{"id":183288,"date":"2015-01-19T22:53:34","date_gmt":"2015-01-20T03:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/practice-chinese-tones\/"},"modified":"2025-02-25T04:18:46","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T09:18:46","slug":"practice-chinese-tones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/chinese\/practice-chinese-tones\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Practice Chinese Tones: 11 Tips to Master Pronunciation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/chinese\/chinese-tones\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chinese tones<\/a> are one of the biggest challenges beginners face when learning Chinese. They determine the meaning of words, so getting the wrong tone could mean saying the wrong thing.<\/p>\n<p>But the good news is, you definitely don\u2019t need to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/chinese\/chinese-for-travel-phrases\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">visit or be in China<\/a> to master them. Let me show you exactly <strong>how to practice Chinese tones using 11 methods.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>What Are the Chinese Tones?<\/h2>\n<p>Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language, which means the tone you use when pronouncing a word changes its meaning.<\/p>\n<p>There are five tones, and they&#8217;re represented by tone marks placed above the vowel that is being stressed or pitched a certain way.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>First tone (Flat)<\/li>\n<li>Second tone (Rising)<\/li>\n<li>Third tone (Falling-Rising)<\/li>\n<li>Fourth tone (Falling)<\/li>\n<li>Fifth tone (Neutral)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here&#8217;s an example of tone marks, sounds and how the tones alter a word&#8217;s meaning:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>\u5988<\/strong> <em>(m\u0101)<\/em> \u2014 mom<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u9ebb<\/strong> <em>(m\u00e1)<\/em> \u2014 numb<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u9a6c<\/strong> <em>(m\u01ce)<\/em> \u2014 horse<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u9a82<\/strong> <em>(m\u00e0)<\/em> \u2014 to scold<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u5417<\/strong> <em>(ma)<\/em> \u2014 question particle<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To an untrained ear, these words can be hard to differentiate.<\/p>\n<p>But luckily, there are several ways you can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/chinese\/improve-chinese-listening\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fine-tune your listening skills<\/a> and learn to recognize tones easily.<\/p>\n<h2>1. Think about how your native language uses pitch<\/h2>\n<p>You may not be a native speaker of a tonal language, but all spoken languages use pitch to distinguish some sort of meaning. If you\u2019re a native English speaker, the pitch of your voice conveys things like whether you\u2019re asking a question or making a statement.<\/p>\n<p>It also shows how sure you are of what you\u2019re saying, and how you feel about it.<\/p>\n<p>Try this: <strong>Say \u201cyes\u201d like you\u2019re absolutely sure you mean it. Now say \u201cYes?\u201d as if you\u2019re not so sure.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Can you hear the difference? Now try doing the same thing, but instead of an English word, say it with a syllable like <em>ma<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Now, click the words to hear how\u00a0<em>m\u00e0<\/em> and <em>m\u00e1 <\/em>are pronounced:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><strong>\u9a82<\/strong> <em>(m\u00e0)<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><strong>\u9ebb<\/strong> <em>(m\u00e1)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Do you hear a resemblance to what you just said? Listen again to the Chinese tones and think about what they sound like to you.<\/p>\n<h2>2. Practice hearing tones with one syllable, then in tone pairs<\/h2>\n<p>There are numerous recordings available that will let you listen to tones. But aside from tone tests in class and the odd one-syllable vocabulary word, you won\u2019t often encounter solitary tones.<\/p>\n<p>So I recommend that, as soon as possible, you <strong>move on to working on hearing tones in longer combinations<\/strong>\u2014at least two syllables long.<\/p>\n<p>Tones sound different in context than they do in isolation. The most dramatic example of this is third tone. <a title=\"5 Best Mandarin Chinese Textbooks for Chinese Learners\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/chinese\/best-chinese-textbooks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chinese textbooks<\/a> universally teach you that the third tone is falling-rising. But\u2014and this is really, really important\u2014<strong>it\u2019s only like that when you say it all by itself,<\/strong> or maybe at the end of a sentence.<\/p>\n<p>In normal speech, the third tone is more often just a low tone.<\/p>\n<p>If you spend too much time training yourself on one-syllable words, you may have a hard time hearing the difference between the second and third tones in context. (I might be speaking from experience on this one).<\/p>\n<p>The best resources for this kind of listening practice\u2014aside from a real, and very patient Chinese speaker, of course\u2014<strong>are\u00a0recordings of real people speaking words or sentences.<\/strong> You\u2019re not trying to learn to speak to a computer, so don\u2019t learn to listen from a synthesized voice.<\/p>\n<p>Even tone-learning apps recorded by real people won\u2019t help you learn what real speech sounds like if they rely on spliced-together syllables.<\/p>\n<h2>3. Identify tones when listening to native Chinese content<\/h2>\n<p>Use listening materials that force you to make a choice. Which tone was it that you just heard? This type of choosing\u2014followed immediately by feedback\u2014helps with learning.<\/p>\n<p>Once you know where you consistently make mistakes, practice listening to those tones and then test yourself again. Eventually, I promise, your brain will begin to sort it out, and you\u2019ll start hearing differences.<\/p>\n<p>The best resources for this are podcasts with transcripts, YouTube videos with subtitles, articles with audio versions and programs like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/chinese\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FluentU<\/a> that add clickable subtitles to Chinese videos. <p><strong>FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/fluentu-learn-language-videos\/id917892175\">the iOS app<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.fluentflix.fluentu&amp;hl=en&amp;gl=US\">Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p><i><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\r\n  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/NativeAd-Chinese.jpg\" alt=\"FluentU Ad\" \/>\r\n  <p style=\"text-align: center\">\r\n    <button class=\"btn-blue\" style=\"border: none;font-size: 18px;text-align: center;padding: 0.75rem 1.5rem;cursor: pointer\">\r\n      Try FluentU for FREE!\r\n    <\/button>\r\n  <\/p>\r\n<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\n<h2>4. Practice pronouncing tones out loud<\/h2>\n<p>So you can hear the difference between all four Mandarin tones now, right? At least sort of, sometimes?<\/p>\n<p>The next trick is to figure out how to say them yourself. If you can already hear the tones, you should know what you\u2019re aiming for.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000\"><strong>Listen and repeat.<\/strong> <\/span>Listening and repeating is a tried and true form of learning to say words in a new language. So don&#8217;t underestimate its effectiveness. Practice repeating after native speakers as often as you can.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Speak slowly at first.<\/strong> When you\u2019re first learning Chinese, you\u2019re training yourself to make all sorts of new sounds. When you\u2019re <a title=\"The World Is Yours: 5 Effective Ways to Learn Chinese by Yourself\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/chinese\/how-to-learn-mandarin-chinese-by-yourself\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">practicing on your own<\/a>, slow things down so you can fit everything in. Once your mouth gets the hang of it, it won\u2019t seem so impossible.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Exaggerate.<\/strong> Use the full range of your voice. Pretend you\u2019re a voice actor telling a story. Sing if you have to! Get your highs up high and your lows down low. You don\u2019t want to sound like this forever, of course, but it may help you get going in the beginning. Oh, but that neutral tone? Don\u2019t exaggerate it at all. In fact, think anti-exaggeration. Aim for short and quick and in the middle, and you\u2019ll probably get it right.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000\">5. Work with a native speaker<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If at all possible, find yourself a native Mandarin speaker who\u2019s willing to give you honest feedback on your pronunciation. Ideally, <strong>find someone who can explain what it is that you\u2019re doing wrong<\/strong>\u2014someone who can tell you that your low tone wasn\u2019t low enough or that your rising tone didn\u2019t really rise far enough.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re having a tough time knowing what to do, or you feel like you get everything wrong, try starting with some simple mimicking\u2014<strong>he or she says a word, and you copy it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sometimes, even though you think you can\u2019t hear what people are doing, you can still mimic them correctly. And once you\u2019ve got that down, you can work from there to build the correct habits.<\/p>\n<p>You can find native speakers on language exchange apps like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hellotalk.com\/?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HelloTalk<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandem.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tandem<\/a>, or online tutoring platforms like <a href=\"https:\/\/italki.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">italki<\/a>. You can check out our full, in-depth reviews of these apps here:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"daF1oo5kMV\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/reviews\/hellotalk\/\">HelloTalk Review: Valuable Tool for Language Learners But Matchmaking Could be Improved<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;HelloTalk Review: Valuable Tool for Language Learners But Matchmaking Could be Improved&#8221; &#8212; FluentU\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/reviews\/hellotalk\/embed\/#?secret=4ImeDl7hG9#?secret=daF1oo5kMV\" data-secret=\"daF1oo5kMV\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Gtp8AsQdbS\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/reviews\/italki\/\">italki Review: Excellent for Finding Affordable, High-Quality Online Language Tutors<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;italki Review: Excellent for Finding Affordable, High-Quality Online Language Tutors&#8221; &#8212; FluentU\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/reviews\/italki\/embed\/#?secret=IAApcwgndI#?secret=Gtp8AsQdbS\" data-secret=\"Gtp8AsQdbS\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"AeZyT6NIBh\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/reviews\/tandem\/\">Tandem Review: Well Designed Language Partner App Feels Tinder-esque but Helps Learners Connect<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Tandem Review: Well Designed Language Partner App Feels Tinder-esque but Helps Learners Connect&#8221; &#8212; FluentU\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/reviews\/tandem\/embed\/#?secret=RXljm0eNmD#?secret=AeZyT6NIBh\" data-secret=\"AeZyT6NIBh\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000\">6. Record yourself<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you can\u2019t find someone to work with, find recordings of a native Mandarin speaker instead. Then <strong>record yourself saying the same things and compare.<\/strong> (And put your hard work hearing tones to good use!)<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve put in your time with your listening practice, you should be able to get some feel for whether or not you\u2019re on the right track.<\/p>\n<h2>7. Write the tones out<\/h2>\n<p>Not only is listening to tones important <strong>but writing them out is too,<\/strong> as it makes remembering tone pairs a bit easier. <\/p>\n<p>A great resource for learning how to use, write and understand tones and tone pairs is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLioS_-8erSI1B8dEErLr28sdgsHMui1d-\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Yoyo Chinese Pinyin Series<\/a> on YouTube. These videos break down everything you could need to know about Chinese tones as well as how to properly study them.<\/p>\n<p>Every Chinese learner should also bookmark this <a href=\"https:\/\/yoyochinese.com\/chinese-learning-tools\/Mandarin-Chinese-pronunciation-lesson\/pinyin-chart-table\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Yoyo Chinese Pinyin Chart.<\/a> This user-friendly, simple chart has every type of pinyin you\u2019ll ever use in the Chinese language. Any level of learner could use this chart, but it\u2019s especially valuable for beginners.<\/p>\n<h2>8. Say the tones with gestures<\/h2>\n<p>For those who are just starting out, this strategy will keep your tone pronunciation in check. All you have to do is <strong>mimic the movement of the tone with either your finger or your whole hand,<\/strong> kind of like a conductor of an orchestra.<\/p>\n<p>These are the gestures you can use as you\u2019re reading characters with different tones:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>First tone (\u2014):<\/strong> Draw a straight line above your head to keep your pitch high and level. Notice how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Hp9CN9eM5qQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">characters in the first tone tend to sound longer<\/a> than the others, so try to draw a longer line or draw the imaginary line slowly.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Second tone (\/):<\/strong> Draw a diagonal quickly from the bottom left to the top right to slightly increase the pitch of your voice.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Third tone (V):<\/strong> Draw a \u201cV\u201d or a \u201cU\u201d as a guide to scoop or drop, and then raise your pitch.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fourth tone (\\):<\/strong> Draw a diagonal quickly from the top left to the bottom right to add a hard stress to the pinyin.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fifth\/Neutral tone (.):<\/strong> Draw a dot to keep the pronunciation short and succinct.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>9. Slow down audio resources<\/h2>\n<p>Whether you&#8217;re listening to an audio course or clicking on the first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/chinese\/best-chinese-youtube-channels\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">YouTube video in Chinese<\/a> you can find, <strong>slow the audio down so you can better identify tones<\/strong> (and, if you want to go the extra mile, repeat them out loud). <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/chinese\/2014\/01\/18\/chinese-podcasts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Podcasts<\/a> are one of the best resources\u00a0to use for this exercise, and you can always adjust their speed. In fact, there are plenty of podcasts specifically designed for Mandarin learners, such as the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.podbean.com\/podcast-detail\/hd5ct-1b062c\/Slow-Chinese-Podcast---%E6%85%A2%E9%80%9F%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD-Learn-Chinese-%E5%AD%A6%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Slow Chinese podcast<\/a>, where the speakers talk at a slower rate and use relatively simple vocabulary.<\/p>\n<h2>10. Mark each tone with a different color<\/h2>\n<p>For those visual learners out there, a mnemonic device that might help is color coding. When a text is composed of so many different characters and sentences, tones can be tough to keep up with.<\/p>\n<p>To make sure you\u2019re reading the text correctly, <strong>you can assign each tone a different color, marking each character with the corresponding tone<\/strong>\u00a0to read the passage correctly and fluently.<\/p>\n<p>Remember that this strategy might not work for everyone, so don\u2019t spend time highlighting or marking characters if you don\u2019t find this kind of visual aid helpful.<\/p>\n<h2>11. Use online resources for practicing tones<\/h2>\n<p>Unfortunately, I haven\u2019t come across the absolutely perfect online resource specifically made for learning tones. However, here are a few that at least meet the minimal requirement of having real people and real speech.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sinosplice.com\/learn-chinese\/tone-pair-drills\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sinosplice<\/a><\/strong> has a really useful set of recordings for the four tones in isolation, and then the four tones (plus neutral tone) in every possible combination. Use it <strong>when you want to listen to specific tones or pairs of tones.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Pinyin Practice\" href=\"http:\/\/pinyinpractice.com\/tones.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Pinyin Practice<\/strong><\/a> lets you quiz yourself on one or two-tone combinations and keeps track of how many you have right and wrong. <strong>This is the best resource I\u2019ve found for testing yourself.\u00a0<\/strong>Note that this one can take a bit of time for the activities to load, but once that&#8217;s done, you&#8217;re good to go.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Mandarin Tone Drill\" href=\"http:\/\/www.archchinese.com\/mandarin_chinese_tone_drill.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Arch Chinese<\/a> <\/strong>also lets you quiz yourself on the four tones in isolation. I mention it here just because this gives you another person to listen to, and because they also have a <a title=\"Audio Pinyin Chart\" href=\"http:\/\/www.archchinese.com\/chinese_pinyin.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pinyin chart<\/a> with audio that you can use for practice when you just want to choose the pairs of sounds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And there you have it\u201411 easy ways to train your English-hearing ear to identify and understand Chinese tones.<\/p>\n<p>Consistently use these best practices and you&#8217;ll be on your way to better Chinese listening comprehension in no time.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>And one more thing...<\/h2>\r\n<p>\r\n\tIf you like learning Chinese at your own pace and from the comfort of your device, I have to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tell you about FluentU<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nFluentU makes it easier (and more fun) to learn Chinese by making real content like movies and series accessible to learners. You can check out FluentU's curated video library, or <strong>bring our learning tools directly to Netflix or YouTube<\/strong> with the FluentU Chrome extension. \r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\n<a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Chinese-5.png\" alt=\"learn-mandarin-chinese-with-videos\" width=\"320\" height=\"568\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nOne of the features I find most helpful is the <strong>interactive captions<\/strong>\u2014you can tap on any word to see its meaning, an image, pronunciation, and other examples from different contexts. It\u2019s a great way to pick up vocab without having to pause and look things up separately.\r\n<\/p><p>\r\n<a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Learn-Chinese-with-FluentU-videos-1.jpg\" alt=\"learn-mandarin-chinese-with-subtitled-song-and-music-videos\" width=\"600\" height=\"390\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nFluentU also helps <strong>reinforce what you\u2019ve learned<\/strong> with personalized quizzes. You can swipe through extra examples and complete engaging exercises that adapt to your progress. You'll get extra practice with the words you find more challenging and even be reminded you when it\u2019s time to review!\r\n<\/p><p>\r\n<a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/FluentU-Chinese-quiz-on-web.jpg\" alt=\"practice-mandarin-chinese-with-adaptive-quizzes\" width=\"600\" height=\"390\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nYou can use FluentU on your computer, tablet, or phone with our app for Apple or Android devices. <a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/try\/april-sale-3331\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chinese tones are one of the biggest challenges beginners face when learning Chinese. They determine the meaning of words, so getting the wrong tone could mean saying the wrong thing.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":801,"featured_media":252224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"How to Practice Chinese Tones: 11 Tips to Master Pronunciation | FluentU Chinese Blog","description":"Don't know how to practice Chinese tones? Look no further. Click here to find 11 highly effective methods for practicing Chinese tones, like learning practicing tone pairs, color coding, gestures for each tone and more. You'll hear native speaker audio and can download this guide as a PDF for free."},"footnotes":""},"categories":[724,735],"tags":[],"coauthors":[838],"class_list":["post-183288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chinese","category-speaking-and-listening-to-chinese"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/801"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183288"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246189,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183288\/revisions\/246189"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183288"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=183288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}