Meaning of 四声
四声 means the four tones in classical Chinese: level, rising, departing, and entering; the four tones in Modern Standard Mandarin: high level, rising, falling-rising, and falling. Pronounced sì shēng.
- the four tones in classical Chinese: level, rising, departing, and entering
- the four tones in Modern Standard Mandarin: high level, rising, falling-rising, and falling
- tones; tonal categories of Chinese characters (in general)
Definitions & Examples
Zhōng中
gǔ古
Hàn汉
yǔ语
de的
sì四
shēng声
bāo包
kuò括
píng平
、
shǎng上
、
qù去
、
rù入
。
The four tones in Middle Chinese include level, rising, departing, and entering.
Sì四
shēng声
bā八
bìng病
shì是
Qí齐
Liáng梁
shí时
qī期
fā发
xiàn现
de的
zhòng重
yào要
shī诗
gē歌
guī规
zé则
。
The 'four tones and eight defects' were important prosodic rules discovered during the Qi and Liang dynasties.
Gǔ古
dài代
sì四
shēng声
dào到
xiàn现
dài代
Pǔ普
tōng通
huà话
fā发
shēng生
le了
hěn很
dà大
de的
biàn变
huà化
。
The ancient four tones underwent tremendous changes when developing into Modern Standard Mandarin.