In this episode, we’ve learned how to say “what is this?” and “what is that?”.
(These show notes use tables and rich formatting. Please visit the episode webpage for an optimal viewing experience.)
| TAIWANESE | ENGLISH |
| He sī siánn(-mih)? | What is that? |
| Tse sī siánn(-mih)? | What is this? |
| He | That |
| Tse | This |
| sī | To be (is/am/are, was/were); it is |
| siánn | what |
| siánn-mih | what |
| tshài-tshī-á | traditional market |
| Tse sī “tāu-ki” | This is “tāu-ki” (a sweet, orange or reddish condiment made out of wheat gluten) |
| ô-á-tsian | oyster omelette |
| tshang-á-piánn | scallion pancake |
| muê | rice porridge, congee |
*Syllables that require tone changes are greyed out.
TONE 1, PLEASE SIT DOWN, OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND SAY “AHHHHHHH”
Tone 1 is a High Flat tone. It starts high in your voice and then is held flat over the length of the syllable. Think of a doctor telling you to open your mouth and say “Ahhhhhhh”.
Tone 1 syllables are written without any tone mark and do not end in -p, -t, -k, or -h.
We’ve learned a few words that are Tone 1:
“tse” (this)
“he” (that)
“tsin” (really, truly)
“sing” (first)
We encourage you to relisten and pay special attention to the high flat melody of “tse” and “he”. You can also check out our workbook for some exercises on Tone 1.
If you want to know what tones the other syllables have changed to, we’ve marked them for you in our downloadable workbook. You'll also find additional vocabulary with characters, pronunciation notes, grammar explanations, culture tips, and fun exercises to help your practice. Go check it out!
Music Credit: TeknoAXE
Hey, I got a question: You greyed out ‘Tse sī’ and ‘He sī’ but when you said these words they maintained their original tone. Shouldn’t they be written in black then? I love your work but it’s just a little confusing because I want to be able to remember the correct tones and tone changes but not always have to listen to the episode again.
Hi Matthias!
You’re correct. ‘Tse’ and ‘He’ should be in their original tone 1 and in black. Thanks for pointing out the error!