Pinyin, the four tones & basic sounds
Chinese does not use an alphabet. To read the sounds, we use pinyin — Roman letters that show how a word is said. In this lesson you will learn pinyin, the four tones, and a few basic sounds.
妈 麻 马 骂
mā má mǎ mà
እናት፣ ሄምፕ፣ ፈረስ፣ መገሰጽ
你好
nǐ hǎo
ሰላም
谢谢
xiè xie
አመሰግናለሁ
咖啡
kā fēi
ቡና
再见
zài jiàn
ደህና ሁን
在市场，阿贝贝看见阿尔玛兹。他说：“你好！” 阿尔玛兹笑着说：“你好！” 他们一起喝咖啡。阿贝贝说：“谢谢。” 然后他说：“再见。”
When two 3rd tones meet, the first one is said like a 2nd tone. So "nǐ hǎo" (hello) is really said "ní hǎo". Listen and copy — the tone is as important as the letters.
Check your understanding
1/9 · 98 XPListen and choose the word you hear.
No audio on this device — the word is shown below
你好