轻声
Some syllables are said short and light, and carry no tone mark
Structure
你们 · 好吗 · 谢谢 → short, light, no tone mark
What it means
Some syllables have no tone of their own: they are said short and light (轻声, the neutral tone) and carry no tone mark.
How it is built
Full-tone syllable + light syllable, written with no mark: 你们 nǐmen, 谢谢 xièxie, 妈妈 māma, and 吗: 你们好吗？ (How are you all?)
When to use it
Common light syllables: 们, 吗, and the second half of 谢谢, 妈妈, 爸爸. The pitch depends on the syllable before: a little higher after a 3rd tone (nǐmen, wǒmen), lower after the others (tāmen, xièxie).
Watch out
Don't give 们 or 吗 a full tone: it makes 你们 sound like two separate words. ✗ nǐ mén ✓ nǐmen. Keep the light syllable short and quick.
Examples
你们好吗？
How are you all? nǐmen hǎo ma: 们 and 吗 are light
谢谢！
Thank you! xièxie: the second xie is light
我们、你们、他们
wǒmen, nǐmen, tāmen: 们 is always light
Learn this in 启蒙 · Lesson 2: 你们好 (Reading pinyin)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. This lesson is free.
Open the lesson →