Grammar Point:
The tones of 一 yi and 不 bù can be very confusing for beginners learning Chinese. Let’s explore them together!”
一 yī
When counting numbers less than 99 or when 一 yī is the last character in a word, it should always be pronounced with the first tone.
1,2,3,41,2,3,4 one, two, three, four
十一點十一点 11 o’clock
第一第一 first
周一周一 Monday
唯一唯一 only
2011年2011年 year of 2011
Exception:
一月一月 January
When 一 yī follows a measure word, counts more than 100, or is the first character in a word, and the following word is in the first tone, second tone, or third tone, it should be pronounced with the fourth tone.
一本書一本书 a book
一百一百 100
一千一千 1000
一起一起 together
一些一些 some
When the following word is in the fourth tone or a neutral tone, 一 yī should be pronounced with the second tone.
一件衣服一件衣服 one piece of clothing
一樣一样 the same
一半一半 half
一萬一万 10000
Special case in China
Yī (一) and qī (七) can sound similar, so in certain situations, 一 can be pronounced as yāo. This happens when giving phone numbers, hotel room numbers, and bus numbers with three digits.
我的房號是123我的房号是123
My room number is 123.
不 bù
不 bù follows the same rules as 一 yī
When the following word is in the first tone, second tone, or third tone, it should be pronounced with the fourth tone.
不好不好 not good
不知道不知道 don’t know
不能不能 not able to
When the following word is in the fourth tone or a neutral tone, 不 should be pronounced with the second tone.
不要不要 don’t want
不會不会 will not
Practice
Try to read the following words:
一 tiān 一 wèi 一 zhī 一 tiáo 一 wàn 一 diǎn 一 tái 一 fēn 一 běn 一 ge 一 bēi 一 dài 一 zhí 一 zhǒng 一 fèn 一 yàng
不 yào 不 xiǎng 不 kěyǐ 不 zhīdào 不 dǒng 不 qù 不 lái 不 shuìjiào 不 xǐhuan 不 fāngbiàn 不 dà 不 xiǎo 不 cháng 不 duǎn 不 pàng 不 shòu 不 néng 不 huì
