Lesson 2: Intro to Tones

One of biggest reasons why people shy away from Chinese is because of its tones.  They hear terrifying stories you can accidentally call your mother a horse if you are not careful.

According to my adventures, tones really are not to be too feared for three important reasons:

1. Context: Don't you think you would know whether you were referring to a horse or your mother? 
2. Like anything, it is entirely possible to train your ear and mouth to say them well with enough practice and dedication.
3. Plus, there's already so much to worry about in life, and tones should not add to that pile.

So even if at first you have some trouble with your tones, your listeners will be forgiving for both the first reason and the fact that it is to be expected that a beginner will have a hard time with tones.  So make sure that you keep working on tones, but don't let that discourage you.  

Alright, Chinese has five tones.  They look like this (some people say this looks like a ride along a mountain):

_  /  \/  \

Notice that I only drew 4 lines instead of 5.  The reason is because fifth tone is considered a "neutral tone." I will explain later.  Until then 再见！