This is part 2 of a series on common Chinese words that can easily get mixed up.
These words are made up of the exact same sounds... but they have different tones.
Press play to see what I mean 🙂
Want to Master Chinese Tones?
Summary of this video lesson
xián 咸: salty
xiān 鲜: fresh
Dialogue 1: “This fruit juice is so fresh”
Customer:
guǒ zhī tài xián le！
果汁太咸了！
This fruit juice is so salty!
Waitress:
shén me!?
什么!?
What?!
Customer:
guǒ zhī tài xián le！
果汁太咸了！
This fruit juice is so salty!
Waitress:
hú shuō bā dào！
胡说八道！
Nonsense!
The Correct Tones
Customer:
guǒ zhī tài xiān le！
果汁太鲜了！
This fruit juice is so fresh!
Waitress:
xiè xiè！
谢谢！
Thank you!
duō sòng nǐ yī bēi guǒ zhī.
多送你一杯果汁。
Here is another glass juice for you.
yǎn jīng 眼睛: eyes
yǎn jìng 眼镜: glasses
Dialogue 2: “My glasses are broken"
Customer:
wǒ de yǎn jīng huài le.
我的眼睛坏了。
My eyes are broken.
Waitress:
jiù hù chē，zhè lǐ yǒu jǐn jí qíng kuàng！
救护车，这里有紧急情况！
We need an ambulance, there is an emergency here!
The Correct Tones
Customer:
wǒ de yǎn jìng huài le.
我的眼镜坏了。
My glasses are broken.
Waitress:
méi shì， wǒ huì xiū.
没事，我会修。
It's okay, I can fix it for you.
bǎo bǎo 宝宝: baby
bāo bāo 包包: bag
Dialogue 3: “Someone took my bag!”
Customer:
zāo le！ yǒu rén ná le wǒ de bǎo bǎo！
糟了！有人拿了我的宝宝！
Oh no! Someone took my baby!
Waitress:
tiān a！bǎo ān，zhè lǐ yǒu zhuàng kuàng！
天啊！保安，这里有状况！
OMG! Security guard, we got a situation here!
The Correct Tones
Customer:
zāo le！ yǒu rén ná le wǒ de bāo bāo！
糟了！有人拿了我的包包！
Oh no! Someone took my bag!
Waitress:
bù yòng dān xīn，nǐ de bāo bāo zài zhè lǐ！
不用担心，你的包包在这里！
Don't worry, your bag is here!
Customer:
tài hǎo le，xiè xiè！
太好了，谢谢！
That's great, thank you!
Waitress:
bù kè qì！
不客气！
You're welcome!
xiōng máo 胸毛: chest hair
xióng māo 熊猫: panda
Dialogue 4: “I like the panda”
Customer:
wǒ xǐ huan xiōng máo.
我喜欢胸毛。
I like the chest hair.
Waitress:
bǎo ān，zhè lǐ yǒu zhuàng kuàng！
保安，这里有状况！
Security guard, we got a situation here!
The Correct Tones
Customer:
wǒ xǐ huan xióng māo.
我喜欢熊猫。
I like the panda.
Waitress:
sòng gěi nǐ.
送给你。
It's for you.
Customer:
xiè xiè！
谢谢！
Thank you!
Waitress:
bù kè qì！
不客气！
You're welcome!
kāi chuáng 开床: open the bed
kāi chuāng 开窗: open the window
Dialogue 5: “Could you open the window?”
Customer:
kě yǐ kāi chuáng ma？
可以开床吗？
Could you open the bed?
Waitress:
shén me？
什么？
What?
Customer:
kě yǐ kāi chuáng ma？
可以开床吗？
Could you open the bed?
Waitress:
bù hǎo yì sī，wǒ méi tīng míng bái.
不好意思，我没听明白。
I’m sorry, but I didn’t catch that.
Customer:
a?!
啊?!
Ah?!
The Correct Tones
Customer:
kě yǐ kāi chuāng ma？
可以开窗吗？
Could you open the window?
Waitress:
hǎo de.
好的。
Yes.
Want to Master Chinese Tones?