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Tone Mark Placement Rules

In the Chinese Pinyin system, the tone mark must be placed on the main vowel of a syllable according to specific rules. The priority order for placing the tone mark is as follows:

1. If the syllable contains the vowel 'a', the tone mark is always placed on 'a'.
2. If there is no 'a' but an 'o' or 'e' is present, the tone mark goes on 'o' or 'e'.
3. For the sequence 'iu' or 'ui', the tone mark is placed on the final vowel, 'u' or 'i'.

Examples:

cā, gāi, xiá, miào, fǎ, gē, mén, bèng, tōng, fǒu, yǐn, xù, cún, pīng.

Tone Marks for iu and ui

For syllables ending in 'iu' or 'ui', the tone mark should be placed on the last vowel:

cuī (催, urge) | qiú (求, request) | xiù (秀, elegant) | duì (对, correct)

Omitting the Dot on 'i'

When the tone mark falls on the vowel 'i', the dot above 'i' is omitted to make room for the tone mark:

cuī, yǐn, duì, pīng.

Neutral Tone

Syllables pronounced in a neutral tone do not carry a tone mark:

☞ zhuōzi (桌子, table)

☞ wǎnshang (晚上, evening; night)

☞ luóbo (萝卜, radish)

Summary

This systematic approach ensures that Pinyin accurately represents the pronunciation of Mandarin Chinese while maintaining clarity and consistency. By following these tone mark placement rules, you can write Chinese Pinyin correctly and avoid common mistakes.

More Articles about Chinese Pinyin

• Chinese Pinyin Initials and Finals
• How to Spell in Chinese Pinyin
• The Syllabary of Chinese Pinyin
• Insulation letter y and w
• Syllable-dividing mark (')
• Omissible rules
• Chinese Pinyin System: érhuà (儿化)
• The Tones of Chinese Pinyin(声调)
• Chinese Pinyin: Neutral tone
• Chinese Pinyin: Sandhi of the 3rd tone
• Chinese Pinyin: Sandhi of the "一" (yī)
• Chinese Pinyin: Sandhi of the "不" (bù)
• How to say Major Sentence Patterns in Chinese Pinyin