My Tones Drift in Chinese Sentences! (How to Fix It)

Welcome back. So we just learned how to use pinyin, the Chinese phonetic system to spell Chinese characters. And we have learned how to count from 1 to 10. Do you still remember? Let's do a quick check. What's this in Chinese? Yes. Yī, èr, sān, sì, wǔ, liù, qī, bā, jiǔ, shí. Not bad. Good job. You practiced, right? I can tell. OK. Now I'm going to challenge you. Can you read them from 1 to 10, but non-stop, like in one sentence? Can you try one time by yourself first? Eh? Is it starting to get harder? Let's try it together. Yī, èr, sān, sì, wǔ, liù, qī, bā, jiǔ, shí. Oh, yeah, it is. Things start to get messy, huh? Don't worry about it. That's a common challenge. So even though you can nail one syllable like a… easy, but once you start to read the full sentence, toes start to drift. Totally normal, man. So, don't worry about it. Today we're going to fix that. Think like this. No matter how long and scary one sentence could be, you can always break them down into words. And Chinese words normally got two syllables. Alright, sometimes three, sometimes one, but most of the time, two syllables. So, once you get a muscle memory, how to read two tones in a flow, then to chaining the words together to make one sentence, it will be much easier. So today let's try some different tone combos, tone pairs. First one. When the high tone meets other tones. First one. Can we try to spell that together? The first initial was this. Yes, a and ke. Ke a. Ka. High tone. Ka. Good. And then this one was this. E was the initial. So together. Fei. High tone. Fei. Then. Same length. Two syllables and the same pitch. Ka. Fei. Ka. Fei. Good job. That is how you say cough in Chinese. And then next pair. I'm going to speed it up a little bit. So, the final. Yin. Initial. Si. Together. Xin. High tone. Xin. And then. Yan. Nian. Rising. Nian. So, together. Xin. Nian. Yes. Xin. Nian. Faster. Xin Nian. Good. That's the speed that you want. Xin Nian. Good. Good job. Xin Nian is a new year. And then. Yi. Ji. Still high. Ji. Ang. Chang. Low. Chang. The highest. Drop. To the lowest. Ji. Chang. Ji. Chang. Faster. Ji. Chang. Ji. Chang. Good. Good job. That is the airport. Next one. E. Che. An. Zhan. Che. Zhan. Faster. Che. Zhan. Che. Zhan. Okay. Che. Zhan. Eh. Good job. That is station. All kinds of station. They are all Che. Zhan. Nice. Okay. Next pair. When rising tone meets other tones. First one. What's this? Yi. No. It's not Yi. It's the fake sign. Remember? So this together is Shi. Yes. And then. Let's make it right. Shi. Yes. And then. Yan. Jian. So. Shi. Jian. Shi. Jian. Good job. If you cannot find the rising feeling, remember motorbike. Okay. Shi. Jian. Good job. Shi jian. Time. Next one. Ying. Good. Ang. Hang. So now we got two rising. It's very important that you keep them in their own length and in their own pitch. Okay. So. Ng. Again. Ng. Always from low to high. Okay. Ying. Hang. Yes. Again. Ying. Hang. Faster. Ying hang. Yes. Next one. Oh. Ying hang is the bank. Next one. Yes. Fake sign. This one is spell. Leaking tire. Si. Rising. Ci. Yes. Ci. Good. And then. Bian. Ci. Bian. Ci. Bian. Yes. Good job. Okay. Good. Faster. Ci. Bian. Without hands. Ci. Bian. Yes. Good job. Dictionary. Ci. Bian. Nice. Next one. An. Lan. O. Se. Lan. Se. Like that. Lan. Se. Faster. Lan. Se. Lan. Se. Good job. Blue. Lan. Se. Nice. Next pair. When low tone meets low tone. Oh. Low tone meets other tones. First one. O. Sho. Yi. Ji. Shou. Ji. Shou. Ji. Yes. Low to high. Big jump. Shou. Ji. Faster. Shou. Ji. Shou. Ji. Without hands. Shou. Ji. Yes. Good job. Shou. Means your hand. Ji. Means machine. What's the machine in your hand? Yes. Your phone. That's how easy Chinese is. And then. Next one. Still. O. Sho. And this pair. Wo. Zhuo. So. Shou. Zhuo. Shou. Zhuo. Nice. Faster. Without hands. Shou. Zhuo. Shou. Zhuo. Good job. Shou. Zhuo. Bracelet. So. Next one. I. Teacher. Did you just made a mistake on your slides? No. I will never. Sometimes. But not today. It's supposed to be low tone, right? Like this. How come I made it rising tone? So. We actually have a rule. So. When two low tone meets together. I actually had on one slide about it. Like. Shou. And then this word. Yao. Right? To say. Shou. Yao. Ugh. So hard. Shou. Yao. And your live sound so low. So down. So. Let's cheer this up. We want a flow. We want things to sound more bright. So we made it into rising tone. The first one into rising tone. So. It changed to. Shou. Yao. Easy, right? Shou. Yao. Shou. Yao. Yes. And your sound more positive. That's very important. So. Shou. Yao. Is a watch. Still on your head. So you still got a shou. And we have other situation like that. Like a. How to say hello in Chinese? Are you saying ni hao? Lots of people say ni hao. It's very, very not correct. Come. Learn. So. Yi. Ni. Ao. Hao. That means good. So. The way Chinese people say hello is to say. Hey. You good? Yeah. So beautiful, right? So beautiful. But. And. We don't want to make it like a. Ni hao. That's too not positive. Let's make it brighter. Ni. Hao. Ni hao. Yes. Sounds nice. At least sounds nice to us. You don't have to agree. We agree to disagree. Sounds better to us. So this is the rule we choose. Okay. Next word. Basically. Any two low tone together. We will make it this way. Like this word. E. Ke. Yi. Ke. Yi. It means okay. So we will make it into. Ke. Yi. Okay. That is. Ke. Yi. Ke. Yi. Right. Different attitude. Different life. Y'all people. So. Remember. Rising down. Ke. Yi. Ni. Hao. Shou. Biao. Good job. And. I recommend you. To put a rising mark. On top of. The original tone. To. Remind yourself. This. Supposed to go up. Okay. Alright. Then let's go back. We have one more combo here. This one. Still. Shou. Good. And then the new one. Ao. Tao. Faster. Tao. Yes. Together. Shou. Tao. Shou. Tao. Good job. Together faster. Without hands. Shou Tao. Yes. You can actually use your head. Shou. Tao. Shou. Tao. Yes. Anyway. Anything that helps. Okay. Shou Tao means go up. Next one. The. Not this one. Talked about rules already. Come on. Okay. When the following tone meets other tones. This. Yan. Mian. Faster. Mian. Yes. And then. Bao. Still high. Bao. So. Mian. Bao. Mian. Bao. Good. Very good. So the first one still Mian. And then this one. Yao. Tiao. Mian. Tiao. Yes. If you cannot find it. Mian. Tiao. Yes. Faster. Mian. Tiao. Mian. Tiao. Yes. Good job. Everybody have to learn how to say noodle. You do not want to miss that. We have so many different noodle in China. You have to try. Okay. Mian. Tiao. Yes. Tell the boss. And next one. Still Mian. And then this word. En. Fen. Mian. Fen. Mian. Fen. Faster. Mian. Fen. Mian. Fen. Good job. So Fen is powder. So flour. Wheat powder. Mian. Fen. Nice. So smart. And then next one. Still Mian. Yes. And then. Bian. Xian. So every time a falling tone meets a falling tone is harder. Rising tone meets a rising tone is harder. Low tone meets low tone change to high tone. High tone is easy. So back to falling tone meets falling tone. Mian. Xian. Yes. Remember back to its own pitch and then drop. Xian. Mian. Xian. Faster. Mian. Xian. Nice. Mian. Xian. Mian. Xian. If you cannot get it, it's totally normal. Don't worry about it. Keep practicing. Okay? Mian. Xian. Faster. Mian. Xian. Mian. Xian. Mian. Xian. Mian. Xian. Mian. Xian. Mian. Because when you get faster, the pitch gets higher. So Mian Xian is filling. Any filling. All kinds of bong, stompling, anything. Filling. Okay? All right. And back to neutral tone. The neutral tone will be a bit different. Right? It depends on the word in front of it. So most of the time, neutral tone always go with other tones. And the best way to practice that is the family member term. You may have heard about it. The family member term is so complicated in Chinese. And there are too many. So today we'll just learn a few. Okay? And then I only choose the one that is with neutral tone for us to practice. So we actually have more family member terms than this. Okay. That's too much. Let's just practice. First, this is a family tree. So let's start from Ai. Me. Ai. Same thing Chinese. Call. Wo. Yes. Wo. Low tone. Wo. Ai. Okay. Then my siblings who are older than me. My older brother would be my e ge ge ge. This pair. Ge ge. Yes. And then my older sister would be this pair. Ye. Here. Ye. Jie. Nice. And then younger brother. Yi. So this pair. Di di. Nice. And then younger sister. Ai. Mei. So. Mei mei. Good job. Okay, I'll read them again together but very fast. Okay? Ge ge. Jie jie. Di di. Mei mei. Ge ge. Jie jie. Di di. Mei mei. I know it's like a song. Ge ge. Jie jie. Di di. Mei mei. Okay? Keep going. And then next one. Oh, from here. My mother would talk about this. Ma. So with a neutral tone would be. Ma ma. Yes. Good job. And then her brothers. We don't think too much about younger. Let's just learn one. One is enough. Okay? So this is. Jiu. So. Jiu jiu. Good. And her sisters. Yi. So this pair. Yi yi. Good. My father. An. Ba. This pair. Ba. Ni. Nice. His brothers. Wu. Shu. Yeah, yeah. Shu shu. Nice. And then his sisters. Wu. Gu. Yeah. And then still this set. Gu gu. Good job. Gu gu job. So read them together one time. Yi yi. Jiu jiu. Ma ma. Ba ba. Shu shu. Gu gu. Okay? Nice. And then my father's parents. Her mother would be. Ao. Lao. Lao lao. Yes, this pair. Lao lao. Nice. And then actually Lao lao is a term from the northern family. But because they are neutral tone, that's what we choose today. Lao lao. And then her father is still. Lao. But the neutral part changed. So this is. Ye. And then a little bit higher because it's this part. Lao ye. Yes. Good job. One second, my cat is here. Hello, you back? And then my father's parents. My father's parents. Ye. So this set. Ye ye. Good. And then. Ai. Nai. Nai nai. Yes. Nai nai. Good job. Okay. Lao lao. Lao ye. Ye ye. Nai nai. Yes. Oh sorry. Ye ye. Nai nai. Good job. Okay. Good job. Look at you. All right. Then. Let's learn some useful phrases in daily life. And most of them got. Two or three syllables. Okay. The first one we talked about it. Not ni hao. Let's do it. Ni hao. Yes. Good job. Ni hao. Okay. If you're talking. If you're talking to somebody that you need to show respect. Like they're older than you. They're your boss. They gives you money. Then you use this word. Ning. It's the respectful way to say. You. Ni. Ning. Okay. Ning hao. Yes. Nice. Good job. And then. This come from English. The same as bye bye. So. We just do. Ai. Bai. Bye bye. Yes. Easy. Or you can do the traditional way. Traditional way. Which would be. Ai. Zai. Yan. Jian. Zai. Jian. Zai jian. It means see you again. Zai jian. More. Now I will give the microphone to you. Can you spell this? Try it. What did you say? I cannot hear you. Louder. Okay. Let's do it together. Xie xie. Did you get it right? Ye. Xie. Xie xie. Yes. It means thanks. If you want to be more genuine like I am. Thank you. Then we say. Xie xie. Ni. Xie xie. Ni. Faster. Xie xie. Ni. Xie xie. Ni. Good. Good job. Or talking to somebody important. Xie xie. Ni. Xie xie. Ni. Yes. Good job. Okay. If other people said thank you to you and you want to say no problem. No need. Or you are welcome. This is how Chinese people do it. We say. Bu. Bu xie. Yeah. It means no thank. No thank means no need. You don't need to thank me. Okay. Bu xie. Yes. Got it. Alright. Or you can say. Bu. E. Ke. Yi. Qi. Yi. And then. Ke. Qi. Bu. Ke. Qi. And faster. Bu. Ke. Qi. Yes. This body language is very helpful. Bu. Ke. Qi. Yes. Good job. Okay. Next set. How to say sorry. We say. Wei. Dui. And then. Wu. Bu. now neutral tone, so bù, duì bù, and then yī, qī, qǐ, duì bù, qǐ, duì bù, qǐ faster, duì bù qǐ, yeah that will make the tone a little bit higher but it's okay because when we talk we have emotions right, duì bù qǐ, duì bù qǐ, yes good job you say duì bù qǐ, duì bù qǐ, duì bù qǐ, duì bù qǐ, duì bù qǐ alright, if somebody said duì bù qǐ to you, you want to say no problem, then this way wān, guān, guān, guān, and then yī, xī, xǐ, méi guān xǐ, yes, méi guān xǐ faster, méi guān xǐ, same as bù kè qǐ, méi guān xǐ, méi guān xǐ, yes anything that has like a no, you can have this, méi guān xǐ, good job alright, next one, let's try again by ourselves, let's try, how to say that, what did you say okay, I'll say it this way, bù hǎo yì sǐ, bù hǎo yì sǐ, why, let's break that down wū bù bù, āo hāo hǎo, yī yì, ss, remember the snake, ss, yes bù hǎo yì sǐ, bù hǎo yì sǐ, bù hǎo yì sǐ, bù hǎo yì sǐ, bù hǎo yì sǐ, yes bù hǎo yì sǐ, this is the tone we should have, bù hǎo yì sǐ, duì bù qǐ, bù hǎo yì sǐ, yeah, and then méi guān xǐ, okay, last one, how to tell them, wait one second we say āo, shāo, shāo, ēng, dēng, děng, yí, yā, xiā, xià, shāo děng yí xià