Pinyin
Let's look at the function of neutral tone.
Neutral tone 轻声
Function of neutral-tone syllables
To distinguish the meanings
| 眼睛 yǎnjing | eyes |
| 眼镜 yǎnjìng | glasses |
Sometimes neutral tone can distinguish meanings even the characters are exactly the same.
| 东 西 dōng xī | directions of east and west |
| 东西 dōngxi | things; staff |
To change the part of speech
| 买 卖 mǎi mài | to buy and sell (two verbs) |
| 买卖 mǎimai | business (n.) |
We have to remember the meanings of a word together with its pronunciation. Otherwise, we may make mistakes or misunderstandings.
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