---
title: The four tones: same sound, different meaning — the lesson's questions with trees and pragmatics · Chinese street
description: The 15 test and exam questions of lesson 2 «The four tones: same sound, different meaning» of the Chinese street course of Mova's primary school, each with its options, Mova's choice and the right answer, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/2-the-four-tones/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [questions](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/) / [Chinese street](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/) / The four tones: same sound, different…

# The four tones: same sound, different meaning

<!-- .vabout -->
The 15 questions of lesson 2 «The four tones: same sound, different meaning» of the Chinese street course of Mova's primary school with their options, 83 sentences, every one parsed by Mova with its syntax tree and pragmatics. How the student did on them: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/chinese-street/2-the-four-tones/).

<!-- list vl: b t e -->
- [t1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/2-the-four-tones/t1/) — «ming says ask for táng at the shop, it means soup innit» What happens if you do? — wrong ✗ · ★★
- [t2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/2-the-four-tones/t2/) — «yawn, wǒ yào shuǐjiǎo» you tell Ming's mum at 10 pm. What might she do? — right ✓ · ★★
- [t3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/2-the-four-tones/t3/) — You stop a stranger with «qǐng wěn» instead of qǐng wèn. Why might the class giggle? — right ✓ · ★★
- [t4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/2-the-four-tones/t4/) — Counting 8, 9, 10 you say «bā, jiǔ, shǐ!». Why does Ming roll on the floor? — right ✓ · ★★
- [t5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/2-the-four-tones/t5/) — What would happen if you called your mum mà instead of māma? — wrong ✗ · ★★
- [t6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/2-the-four-tones/t6/) — In a cartoon an English kid shouts «nǐ hǎo?» with a rising voice to mean hello. What is off? — right ✓ · ★★
- [t7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/2-the-four-tones/t7/) — «ugh, tones are just accent, nobody cares» Which is right? — wrong ✗ · ★★
- [t8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/2-the-four-tones/t8/) — At dim sum you ask for a leopard. What did you probably mean? — right ✓ · ★★
- [t9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/2-the-four-tones/t9/) — A shopkeeper says wǒ mài. What is she doing? — wrong ✗ · ★★
- [t10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/2-the-four-tones/t10/) — Ming's sister says «nǐ hǎo ma?» What is she asking? — right ✓ · ★★
- [t11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/2-the-four-tones/t11/) — Your friends make you say māma mà mǎ ma? fast and laugh. What is going on? — right ✓ · ★★
- [e1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/2-the-four-tones/e1/) — Identify the principal reason for which an alteration in tone modifies the meaning of a Mandarin syllable. — right ✓ · exam
- [e2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/2-the-four-tones/e2/) — Ascertain the meaning of the syllable shí when pronounced with a rising tone. — wrong ✗ · exam
- [e3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/2-the-four-tones/e3/) — Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the pair mǎi and mài. — right ✓ · exam
- [e4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/2-the-four-tones/e4/) — Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the utterance «wǒ yào shuìjiào», both principal syllables bearing the falling tone? — wrong ✗ · exam

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [1. Hello and goodbye: the first words at the gate](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/1-hello-and-goodbye-at-the-gate/)
- next →: [3. Thank you, sorry, excuse me](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/3-thank-you-sorry-excuse-me/)
- ↑ back to [Chinese street](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/)