A Beginner’s Experience of Chinese Tones

Please note that this article uses Simplified Chinese characters, which some devices may not be able to support. Click here to access a version of the article which uses Pinyin instead.

你好！ The other day I was watching a film with my parents – Hidden Strike. You may have heard of it, it’s on Netflix, and, at time of writing, it’s ranked in the top 20. There’s an interesting scene in the film, where it emerges that one of the protagonists, a stereotypical-looking action antihero, played by WWE wrestler John Cena, can speak Chinese. His new-found companion, played by martial arts legend Jackie Chan, then asks him where he learned to speak the language. Cena replies “上海市，死人安排公司” – In Shanghai, at the funeral parlour. Continue reading →