Why are tones needed in Chinese

The Russian language has intonations. For example, we use intonation to ask the question: “Have you eaten?” The intonation in this case is interrogative. And if we are irritated, we can answer: “Yes!” And this will also be intonation

So, in the Chinese language there are such intonations called tones. And they are used not for the entire sentence, but for each word or even syllable

How many tones are there in Chinese?

There are a total of 4 tones in the Chinese language. They are called according to the order: first, second, third and fourth. And these four tones are the first thing to learn. Because the meaning of a word depends on the tone.

What are some examples of using tones?

Let's take ma as an example.

If you say mā in the first tone, this is mom.

If you say má in a second tone, it means numbness.

If you say mǎ in the third tone, it is a horse.

If you say mà in a fourth tone, it means scolding.

Therefore, without knowing the tones, you will not be able to speak Chinese. They simply won’t understand you.