🐱猫 māo
cat
Trial lesson 试听课
2026-11-08
Hello
hello = 你 好 nǐ hǎo. The letters nǐ hǎo are Chinese Pinyin; the two signs above them are Chinese characters.
What a syllable is made of 音节
A syllable (音 节 yīn jié) has an initial (声 母 shēng mǔ), a final (韵 母 yùn mǔ) and a tone (声 调 shēng diào): nǐ = n + i + 3rd tone; hǎo = h + ao + 3rd tone.
Slide 4
猫 māo (cat) = m + ao + 1st tone; 鱼 yú (fish) = no initial + ü + 2nd tone; 姐 jiě (elder sister) = j + ie + 3rd tone; 二 èr (two) = no initial + er + 4th tone.
A Pinyin syllable may have no initial, but it can never lack a final.
🐟鱼 yú
fish
🐟*
我 吃 鱼 。
Wǒ chī yú.
I eat fish.
* New sentence built from lesson words.
👧姐 jiě
elder sister
2️⃣二 èr
two
When ü has no initial it is written yu, as in yú. The y is a spelling convention, not an extra sound.*
Initials (1) 声母
| b | p | m | f |
| d | t | n | l |
Finals (1) 韵母
| a | o | e |
| i | u | ü |
The four tones 汉语的声调（四声）
Pitch is shown on a scale from 1 (low) to 5 (high).
Slides 8-9
1st tone, high level: pitch your voice high and hold the sound there slightly longer than seems natural. As a doctor tells you when looking down your throat. Say: Aaah!
2nd tone, rising: from the middle level of your voice range to the top. Raise your eyebrows as you say it! The tone at the end of a question: What?
3rd tone, falling and then rising: from the middle level, down deep, then up a bit. Like when you're surprised: Really?
4th tone, falling: a short, sharp fall from your high voice pitch. Stamp your foot as you say it! The tone of a statement: No!
妈 mā mother
* 1st tone, high and level (5→5). Hold it high, like “Aaah” at the doctor.
麻 má hemp
* 2nd tone, rising (3→5). Like the end of a question: “What?”
马 mǎ horse
* 3rd tone, dips then rises (2→1→4). Like a surprised “Really?”
骂 mà to scold
* 4th tone, short sharp fall (5→1). A firm “No!”
Neutral tone: no tone mark, said light and short.*
Read the finals aloud, minding the tones 朗读下列音节，注意声调的不同
| ā | á | ǎ | à |
| ō | ó | ǒ | ò |
| ē | é | ě | è |
| ī | í | ǐ | ì |
| ū | ú | ǔ | ù |
| ǖ | ǘ | ǚ | ǜ |
How to spell a syllable 猜一猜
Initial + final (声 母 shēng mǔ + 韵 母 yùn mǔ): b + a = ba. Written with no tone mark, ba is in the neutral tone.
Please read (slide 12)
| b-ā → bā | b-á → bá |
| b-ǎ → bǎ | b-à → bà |
Read the words aloud 读一读
🖊️笔 bǐ
pen
🎠木 马 mù mǎ
rocking horse
* Literally “wooden horse”: 木 mù wood + 马 mǎ horse.
🌾大 米 dà mǐ
rice (uncooked)
🗺️地 图 dì tú
map
🗺️*
中 国 地 图
Zhōng guó dì tú
map of China (China map)
🥤可 乐 kě lè
cola
Greetings 你知道如何用中文打招呼吗？
Do you know how to greet in Chinese?
👋你 好 nǐ hǎo (read ní hǎo)
hello (informal greeting for peers and friends)
* Informal. 你 nǐ = you, 好 hǎo = good.
Li Yue👋
你 好 ， 我 叫 Li Yue 。
Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào Lǐ Yuè.
Hello, my name is Li Yue. (Hello, I’m called Li Yue.)
* 叫 jiào = to be called.
🙇您 好 nín hǎo
hello (polite/formal greeting for elders)
* 您 nín is the polite form of 你 nǐ.
🧑🤝🧑你 们 好 nǐ men hǎo
hello (greeting for a group of people)
* 们 men makes a pronoun plural: 你 们 nǐ men = you (plural).
👥大 家 好 dà jiā hǎo
hello, everyone (greeting for a group of people)
* 大 家 dà jiā = everyone.
The words inside the greetings
👍好 hǎo
good, well
*
你 好 ！
Nǐ hǎo!
Hello! (Hello to you!)
🙇您 nín
you (polite)
*
您 好 ！
Nín hǎo!
a polite hello (Hello to you!)
🧑🤝🧑你 们 nǐ men
you (plural)
*
你 们 好 ！
Nǐ men hǎo!
Hello, everyone! (You all, hello!)
👥大 家 dà jiā
everyone
*
大 家 好 ！
Dà jiā hǎo!
Hello, everyone! (Everyone, hello!)