used after an i, n, or ng, these sounds are dropped altogether, so yī diǎn 一点 (a little) becomes yī diǎnr 一点儿 (pronounced “ee dee-ar”), and xiǎohái 小孩 (child) becomes xiǎoháir 小孩儿 (pronounced “shee-ow-har”). The retroflex /r/ is generally not used in Pinyin or Hanzi in this book. However, since it is so commonly used in northern China, Mandarin learners should be aware of it.
A word of warning: Pinyin is used for romanizing Chinese words, for teaching Chinese to foreigners, and for some signs and restaurant menus, but it is not generally used for communication within China. Since many people on the street may not be able to read Pinyin that well, do not imagine that it can be used as a substitute for Hànzì or a substitute for oral communication.
Tones
Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language. The same syllable can have several different meanings depending on its intonation. As there are four tones, each Chinese syllable usually has at least four different meanings depending on the tone, so you need to learn the tone when you learn the pronunciation of a syllable. Here is an example of the same syllable, but with different tones and different meanings:
| 1st tone | mā 妈 (mother) |
| 2nd tone | má 麻 (hemp) |
| 3rd tone | mǎ 马 (horse) |
| 4th tone | mà 骂 (to curse or to scold someone) |
| 5th (neutral) tone | ma 吗 (question mark or particle) |
The tone of a syllable is commonly written by adding a diacritical mark above the vowel, as shown above. The four tones in Mandarin Chinese can be visualized in the following chart:
The first tone starts high and stays high, like holding a high note when singing.
The second tone begins at a medium pitch, then slowly rises—like you are asking a question in English.
The third tone starts low, drops, and then rises sharply.
The fourth tone begins high and drops quickly.
In addition, there is a fifth, or neutral, tone, which is used for syllables that are not important or completely unstressed.
Please note that in certain syllable combinations the tones can change, but this change is not reflected in the written Pinyin forms.
It may be easier for some students to learn the proper pronunciation of the tones by practicing whole phrases and sentences in Chinese, rather than by just practicing words in isolation. Listen to the online audio carefully, and practice repeating the phrases and sentences exactly as you hear them, over and over again until you start getting it right.
Chinese grammar
The goal of this book is to teach vocabulary and phrases in Mandarin Chinese, allowing students to learn Chinese grammar through induction. That is, students see how the grammar is used in context for communication, and draw conclusions as to grammar rules from these observations. Having said that, here are a few quick notes on Chinese grammar to get you oriented.
Generally, Chinese sentences follow the same subject-verb-object word order as in English. However, unlike English, Chinese lacks articles (a, an, the), verbs never change form (no tenses, etc.), and plurals are not generally used (though there are exceptions).
Two factors that might be puzzling to English speakers are the use of counting words, and the use of particles. The most common counting word is gè 个. It is used to link numbers with the nouns that follow. For example, in Chinese, if you want to say “one person,” you have to say yí gè rén 一个人 (not yì rén 一人). A particle is a small word, like gè 个, which has no meaning in itself, but which is grammatically necessary. The most common particles include de 的 (showing possessive), ma 吗 (a verbal question mark), and le 了 (often used to signify the past tense).
There are surely many other aspects of Chinese grammar that you will notice and learn as you use this book.
How to use this picture dictionary
First, when learning Chinese, it is best to play to your strengths. Focus on what you do best (for example, speaking or reading), and come back and learn the rest later.
Second, as the vocabulary in this book is arranged by theme, it is best to approach this dictionary topically, rather than systematically. Find the topics that are useful or of interest to you, and learn those words first. Third, practice and use the words in context with the conversations and phrases provided.
Fourth, listen to the audio recordings several times and read or say the Chinese words aloud as you look at the pictures. You can also use your finger to trace out the corresponding Chinese characters as you do so. If you have time, practice writing the characters in a notebook or on blank sheets of paper. This will help reinforce your memory of the vocabulary and phrases.
Finally, this picture dictionary should be just a beginning, and not an end. If you find a topic that interests you, use the information in the picture dictionary as a jumping off point to learn more about that topic in Chinese.
The index at the end of the book will help you find the meanings of words you have learned, but which you may have forgotten. The following information is included for each entry—the English word, the Chinese word in simplified Chinese and spelled in Pinyin, the lesson number and the order in which the word appeared in that lesson, followed by the page number where the word appears. For example:
| English word | Chinese word | Pinyin | Lesson and order | Page in book |
| a brief moment | 一段时间 | yí duàn shí jiān | [15-30] | 39 |
The free online audio contains recordings by native Mandarin speakers reading all the vocabulary and sentences, so students can quickly acquire the correct pronunciation. A link to download the recordings can be found on page 96.
1
很高兴和您见面！
Hěn gāo xīng hé nín jiàn miàn!
So nice to meet you!
