Tone Lesson 8 – Chinese Tone Change Rule: Half 3rd Tone (1)

Mandarin Chinese Third Tone: Three Pronunciations

So far we've learned the Original Full Third Tone, the Third Tone changed into the Second Tone, and today's lesson is about Half Third Tone. The way to pronounce them is shown in the picture below:

No.1 - The Original Full Third Tone: starts semi-high, dips down and then goes up again.
No.2 - Third Tone becomes Second Tone: it becomes the Second Tone.
No.3 - Half Third Tone: the second half of the Full Third Tone is not pronounced. It's short and low, but you can still hear a little dipping down.

Why Do We Have the Half Third Tone

Just like all other Mandarin Chinese Tone rules, we have the Half Third Tone to avoid difficult pronunciation. And just like two Third Tones are difficult to pronounce, when the Third Tone goes before other Tones, it is just as challenging. So when the Third Tone goes before the First, the Second or the Fourth Tone, we don't pronounce the second half of the Third Tone. Instead, we start semi-high, and just dip down. When you hear it, the Half Third Tone is very low and short, but not as light or vague as the Neutral Tone. That is why the Half Third Tone is also called the Mandarin Low Tone.