What are Tones in Mandarin Chinese?

Many Chinese words have the same Pinyin letters (Latin letters) but depending on how each syllable is pronounced (i.e. the tone which means the pitch (soprano and baritone would be extremes) and the volume) can totally change the meaning of the word. An accent above a Pinyin letter tells a person how the syllable is to be pronounced.

For example:

xióngmāo means PANDA

but

xiōngmáo means CHEST HAIR

or

dā means to put up

dá means to answer

dă means to hit

dà means big

or

mā means mother

mă means horse

Tones are important, don't ignore them.