Today's episode is a brief introduction to the four tones in Mandarin Chinese. We will explore how beginners can use numbers to practise tonal pronunciation on their own. We will discuss why tones can be both easy and difficult for leaners and how important it is to get the tones right. 

Today's episode is about how to form and ask basic questions in Mandarin Chinese especially when you are just getting started. You don't feel confident enough to do most of the talking, yet want to take the opportunity to gain exposure and practise. Sometimes it's not even about how to say something, and more to do with what to say when you finally are face to face with a native. Asking questions will give your conversation partner a reason to respond, asking the right questions will get them to want to respond. Let's see how it works! 

In today's episode we dive straight into numbers and its basic applications in day to day conversations in Mandarin Chinese. Counting in Chinese is simple, straightforward and logical. 

If you are a beginner, imagine your vocabulary is the brand new bank account that you just opened. Numbers are the first big deposit you can add to it. Once you learn how to say 1 to 10, you can count to 99. 

We will also go into how numbers can immediately help expand your vocabulary in telling date and time. For instance, with number 1-12, you add "月"yuè" (month) to form the 12 months of the year, or "点 diǎn" (o'clock) to form the 12 hours of the day. 

Once you get familiar with the numbers, they are also great at helping you practise tonal pronunciation, without the pressure of drawing something from your memory or the demand of sentence formation.