

First tone

Second tone

Third tone

Fourth tone

high and level

rising from middle

to high

first falling
then rising

falling from high

high

middle

low

Chinese Acquisition 1

 Tone Position
When a syllable contains a single phoneme only, the tone-mark is placed on the

right of the phonetic symbol.

Example:

When a syllable contains two or more phonemes, the tone-mark should be

placed on the right of the space between the first and second or second and third
symbols.
Example:

Neutral Tone

Sometimes syllables lose their original tones and are pronounced soft and short.
This is the neutral tone. Its pitch in relation to the other four tones is as follows:
First Tone

+ Neutral Tone

The first tone is high and level and the neutral tone pitch is lower.
Example:

gge
n. elder brother

Second Tone

zhuzi
n. table

+ Neutral Tone

 he second tone rises to the first tone pitch and the neutral tone pitch drops slightly to a
T
lower one.
Example:

fngzi
n. house

rzi
n. son

 Third Tone

+ Neutral Tone

The third tone dips and rises, and the pitch on the neutral tone syllable is higher.
Example:

yzi
n. chair

Fourth Tone

jijie
n. elder sister

+ Neutral Tone

After a fourth tone, the pitch of the neutral tone syllable is lower.
Example:

kuizi
n. chopsticks

kzi
n. pants

Tonal Practice

Now that you know how to distinguish between different tones and how to mark
them, here is a short rhyme for listening comprehension. Please listen to the audio
provided when doing the exercise below. Listen carefully and see how many tones
you can recognize.
Example:

Chinese Acquisition 1

Your Turn:

English Translation:

Mom bought a little white cat. The little white cat is fat and round. It likes to catch mice
and wear hats, and dashes around making a lot of noise.

Answer Key:

 THE BASIC STRUCTURES

OF A CHINESE SYLLABLE

Every Chinese character has only one syllable. A typical Chinese syllable is
composed of three parts: an initial, a final and a tone.
Example:
initials

tone
final

n. father

Not all the syllables have an initial, but every syllable must have a final and a
tone.
Example:

final

n. goose

Chinese Acquisition 1

tone

PRONUNCIATION
DRILLS
Now that you are familiar with the basics of MPS, here are some MPS
pronunciation drills. In this chapter, well introduce you to some basic finals and
all of the initials.

Resembles the British a in father or

the American o in bother and Todd.

Pronounced like the o in more.

Similar to the u in lotus.

Similar to the e in yes.

Note: this final cannot be used with an initial on its own; it must be used in combination
with (i) or (). For example,

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Chinese Acquisition 1

Pronounced like the ee in bee.

Sounds like the w in way.

To voice, pronounce the ee in bee then

hold that mouth position and round your
lips as if to pronounce .


Pronunciation principle: Made using one or both lips.

Similar to an English b.
Example:

bba
n. father

Similar to an English p but with more

aspiration.
Example:

p
v. to climb

Similar to an English m.
Example:

mma
n. mother

Similar to an English f, like f in fat.

Example:

f
n. hair

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Exercise 1

Spelling Exercise

Most initials must be combined with a final to be heard. For example: +=. Now,
lets introduce words with different tones. Please read the following out loud along with
the audio provided. Note that you only need to focus on pronunciation and tones and not
the meaning of the words at this stage.

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bba

mma

my

bbo

ppo

mm

pb

f-m

Chinese Acquisition 1

Exercise 2

Tonal Discrimination

This section is for you to practice tonal discrimination. Please listen carefully for the tonal
differences in each pair of words.

b b

Exercise 3

p p

p p

p p

m m

f f

Try It Yourself

For this section, listen carefully to differentiate the initials and tones. Listen to the audio
and choose the correct MPS for each word.

1. ________ q

2.

________

3. ________ q

4.

________

5. ________ q

6.

________

7. ________ q

8.

________

9. ________ q

10.

________

Reference Answers
1.w 2.e 3.q 4.e 5.e 6.w 7.e 8.e 9.w 10.e

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Pronunciation Principle: Made by putting the tip of the tongue to the top of the
mouth just behind the upper front teeth.

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Chinese Acquisition 1

Similar to an English d.
Example:

d
sv. to be big

Similar to an English t but with more

aspiration.
Example:

t
pron. he, she, him, her

Similar to an English n.
Example:

n
v. to take

Pronounced like the l in light.

Example:

l
v. to pull

Exercise 1

Spelling Exercise

Now, lets introduce words with different tones. Please read the following out loud along
with the audio provided. Note that you only need to focus on pronunciation and tones and
not the meaning of the words at this stage.

ddi

nl

lw

n de

nl

fl

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Exercise 2

Try It Yourself

For this section, listen carefully to differentiate the initials and tones. Listen to the audio
and choose the correct MPS for each word.

1.

________

2.

________

3.

________

4.

________

5.

________

6.

________

7.

________

8.

________

9.

________

10.

________

Reference Answers
1.e 2.q 3.q 4.q 5.w 6.w 7.q 8.e 9.w 10.e

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Chinese Acquisition 1


Pronunciation Principle: Made with the back of the tongue against or near the soft
part of the top of the mouth.

Similar to the g in go.

Example:

g
n. song

Similar to the k in king but with more

aspiration.
Example:

kl
n. Coke

Similar to the h in happy but with a

slight raspy sound.
Example:

h
n. river

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Pronunciation Principle: Made by putting the tongue against or near the hard
palate.

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Chinese Acquisition 1

Similar to the j in jeep but the tip of the

tongue is down.
Example:

j
n. chicken

Similar to the ch in cheap but the tip

of the tongue is down.
Example:

q
n. seven

Similar to the sh in sheep but the tip of

the tongue is down.
Example:

x
n. west

Exercise 1

Spelling Exercise

Now, lets introduce words with different tones. Please read the following out loud along
with the audio provided. Note that you only need to focus on pronunciation and tones and
not the meaning of the words at this stage.

gge

ky

jq

qm

hx

ggu

nx

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Exercise 2

Try It Yourself

For this section, listen carefully to differentiate the initials and tones. Listen to the audio
and choose the correct MPS for each word.

1. ________ q

2.

________

3. ________ q

4.

________

5. ________ q

6.

________

7.________ q

8.

________

9. ________ q

10.

________

Reference Answers
1.q 2.w 3.w 4.w 5.q 6.e 7.e 8.e 9.w 10.q

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Chinese Acquisition 1


Pronunciation Principle: Made by putting the end of the tongue against the upper
front teeth and forcing air through a constricted passage.

Similar to the final ds in woods.

Example:

z
n. character

Similar to the ts in cats.

Example:

c
n. word

Similar to the English s in son.

Example:

s
n. four

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Pronunciation Principle: Made with the tip of the tongue curled upwards and
backwards.

zh

Example:

zh
n. paper

Similar to the ch in chat.

Similar to the English sh in sham.

Pronounced like the r sound in

pleasure, treasure, and leisure.

ch

sh

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Similar to the g in germ.

Chinese Acquisition 1

Example:

ch
v. to eat

Example:

sh
n. lion

Example:

r
n. sun

Exercise 1

Spelling Exercise

Now, lets introduce words with different tones. Please read the following out loud along
with the audio provided. Note that you only need to focus on pronunciation and tones and
not the meaning of the words at this stage.

zhj

lch

sh

cq

zj

ysi

ssh

ls

zhl

jch

sh

z ch

ssh

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Exercise 2

Try It Yourself

For this section, listen carefully to differentiate the initials and tones. Listen to the audio
and choose the correct MPS for each word.

1.

________

2.

________

3.

________

4.

________

5.

________

6.

________

7.

________

8.

________

9.

________

10.

________

Reference Answers
1.q 2.e 3.e 4.e 5.q 6.q 7.e 8.w 9.q 10.e

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Chinese Acquisition 1


These three finals (//) may be used in combination with other finals.
Example:

, , , ,

ya

ye

wa

To voice, pronounce first then

, similar to the ya in yacht.

To voice, pronounce first then

, similar to the ye in yellow.

To voice, pronounce first then

, similar to the wa in watt.

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To voice, pronounce first then

. The sounds similar to the
vowels in pour.

wo

To voice, pronounce first then

. Change the shape of your mouth
from a rounded position to a narrow
one. The sounds similar to the
eah in the English exclamation
yeah.

yue

yu

yu

yu

yu

Pronunciation Tips
These compound finals can be combined with initials to make new sounds. When
spelling these sounds, spell out the finals first then add the initial. For example, the
spelling of

is broken down into the following steps:

1.

+ =
2. + =

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Chinese Acquisition 1

Exercise 1

Spelling Exercise

Now, lets introduce words with different tones. Please read the following out loud along
with the audio provided. Note that you only need to focus on pronunciation and tones and
not the meaning of the words at this stage.

ji

qi

xizi

yzi

bi

ti

jijie

xixie

xgu

huhu

yshu

wwa

guji

lutu

shuhu

xu

mqu

jude

yu

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Exercise 2

Try It Yourself

For this section, listen carefully to differentiate the initials and tones. Listen to the audio
and choose the correct MPS for each word.

1.

________

2.

________

3.

________

4.

________

5.

________

6.

________

7.

________

8.

________

9.

________

10.

________

Reference Answers
1.e 2.e 3.q 4.e 5.q 6.e 7.w 8.q 9.w 10.e

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Chinese Acquisition 1

 ORAL PRACTICE
Here are two short sentences which can be used to practice your pronunciation.
Please practice saying the short sentences below with the audio available online.

S shzi, zh shzi, b k ch.

English Translation:

Dead lions and paper lions are not edible.

Xitin r, ddi ch xgu, mimei h lch.

English Translation:

Summer is hot. Little brother eats watermelon; little sister drinks green tea.

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IDIOMS AND
EXPRESSIONS
Below are some practical sentences in daily life. After reading through them, play
the video to see how the sentences are used in context.

N ho.

A:

A: Hello.

Nn ho.

A:

A: Hello.

N ho.

B:

B:

B: Hello.

B: Hello.

N ho.
Note that

Xixie.

A:

A: Thank you.

B kq.

B:

Chinese Acquisition 1

B kq.

B:

B: You are welcome.

Xixie.

A:

A: Thank you.

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is an honorific.

B: You are welcome.

Dubq.

A:

A: I am sorry.

Zijin.

A:

A: Good bye.

Zijin.

B:

B: Good bye.

Migunxi.

B:

B: It's okay.

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THE CHINESE
WRITING SYSTEM

The Eight Basic Strokes

Written Chinese is basically composed of eight basic strokes. Familiarize yourself

with these strokes before practicing stroke order.
Stroke

Name in
Chinese

hng

sh

pi

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Name in English

the horizontal

the vertical

the left-falling
curvature

the right-falling
curvature

the dot

the rising

din

gu

Chinese Acquisition 1

zh

Direction of
Stroke

the hook

the horizontal turn

Example
Characters

 The Rules of Stroke Order

The rules of stroke order in writing Chinese characters and character components
are as follows:
First horizontal, then vertical.

First left, then right.

e.g.

e.g.

shn

sh
From top to bottom.

First left-falling, then right-falling.

e.g.

e.g.

sn

rn

Outside first, then inside.

Finish the inside strokes, then close.

e.g.

e.g.

tng

First the middle, then the two sides.

e.g.

xio

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 Try It Yourself
Here are the above eight basic strokes. Please trace the strokes below on your Chinese
Stroke Order Workbook.

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Chinese Acquisition 1

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 Stroke Order Practice: MPS

Now that you are familiar with the basic strokes, you can use them to practice writing
MPS. Print out the corresponding pages from the Chinese Stroke Order Workbook online,
watch the writing animation and start writing!

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Chinese Acquisition 1