Tones, pinyin & first Hanzi

The four tones

Classic mā / má / mǎ / mà set — same syllable, different pitch.

• Tone 1

  First tone

  High and level

  妈

  mā

  mom

• Tone 2

  Second tone

  Rising (like a question)

  麻

  má

  hemp

• Tone 3

  Third tone

  Dip low, then rise

  马

  mǎ

  horse

• Tone 4

  Fourth tone

  Sharp falling

  骂

  mà

  scold

Pinyin map

Initials and finals that write Mandarin sounds in Latin letters.

• labials

  b p m f

  Like English, unaspirated vs aspirated

• dentals

  d t n l

  t is aspirated; d is not

• velars

  g k h

  g is soft — closer to a plain "k" without puff

• palatals

  j q x

  Only before i/ü sounds — q is "ch"-like

  e.g. 七 qī

• retroflex

  zh ch sh r

  Tongue tip curled back

  e.g. 是 shì

• dental sibilants

  z c s

  c is like "ts" with a puff of air

• finals

  a o e i u

  These vowels carry the tone mark

• ü

  ü

  Round lips like "ee" — written as u after j q x

  e.g. 女 nǚ

Stroke-order rules

• 十

  Horizontal before vertical

  When strokes cross, write the left-to-right stroke first, then the top-to-bottom stroke.

  十: horizontal first, then vertical.

• 人

  Left before right

  Write the left part of a character before the right part. Person radicals (亻) come first.

  人: left-falling stroke, then right-falling stroke.

• 三

  Top before bottom

  Build from the top down. Hats, lids, and upper frames come first.

  Write horizontals from top to bottom.

• 口

  Outside before inside

  Close a box after writing what is inside — except for the bottom stroke of 口-like frames.

  For empty 口: left, then top+right, then bottom last.

• 人

  Left-falling before right-falling

  When 撇 (left-falling) and 捺 (right-falling) meet, write the left-falling stroke first.

  人 opens with the left-falling stroke.

First characters

Six simple Hanzi before greetings compounds.

• 一

  yī

  one

  A single horizontal stroke — the simplest character.

• 二

  èr

  two

  Two horizontals; the bottom stroke is a little longer.

• 三

  sān

  three

  Three horizontals — middle one is the shortest.

• 人

  rén

  person

  Looks a bit like a person walking.

• 大

  dà

  big

  Like 人 with arms stretched out on a horizontal.

• 口

  kǒu

  mouth

  A simple open square — left, then top+right, then bottom.