🇨🇳 CHINESE · HSK 1

Chinese – Batch 02

上 · 下 · 中 · 天 · 地 · Reading · Listening · Writing

What is Pinyin? Pinyin is the official romanisation system for Mandarin Chinese. Every syllable has a tone — the same syllable said in a different tone is a completely different word. There are four tones plus a neutral tone:
1st (ā) — high & level | 2nd (á) — rising, like a question | 3rd (ǎ) — dip then rise | 4th (à) — sharp fall | Neutral (a) — light, unstressed
In exercises you may type tone marks (shàng) or tone numbers (shang4) — both are accepted.

📋 Pinyin Quick Reference

Characters in this batch — type either form in exercises:

shang4 → shàng

xia4 → xià

zhong1 → zhōng

tian1 → tiān

di4 → dì

🔊 Hear all 5 tones — same syllable "di", five different uses:

dī Tone 1 — level 低 · low

dí Tone 2 — rising 笛 · flute

dǐ Tone 3 — dip-rise 底 · bottom

dì Tone 4 — falling ★ 地 · earth

gāoxìngde Neutral — unstressed 地 as particle

★ = used in this batch | Neutral: 地 (dì) doubles as a grammar particle (de) before adverbs — the same character, two pronunciations.

Tone	Number	Mark (a)	Mark (e)	Mark (i)	Mark (u)
1st — high level	1	ā	ē	ī	ū
2nd — rising	2	á	é	í	ú
3rd — dip-rise	3	ǎ	ě	ǐ	ǔ
4th — falling	4	à	è	ì	ù
Neutral	5 or 0	a	e	i	u

💡 On most keyboards, tone marks are hard to type — use the number form (shang4, di4) in exercises. Both are always accepted.

Progress: 0 / 4 exercises completed

A — Flashcard Practice

Click the card to reveal pinyin, meaning, and stroke count. Use the audio button to hear the pronunciation.

上

HSK 1

Tap to flip

1 / 9

B — Listen & Identify

Press the speaker button to hear a character pronounced. Choose the correct character from the four options.

C — Meaning Match

Look at the character. Choose the correct English meaning.

D — Reading in Context

Pinyin is shown for each sentence — type the missing pinyin in the blank. Press the audio button to hear the sentence, then repeat aloud.

🔊 Tip: Press Hear sentence, listen carefully, then say the full sentence out loud. Type the missing pinyin (tone mark or number form).

E — Stroke Count

How many strokes does each character take to write? Type the number. Tip: close your eyes and trace each character in your head — count how many times your pen lifts off the paper. Each unbroken line = one stroke.

上 shàng — above / on top / up

Pictograph: 上 shows a vertical line rising above a baseline — something elevated. The bottom stroke is the ground; the line and top stroke indicate what is above it. Perfect logic, visually.
⚠️ Compare 上 (above, shàng) with 下 (below, xià) — they are mirror opposites in both meaning and shape.

4th tone (shàng ↘) — sharp falling, like 大 and 日 from Batch 01. Despite meaning "up", it has a falling tone. Remember: the tone describes the sound, not the meaning. shang4.

上面shàngmiànabove / on top (of)
上学shàngxuéto go to school
上下shàngxiàup and down

Shū zài zhuōzi shàng.

书在桌子上。

The book is on the table.

Tā měitiān shàngxué.

他每天上学。

He goes to school every day.

下 xià — below / under / down

Pictograph: The opposite of 上 — a line dropping below a baseline, with a dot beneath it to mark the lower position. One of the clearest directional pairs in Chinese.
⚠️ Compare 下 (below) and 上 (above). Learn them as a pair — they appear together constantly.

4th tone (xià ↘) — same sharp falling as 上. Interesting: both "up" and "down" share the 4th tone in Mandarin! xia4.

下面xiàmiànbelow / underneath
下午xiàwǔafternoon
地下dìxiàunderground

Māo zài zhuōzi xià.

猫在桌子下。

The cat is under the table.

Wǒ xiàwǔ hěn máng.

我下午很忙。

I am very busy in the afternoon.

中 zhōng — middle / center / China

Pictograph: 中 is a box (口) with a vertical line piercing exactly through its centre — a perfect visual for "middle". Also represents China: 中国 (Zhōngguó) = the "Central Kingdom", China's name for itself.
⚠️ 中 has two tones: zhōng (1st, middle/center) and zhòng (4th, to hit a target or to be afflicted).

1st tone (zhōng →) — high, flat and steady like 山 (shān) and 天 (tiān) in this batch. Hold the note evenly. zhong1.

中国ZhōngguóChina
中间zhōngjiānmiddle / between
中文ZhōngwénChinese language

Tā shì Zhōngguó rén.

他是中国人。

He is Chinese.

Wǒ zài zhōngjiān.

我在中间。

I am in the middle.

天 tiān — sky / heaven / day

Pictograph: 天 is 大 (big person, arms outstretched from Batch 01) with an extra horizontal stroke above the head — what is above a person's head? The sky. It also means "day" (a day is defined by the sky going from dark to light).
⚠️ Compare 天 (sky, tiān) with 大 (big, dà) — 天 has one extra stroke at the top.

1st tone (tiān →) — high and level, same as 山 (shān) and 中 (zhōng). Think of a clear, flat horizon stretching ahead. tian1.

天气tiānqìweather
今天jīntiāntoday
天下tiānxiàthe whole world

Jīn tiān hěn rè.

今天很热。

Today is very hot.

Tiānqì hěn hǎo.

天气很好。

The weather is very good.

地 dì — earth / ground / land

Compound character: 地 = 土 (earth/soil, left side) + 也 (also, right side — used here as a phonetic hint). The 土 radical tells you it relates to the ground. Together they give 地 (earth, ground, land).
⚠️ 地 has a double life: as a noun it is dì (earth), but as a grammar particle before adverbs it is the neutral tone de (e.g., 高兴地唱歌 — happily singing).

4th tone as noun (dì ↘) — sharp falling. As a grammar particle (de), it becomes neutral/unstressed. Same character, two pronunciations — context tells you which. di4.

地方dìfangplace / location
土地tǔdìland / soil
地下dìxiàunderground

Dì shàng yǒu shuǐ.

地上有水。

There is water on the ground.

Zhè ge dìfang hěn piàoliang.

这个地方很漂亮。

This place is very beautiful.

Tone System

Tone	Mark	Number	Chinese	Description	Batch example
1st	ā	1	阴平	High, flat, held steady	zhōng (中), tiān (天)
2nd	á	2	阳平	Rising — like "Really?"	— (none this batch)
3rd	ǎ	3	上声	Dip then rise — lowest tone	— (none this batch)
4th	à	4	去声	Sharp falling — like "No!"	shàng (上), xià (下), dì (地)
Neutral	a	5 / 0	轻声	Short, unstressed	地 as de (grammar particle)

Stroke Order Principles

Top → Bottom
Left → Right
Horizontal before vertical (when crossing)
Left-falling before right-falling
Centre before sides (vertical axis)
Outside before inside (enclosures)
Close the bottom last
Minor strokes last (dots / small sweeps)

Batch 02 Summary

Char	Pinyin	Meaning	Strokes	HSK
上	shàng	above / on top / up	3	HSK 1
下	xià	below / under / down	3	HSK 1
中	zhōng	middle / center / China	4	HSK 1
天	tiān	sky / heaven / day	4	HSK 1
地	dì	earth / ground / land	6	HSK 1

Pinyin Typing Guide

All exercises accept tone marks (shàng, tiān) or tone numbers (shang4, tian1). Tone numbers are easier to type — just add 1, 2, 3, or 4 after the syllable. Both forms are equally correct.

🔊 Audio pronunciation powered by the Web Speech API (built into your browser, no external service).
For a comprehensive pinyin reference, visit Yabla Chinese Pinyin Chart.
Stroke order practice: Skritter · Character lookup: MDBG Dictionary.