🀄 Day 2 — Tone Pairs — Tone 1 Combinations
Phase: Phase 1 | Milestone: Foundation — Sound & Script
⏱️ Today’s Session (1 Hour)
| Block | Time | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Review | 0:00–0:15 | Anki / Pleco SRS flashcards |
| New Content | 0:15–0:45 | Today’s lesson + exercises |
| Listening | 0:45–0:55 | Audio immersion / shadowing |
| Output | 0:55–1:00 | Speak or write original Chinese |
📖 Review (15 min)
- Anki: “Chinese Radicals” deck — browse and get familiar
- Pleco: Random tone identification. 30 reps. Target: 80%+ accuracy.
- Say “mā má mǎ mà” 10×, feeling the pitch in your throat.
🆕 New Content (30 min)
🎥 Watch First
Yoyo Chinese — Pinyin Lesson 3: Tone Pairs Part 1
Tone 1 Pairs (Tone 1 + X)
| Pair | Example | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 + 1 | 高空 | gāo kōng | high altitude |
| 1 + 2 | 中文 | Zhōng wén | Chinese language |
| 1 + 3 | 工厂 | gōng chǎng | factory |
| 1 + 4 | 高兴 | gāo xìng | happy |
| 1 + 5 | 妈妈 | mā ma | mother (casual) |
✏️ Exercises
- Imitation Cycle (15 min): For each pair: Listen→Imitate→Record→Compare→Repeat. 5 cycles each.
- Hand Gesture Drill (5 min): Use hand as pitch visualizer — Tone 1: hand flat at forehead. Tone 2: chest→forehead. Tone 3: dip→rise. Tone 4: chop down. Do motions for both tones.
- Speed Challenge (5 min): Say all 5 pairs as fast as possible with correct tones. Under 5 seconds?
🎧 Listening (10 min)
🎧 ChinesePod Newbie — any episode. Just listen. Don’t try to understand. Notice the rise and fall of tones.
🗣️ Output (5 min)
📱 Record all 5 tone-1 pairs with perfect tones. Save as “Day 2 — Tone 1 Pairs.”
Day 2 Checklist0/5