Lesson 1

The 4 tones

mā highish tone, flat
maÌ? rising tone
mǎ falling then rising tone
mà falling tone

wǒ I
nÇ? you

nÇ?haÌŒo Hello (any time of day; formal and informal)
zaijian Bye
yi huir jian See you later

xìe xie Thank you
bukeqi Often spoken in reply to xìe xie, with the meaning 'no problem!'

nÇ? shuoÌ„ yÄ«ngwén ma ? Do you speak english ?

duìbuÌ€qÇ? Sorry

nÇ?hao ma ? How are you ?
wǒ (ye) hen hao I'm fine

nÇ? jiaÌ€o shénme ? What is your name?
wǒ jiào John Smith My name is John Smith

shà Yes
bu No

duì That's right / of course !