The fourth tone begins high and drops quickly.
In addition, there is a fifth, or neutral, tone, which is used for syllables that are not important or completely unstressed.
Please note that in certain syllable combinations the tones can change, but this change is not reflected in the written Pinyin forms.
It may be easier for some students to learn the proper pronunciation of the tones by practicing whole phrases and sentences in Chinese, rather than by just practicing words in isolation. Listen to the online audio carefully, and practice repeating the phrases and sentences exactly as you hear them, over and over again until you start getting it right.
Chinese grammar
The goal of this book is to teach vocabulary and phrases in Mandarin Chinese, allowing students to learn Chinese grammar through induction. That is, students see how the grammar is used in context for communication, and draw conclusions as to grammar rules from these observations. Having said that, here are a few quick notes on Chinese grammar to get you oriented.
Generally, Chinese sentences follow the same subject-verb-object word order as in English. However, unlike English, Chinese lacks articles (a, an, the), verbs never change form (no tenses, etc.), and plurals are not generally used (though there are exceptions).
Two factors that might be puzzling to English speakers are the use of counting words, and the use of particles. The most common counting word is gè 个. It is used to link numbers with the nouns that follow. For example, in Chinese, if you want to say “one person,” you have to say yí gè rén 一个人 (not yì rén 一人). A particle is a small word, like gè 个, which has no meaning in itself, but which is grammatically necessary. The most common particles include de 的 (showing possessive), ma 吗 (a verbal question mark), and le 了 (often used to signify the past tense).
There are surely many other aspects of Chinese grammar that you will notice and learn as you use this book.
How to use this picture dictionary
First, when learning Chinese, it is best to play to your strengths. Focus on what you do best (for example, speaking or reading), and come back and learn the rest later.
Second, as the vocabulary in this book is arranged by theme, it is best to approach this dictionary topically, rather than systematically. Find the topics that are useful or of interest to you, and learn those words first. Third, practice and use the words in context with the conversations and phrases provided.
Fourth, listen to the audio recordings several times and read or say the Chinese words aloud as you look at the pictures. You can also use your finger to trace out the corresponding Chinese characters as you do so. If you have time, practice writing the characters in a notebook or on blank sheets of paper. This will help reinforce your memory of the vocabulary and phrases.
Finally, this picture dictionary should be just a beginning, and not an end. If you find a topic that interests you, use the information in the picture dictionary as a jumping off point to learn more about that topic in Chinese.
The index at the end of the book will help you find the meanings of words you have learned, but which you may have forgotten. The following information is included for each entry—the English word, the Chinese word in simplified Chinese and spelled in Pinyin, the lesson number and the order in which the word appeared in that lesson, followed by the page number where the word appears. For example:
| English word | Chinese word | Pinyin | Lesson and order | Page in book |
| a brief moment | 一段时间 | yí duàn shí jiān | [15-30] | 39 |
The free online audio contains recordings by native Mandarin speakers reading all the vocabulary and sentences, so students can quickly acquire the correct pronunciation. A link to download the recordings can be found on page 96.
1
很高兴和您见面！
Hěn gāo xīng hé nín jiàn miàn!
So nice to meet you!
Additional Vocabulary
23 名 字
míng zi
name
24 姓
xìng
surname
25 您
nín
you (polite)
26 认 识
rèn shí
to know
27 国 籍
guó jí
nationality
28 握 手
wò shǒu
shake hands
29 拥 抱
yōng bào
to hug
30 亲 吻
qīn wěn
to kiss
31 微 笑
wēi xiào
smile
32 招 手
zhāo shǒu
to wave
33 鞠 躬
jū gōng
to bow
34 打个招呼
dǎ gè zhāo hū
to greet
35 开始会话
kāi shǐ huì huà
to start a conversation
36 简短交谈
jiǎn duǎn jiāo tán
to make small talk
37 聊 天
liáo tiān
to chat; to gossip
38 怎么样?