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Initial Sounds

When you make these sounds, relax the tip of your tongue and place it behind your bottom front teeth.

jiàn见
as in "jeep"
qī七
as in "cheese"
xìng姓
as in "sheep"

的 (de)

In English, we say The doctor’s phone number, but in Chinese, you’d say 医生的电话号码 (yīshēng de diànhuà hàomǎ). 的 (de) is also used after words like 我 (wǒ) and 你 (nǐ) to mean my and your.

我的茶。
wǒ de chá
my tea

你的水。
nǐ de shuǐ
your water

医生的电话号码。
yīshēng de diànhuà hàomǎ
the doctor’s phone number

她的学生。
tā de xuéshēng
her student

Neutral Tone

Syllables without any tone marking are called neutral.

Neutral tone
As in "Uh..." but shorter
呢 ne

我姓李，你呢？
Wǒ xìng lǐ, nǐ ne?
My last name is Li, and yours?

你喝茶吗？
Nǐ hē chá ma?
Do you drink tea?