How to Add EMPHASIS in Chinese (Don’t Change the Tones!)

Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language. When you alter the tone of a word, it affects the meaning.

This simple fact raises an important question:

"If you can’t change the pitch movement... then how do you place emphasis on certain words in a sentence to express emotion or make an important point?"

In this video we break down a number of real examples to show you exactly how it works for each of the four tones!

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How to Add Emphasis in Chinese (Key Takeaways from the Video Above)

In Mandarin Chinese, there are three main ways to emphasise a syllable.

1. Make the syllable longer:

Draaaag out the vowel sound.

2. Make the syllable louder:

Increase the volume.

3. Pronounce the tone of the syllable clearly/fully:

If it’s a first tone, make it really clear that the pitch is high and flat.

If it’s a second tone, make it clear that it’s rising.

If it’s a third tone... well, we know that in natural speech the third tone is often pronounced as a low tone but when you emphasize a 3rd tone syllable, the pitch often moves down a little and then rises (i.e. a "full third tone").

If it’s a fourth tone, make it clear that it starts high and falls.

**When placing emphasis on a word or phrase that has more than one syllable, native speakers either:**

Place more emphasis on one of the syllables than the other(s)

or...

Place roughly the same amount of emphasis on both/all the syllables.

Note: Even if a particular syllable in an emphasized word is made longer or louder than the others, the tones on all the syllables tend to be pronounced clearly.