How to Speak 1 to 10 in Chinese

The 1.3 billion people of China speaks many different dialects, or variations of Mandarin, which is one of the most popular languages in the country. Counting in Mandarin requires practicing the sounds and pitch of each word. Listen to native speakers for the most accurate and correct pronunciations.

Instructions

1. Master the four inflections or pitches used in Mandarin Chinese. Learn each spoken word with the correct pitch. Assign the pitches a number, 1 to 4.

2. Remember the Pitch 1 as steady with no fluctuations. Note that Pitch 2 has an upward rise in tone while Pitch 3 rises and falls in the same word. Think of Pitch 4 as the most emphatic and abrupt. Compare it to the pitch of an angry "No!"

3. Make the sound "yee" with Pitch 1 for the word "one." Sound an elongated "urr" with Pitch 4 for the word "two."

4. Say "three" and "four" as "sahn" and "ssuh" respectively. Make a hissing sound followed by "uh" when speaking "ssuh" ("four"). Use Pitch 1 with both sahn and ssuh.

5. Use Pitch 3 when forming the sound for "five." Pronounce "woo" as one syllable with the quick rise and fall of the pitch. Say "lyo" for "six" with the emphasis of Pitch 4.

6. Form the sounds for "seven," "eight," and "nine," by saying "chee," "bah," and "jyo." Say "ten" as "shi. Use Pitch one for all four.

7. Create numbers up to 99 by first saying the number of the tens place. Add the number of the ones place to create the two-digit number. Use the correct pitch for each syllable.