Tones in Minnan phrasebook
Like other varieties of Chinese, Minnan is tonal; tones must be correct in order to convey the correct meaning. Tone sandhi is particularly common and non-standardised in Minnan, which makes it a little harder to learn than Mandarin, where tone sandhi is standardised, and Cantonese, where tone sandhi is used sparingly.
The following table shows the values of the different tones in some places, and does not show the pronouncation of the tones or tone sandhi of many areas, but may give an idea of the approximate values.
Tones of Minnan
| Number |
Name |
POJ |
Pitch |
Description |
After tone sandhi
|
|---|
| 1 |
yin level |
a |
55 |
high |
7
|
| 2 |
yin rising |
á |
51 |
falling |
1
|
| 3 |
yin departing |
à |
31~21 |
low falling |
2
|
| 4 |
yin entering |
ah |
32 |
mid stopped |
2 (h final), 8 (otherwise)
|
| 5 |
yang level |
â |
14~24 |
rising |
3 (Taipei), 7 (Tainan)
|
| 6 |
yang rising |
á |
51 |
falling |
1
|
| 7 |
yang departing |
ā |
33 |
mid |
3
|
| 8 |
yang entering |
a̍h |
4 |
high stopped |
3 (h final), 4 (otherwise)
|
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