How to Count to Ten in Mandarin Chinese

Counting to ten in Mandarin is a good start to learning Chinese.

Ever wanted to speak Mandarin Chinese? Counting is a good place to start to learn the five different tones. It's as easy as yi, er, san.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Start by learning the five tones used in Mandarin: the first tone (flat and high), the second tone (inflection goes up), the third tone (inflection dips), the fourth tone (inflection goes down, hard and fast) and the fifth tone (or no tone at all, no inflection, quick). The words you will learn here are written out in pinyin, or a form of romanization used to show what sound the actual Chinese characters represent.

2. Number One: Yi (sounds like "Eee"). This is a first tone as symbolized by a dash (-) over the letter 'i'. Say the word "he" taking off the "h" sound and hold it for as long as you can. Keep the inflection steady and in your upper register.

3. Two: Er (Sounds like "Are"). This is a fourth tone (symbolized by a / over the letter "E"), which inflects downward. Say it like a pirate would, but keep it short.

4. Three: San (Sounds like "Sawn"). Like Yi, this is a first tone, with the dash over the "a." Hold it out and keep it high.

5. Four: Si (sounds like the "so" of "soot") Use the fourth tone again. Remember to keep it short and fast. If you give this a third tone by accident, the word changes from "four" to "death," so be careful.

6. Five: Wu (sounds like "Oooh"). A third tone (symbolized by a u-shape above the letter "u'), "wu" is pronounced deeply. Make sure your voice starts mid-range, then dives deeply into a bass sound, then comes back up.

7. Six: Liu (sounds like "Leo"). Liu uses a fourth tone, with a \\ over the "i". Make it fast and hard--as if you were mad.

8. Seven: Qi (sounds like "Chee"). Seven uses the first tone with a - over the 'i'. Extend your voice and keep it on one high note.

9. Eight: Ba (sounds like "Baw"). First tone with the - over the "a."

10. Nine: Jiu (sounds like Joe). Use the third tone, as indicated by the u-shape over the "i." Dip your voice down low and bring it back up.

11. Ten: Shi (sounds like "Sure"). This is a second tone, symbolized by a / over the "i." Start your voice down low and bring it up as if you were sliding up a slide with sound effects. Note: In some areas, specifically Taiwan, the accent will make this sound like the number four, so the only thing you will have to go on is the tone in terms of deciding which number it is.

12. Practice, practice, practice. And if you can, find a CD at the library with basic Mandarin instruction on it; surely it will have a section on counting. The more you listen to and mimic the sounds you hear, the easier it will become.

Resources

• NCiku: Chinese Characters and Pinyin Dictionary