课堂规则 (Kètáng guīzé) Classroom rules

注意安全 (zhùyì ānquán) Be safe

善待 (shàndài) Be kind

要负责任 (yào fù zérèn) Be responsible

尊重他人 (zūnzhòng tārén) Be respectful of others

做好准备 (zuò hǎo zhǔnbèi) Be prepared

Pinyin is the romanization of Chinese characters.

We use it as a pronunciation guide when learning to read and speak Mandarin.

The sounds are divided into 2 groups: initial sounds and final sounds.

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​拼音

boo (book), po (poor), mo (more), fo (for)
de, te, ne, le, ge, ke, he (huh)
gee, chee, she
dger (dodger), cher (watcher), sher, r
dze, tse, se
yee, wuh

b, p, m, f
d, t, n, l, g, k, h
j, q, x
zh, ch, sh, r
z, c, s
y, w

Initial sounds

vowel sounds (Simple Finals)

a---like ah
e---like uh
i---like ee* (often shortened)
o---like oh
u---like oo
ü---does not exist in English

Try it

read this (Don't worry about tones yet):

Ni hao.
Wo jiao _______(your name)____.
Ni jiao shenme mingzi?

a---like ah
e---like uh
i---like ee
o---like oh
u---like oo
ü---does not exist in English

​Remember, there are 4 main tones in Mandarin.

​Māma qí  mǎ, mǎ màn, māma mà mǎ.
妈妈   骑  马，马  慢，  妈妈   骂   马。

Try the greeting again. THis time with tones.

你好。 我叫……。
Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào……

Nǐ hǎo.
Notice the two 3rd tones? In Chinese, there is a rule called the 3-3 to 2-3 rule. You pronounce it like a 2nd tone and 3rd tone. So it is pronounced like ní hǎo.

Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào...(your name).
Hello. My name is...
Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?
What's your name?
Wǒ jiào...
My name is...

A) 你好。 我叫。。。
A) 你叫什么名字？
B) 我叫。。。

Simple Conversation Practice (zoom)

Other greetings

早上好。Zǎoshang hǎo. (Good morning)

晚上好。Wǎnshang hǎo. (Good evening/afternoon)

Saying "goodbye"

再见。Zàijiàn

​Personal pronouns are easy in Mandarin.
You already know 2 of them!

代词 Dàicí (pronouns)

我 Wǒ
我们 Wǒmen

​

*plural pronouns are created by adding the character 们 "men"

​I/Me
We/Us

你 Nǐ informal "you"
您 Nín formal "you"
你们 Nǐmen "you all"

​
*If the person you are speaking to is of higher social status or a stranger, use the formal form.

you/you all

他 Tā (male)
她 Tā (female)
它 Tā (it)

他们 (them-all male or mixed group)
她们 (them-all female)
它们 (them-not humans)

He/him
she/her
it

How would you ask someone else's name?
Fill in the gaps

Nǐ jiào shénme míng zi?
What's your name?
Wǒ jiào...
My name is...

___ jiào shénme míngzi?
What's _his/her/its_ name?
___ jiào...
_His/her/its_ name is...

How would you ask someone else's name?
Fill in the gaps

Nǐ jiào shénme míng zi?
What's your name?
Wǒ jiào...
My name is...

Tā jiào shénme míngzi?
What's _his/her/its__ name?
Tā jiào...
_his/her/its_ name is...

家庭作业 (homework) Tues-Fri

1. Pronunciation practice. At home, work through the pronunciation guides. Record and listen to yourself. Then check your pronunciation against the digital recordings. https://www.meetmandarin.com/articles/chinese-pronunciation-guide.html

2. Reading aloud. Record yourself reading the short passage aloud and listen to it.  Personal introduction - HSKReading.com .

3. Google classroom reflection: What are 2 new things you learned this week?

4. Optional: Quizlet flashcards and game. https://quizlet.com/_dbl62q?x=1jqt&i=4pp032

Extra: PinYin music videos

pinyin video to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaYp8TsSfA8

link to "Wo xihuan pinyin"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocgsflnEgqY