hi min min, on no.2 sentence. if i want to say : “when he ill, he doesn’t feel like eating anything” can i use this sentence “他病得時候，一點也不想吃”? is the grammar right?
thanks before ^_^
I really do enjoy this site! Keep up the good work! This site really motivates me to learn chinese. I have just got a question about bu4 不. According to my online dictionary, it says the 4th tone but how come you have it on the 2nd tone in bú?
Hi Mervin,
Yes. 不 has the 4th tone.
However, the word 不 (bù)（no / not） is pronounced in the 2nd tone (bú) when it is put before a syllable in the 4th tone.
Example : 不 去 (bú qù)
In Chinese, it happens that sometimes the tones of words change depending on the tone of the word that precedes or comes after it. It is to improve the pronunciation clarity.
Basically, there are 3 rules, and I have written them in my upcoming Pinyin ebook. I will launch the ebook by next week (10 Jan 2010). Remember to come back and be the first to download it!
Awesome, love the set up of the site.
Thank you. 🙂
hi min min, on no.2 sentence. if i want to say : “when he ill, he doesn’t feel like eating anything” can i use this sentence “他病得時候，一點也不想吃”? is the grammar right?
thanks before ^_^
Hi XianYuSeung,
Yes. It is correct.
But it should be “的” instead of “得”.
The correct sentence :
他病的時候，一點（东西）也不想吃。
Hi XianYuSeung,
I really do enjoy this site! Keep up the good work! This site really motivates me to learn chinese. I have just got a question about bu4 不. According to my online dictionary, it says the 4th tone but how come you have it on the 2nd tone in bú?
Hi Mervin,
Yes. 不 has the 4th tone.
However, the word 不 (bù)（no / not） is pronounced in the 2nd tone (bú) when it is put before a syllable in the 4th tone.
Example : 不 去 (bú qù)
In Chinese, it happens that sometimes the tones of words change depending on the tone of the word that precedes or comes after it. It is to improve the pronunciation clarity.
Basically, there are 3 rules, and I have written them in my upcoming Pinyin ebook. I will launch the ebook by next week (10 Jan 2010). Remember to come back and be the first to download it!