声调 (shēng diào) — (noun) tone (the pitch contour of a Chinese syllable); (noun) tone of voice; intonation

Definition

声调 is the pitch contour of a Chinese syllable — the four tones of Mandarin. For tone of voice or intonation (how someone sounds), use 语气; 声调 refers specifically to lexical pitch, not the speaker's attitude.

noun
tone (the pitch contour of a Chinese syllable)tone of voiceintonation
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 声调声调
    Hàn yǔ yǒu sì gè shēng diào, měi gè shēng diào dōu dài biǎo bù tóng de yì si.
    Chinese has four tones, and each tone represents a different meaning.
  • 声调
    Xué shēng diào de shí hou yí dìng yào duō tīng lì zi.
    When learning the tones, be sure to listen to many examples.
  • 声调
    Tā de shēng diào hěn zhǔn, yì tīng jiù zhī dào shì běi fāng rén.
    His tones are very accurate; you can tell he's from the north just by listening.

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