Tone Lesson 7 – The Third Tone – Three Third Tones in a Row
THE THIRD TONE: PRONUNCIATION 2 - MANDARIN THREE THIRD TONES IN A ROW
There are three ways to pronounce the Chinese Third Tone:
- Original Full Third Tone Lesson 5
- Third Tone becomes Second Tone Lesson 6 Lesson 7
- Half Third Tone Lesson 8 Lesson 9
We already know that when there are two Third Tones in a row, the first one changes into the Second Tone. This type of Tone change is called Chinese Tone Sandhi. What if there are three Third Tones in a row? To decide its pronunciation, we need to know the meaning and structure of the phrase. But if you are a beginner, you can also practice with the video to get used to the Chinese Tone change rules
Chinese Tone Sandhi: Mandarin Three Third Tones in A Row
Chinese Tone Sandhi refers to the situation where the Tone of a syllable gets changed or modified because of its neighboring syllables. So in Chinese Tone Sandhi are basically the commonly shared Chinese Tone change rules. However, the Tone only changes when speaking, we will still write it as the original Tone.
Mandarin Three Third Tones in a row is one of the many Chinese Tone change rules, and probably deserves the most attention. It is crucial if you want to sound native.
How to Pronounce "Mandarin Three Tones in A Row"
Two Chinese Tone Change Rules
There are only two ways to pronounce Mandarin Three Tones in A Row. The two pictures below display the two Chinese Tone change rules:
Three Types of Three Third Tones Structure
There are three different ways for three Third-Tone syllables to be put together, as shown in the chart below. We need some vocabulary and grammar skills to analyze the structure and decide the Chinese Tone change rules here. But nothing too advanced.
| I | II | III |
|---|---|---|
| A B C | (A B) + C | A + (B C) |
| jiǔ jiǔ jiǔ | yǎn jiǎng gǎo | xiǎo lǎo hǔ |
| 九九九 | 演讲稿 | 小老虎 |
| nine nine nine | speech paper | little tiger |
| jiú jiú jiǔ | yán jiáng gǎo | xiǎo láo hǔ |
In Situation I, three number "nine" are equally put together, the first two syllables both change into the Second Tone.
In Situation II, (syllable A + B) is a word, and it modifies syllable C. Both (syllable A + B) change into the Second Tone.
In Situation III, syllable A is a word, and it modifies (syllable B + C). Only syllable B changes into the Second Tone. Also, syllable A in this situation is actually pronounced in the Half Third Tone, which we'll discuss in the next lesson.
Mandarin Three Third Tones in A Row – ChineseTone Sandhi Drills
SITUATION I
| A + B + C | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PINYIN | CHINESE | ENGLISH | CHINESE TONE SANDHI |
| shuǐ huǒ tǔ | 水火土 | water, fire, earth | shuí huó tǔ |
| jiǎ yǐ bǐng | 甲乙丙 | A,B,C; 1,2,3; I, II, III | jiá yí bǐng |
| mǎ gǒu hǔ | 马狗虎 | horse, dog, tiger | má góu hǔ |
| wěn zhǔn hěn | 稳准狠 | steady, accurate, firm | wén zhún hěn |
SITUATION II
| (A B) + C | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PINYIN | CHINESE | ENGLISH | CHINESE TONE SANDHI |
| guǎn lǐ zǔ | 管理组 | management team | guán lí zǔ |
| zhǎn lǎn guǎn | 展览馆 | exhibition hall | zhán lán guǎn |
| yǒng yuǎn hǎo | 永远好 | always good | yóng yuán hǎo |
| shǒu xiě tǐ | 手写体 | handwriting form | shóu xié tǐ |
SITUATION III
| A + (B C) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PINYIN | CHINESE | ENGLISH | CHINESE TONE SANDHI |
| hěn yǒng gǎn | 很勇敢 | very brave | hěn yóng gǎn |
| mǐ lǎo shǔ | 米老鼠 | Mickey Mouse | mǐ láo shǔ |
| mǎi shǒu biǎo | 买手表 | to buy watch | mǎi shóu biǎo |
| hǎo yǐng xiǎng | 好影响 | good influence | hǎo yíng xiǎng |
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