Tone Lesson 12 – The Neutral Tone (2)
CHINESE NEUTRAL TONE: THIRD TONE + NEUTRAL TONE
Last time we practiced the Neutral Tone, and we already know that the Third Tone in front of the Neutral Tone is pronounce in the Half Third Tone. However, it is not always the case. The Third Tone in front of the Neutral Tone is sometimes pronounced in the Second Tone. In today's lesson, we'll discuss the Third Tone + the Neutral Tone and practice some Tone Pairs.
Three Ways to Pronounce The Third Tone
There are three ways in total to pronounce the Third Tone. As shown in the picture, (1) The original Full Third Tone (2) Third Tone becomes Second Tone (3) The Half Third Tone.
The Third Tone in Front of The Neutral Tone
Remember the Neutral-tone syllable already has an Original Tone that gets neutralized in certain situation? Its original Tone decides the pronunciation of the Third Tone in front of it. There are only two situations, as shown in the picture below. No.1 When the original Tone of the Neutral-tone syllable is the Third Tone, the Third Tone in front of it becomes the Second Tone; No.2 When the Neutral-tone syllable is originally in the First, the Second or the Fourth Tone, the Third Tone in front of it is pronounced in the Half Third Tone.
Tone Drills: The Third Tone + Neutral Tone
NO.1 Third Tone becomes Second Tone
Syllable-2 is originally in the Third Tone.
| PINYIN | 汉字 | TONE CHANGE |
|---|---|---|
| xiǎng xiang (xiǎng) | 想想 | xiáng xiang |
| děng deng (děng) | 等等 | déng deng |
| hǎo hao (hǎo) | 好好 | háo hao |
| jiǎng jiang (jiǎng) | 讲讲 | jiáng jiang |
NO.2 Third Tone becomes Half Third Tone
Syllable-2 is originally in the First, the Second or the Fourth Tone, which is marked in the parentheses "( )".
| PINYIN | 汉字 | TONE CHANGE |
|---|---|---|
| yǎn jing (jīng) | 眼睛 | yǎnhalf jing |
| lǎo po (pó) | 老婆 | lǎohalf po |
| dǎ suan (suàn) | 打算 | dǎhalf suan |
Neutral Tones in Sentences
All Neutral Tones are marked in red and underlined.
| 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| bà ba mā ma mǎi dōng xi qù le | ||
| 爸爸妈妈买东西去了。 | ||
| (My) parents went shopping. |
| 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| tā de jiě jie chuān zhe hóng qún zi | ||
| 她的姐姐穿着红裙子。 | ||
| Her big sister is wearing a red dress(skirt). |
| 3 | ||
| wǒ men dǎ suan hǎo hao xiǎng xiang | ||
| 我们打算好好想想。 | ||
| We plan to seriously think about it. |
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