Language and Humor

Chinese Tones

Every syllable of every word in languages like Mandarin Chinese and Thai have pitch patterns that are part of the correct pronunciation and that contrast with other words that have the same consonant and vowel sounds but different tones.

Mandarin | Cantonese

Mandarin / Pu3tong1hua4 普通话 (trad.: 普通話 )

Tones are called sheng1diao4 声调 (traditional: 聲調 ) in Mandarin, or “four tones” si4sheng1 四声 (traditional: 四聲 ).

[IMAGE: Mandarin tone chart]

Mandarin Tones
No. / Diacritic	Name	Contour	Contour Nos.
Source: Numbers for Mandarin tone contours (e.g., “55” for high level) are from the work of linguist Yuen Ren CHAO 趙元任·赵元任 (1892–1982). Before another 3rd-tone syllable, 3rd tone shifts to 2nd tone.
1 (macron)	high level yin1ping2 阴平 (trad.: 陰平 )	starts at very high pitch (5), stays flat (5), long duration	55
2 (acute)	high rising yang2ping2 阳平 (trad.: 陽平 )	starts at medium pitch (3), rises to very high pitch (5)	35
3 (caron)	low falling-rising shang3sheng1 上声 (trad.: 上聲 )	Before a pause or the end of a sentence: starts at low pitch (2), falls to very low pitch (1), and rises to high pitch (4), long duration	214
3 (caron)	low falling-rising shang3sheng1 上声 (trad.: 上聲 )	Before a syllable other than another 3rd tone:^a (half-3rd tone) starts at low pitch (2), falls to very low pitch (1), and stops	21
4 (grave)	high falling qu4sheng1 去声 (trad.: 去聲 )	starts at very high pitch (5), falls quickly to very low pitch (1)	51
5 or 0 (none)	neutral qing1sheng1 轻声 (trad.: 輕聲 )	varies depending on preceding syllable (used with many grammatical words and with endings of many compound words)	varies

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Cantonese / Jyut6jyu5 粵語 (Mandarin: Yue4yu3)

Tones are called sing1diu6 聲調 in Cantonese.

[IMAGE: Cantonese tone chart]

Cantonese Tones (Jyutping System)
No.	Name	Environment	Contour	Contour Nos.
Source: Numbers for Cantonese tone contours (e.g., “55” for high level) are from the work of linguist Yuen Ren CHAO 趙元任·赵元任 (1892–1982). Numbers in [square brackets] are other linguists’ analyses, which may refer to different varieties of Yue (Cantonese). In some areas the 1st tone has two forms: high level (55) and high falling (53). In other areas high falling has merged into high level (55). Words in [square brackets] are the Mandarin pronunciations of the Cantonese tone names.
1	high level^a jam1ping4 陰平 [yin1ping2]^b	when ending in a vowel or nasal (-m, -n, -ng)	starts at very high pitch (5), stays flat (5)	55^a
1	high level^a jam1ping4 陰平 [yin1ping2]^b	when ending in a stop consonant (-p, -t, -k)	starts at very high pitch (5), flat, and ends abruptly with unreleased stop consonant	5
2	high rising jam1soeng5 陰上 [yin1shang4]	only ends in a vowel or nasal (-m, -n, -ng)	starts at medium pitch (3), rises to very high pitch (5)	35 [25, 24]
3	mid level jam1heoi3 陰去 [yin1qu4]	when ending in a vowel or nasal (-m, -n, -ng)	starts at medium pitch (3), stays flat (3)	33 [44]
3	mid level jam1heoi3 陰去 [yin1qu4]	when ending in a stop consonant (-p, -t, -k)	starts at medium pitch (3), flat, and ends abruptly with unreleased stop consonant	3 [4]
4	low falling joeng4ping4 陽平 [yang2ping2]	only ends in a vowel or nasal (-m, -n, -ng)	starts at low pitch (2), falls to very low pitch (1)	21 [11]
5	low rising joeng4soeng5 陽上 [yang2shang4]	only ends in a vowel or nasal (-m, -n, -ng)	starts at low pitch (2), rises to medium pitch (3)	23 [13, 24]
6	low level joeng4heoi3 陽去 [yang2qu4]	when ending in a vowel or nasal (-m, -n, -ng)	starts at low pitch (2), stays flat (2)	22 [33]
6	low level joeng4heoi3 陽去 [yang2qu4]	when ending in a stop consonant (-p, -t, -k)	starts at low pitch (2), flat, and ends abruptly with unreleased stop consonant	2 [3]

Cantonese Tones (Yale System)
No.	Name	Environment	Contour	Contour Nos.
Source: Numbers for Cantonese tone contours (e.g., “55” for high level) are from the work of linguist Yuen Ren CHAO 趙元任·赵元任 (1892–1982). Numbers in [square brackets] are other linguists’ analyses, which may refer to different varieties of Yue (Cantonese). In some areas the 1st tone has two forms: high level (55) and high falling (53). In other areas high falling has merged into high level (55). Words in [square brackets] are the Mandarin pronunciations of the Cantonese tone names.
1	high level^a jam1ping4 陰平 [yin1ping2]^b	when ending in a vowel or nasal (-m, -n, -ng)	starts at very high pitch (5), stays flat (5)	55^a
7	entering high level jam1jap6 陰入 [yin1ru4]	when ending in a stop consonant (-p, -t, -k)	starts at very high pitch (5), flat, and ends abruptly with unreleased stop consonant	5
2	high rising jam1soeng5 陰上 [yin1shang4]	only ends in a vowel or nasal (-m, -n, -ng)	starts at medium pitch (3), rises to very high pitch (5)	35 [25, 24]
3	mid level jam1heoi3 陰去 [yin1qu4]	when ending in a vowel or nasal (-m, -n, -ng)	starts at medium pitch (3), stays flat (3)	33 [44]
8	entering mid level zung1jap6 中入 [zhong1ru4]	when ending in a stop consonant (-p, -t, -k)	starts at medium pitch (3), flat, and ends abruptly with unreleased stop consonant	3 [4]
4	low falling joeng4ping4 陽平 [yang2ping2]	only ends in a vowel or nasal (-m, -n, -ng)	starts at low pitch (2), falls to very low pitch (1)	21 [11]
5	low rising joeng4soeng5 陽上 [yang2shang4]	only ends in a vowel or nasal (-m, -n, -ng)	starts at low pitch (2), rises to medium pitch (3)	23 [13, 24]
6	low level joeng4heoi3 陽去 [yang2qu4]	when ending in a vowel or nasal (-m, -n, -ng)	starts at low pitch (2), stays flat (2)	22 [33]
9	entering low level joeng4jap6 陽入 [yang2ru4]	when ending in a stop consonant (-p, -t, -k)	starts at low pitch (2), flat, and ends abruptly with unreleased stop consonant	2 [3]

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