🇨🇳 CHINESE · HSK 1

Chinese – Batch 09

明 · 昨 · 午 · 早 · 晚 · 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 (rén) or tone numbers (ren2) — both are accepted.

📋 Pinyin Quick Reference

Characters in this batch — type either form in exercises:

ming2 → míng

zuo2 → zuó

wu3 → wǔ

zao3 → zǎo

wan3 → wǎn

🔊 Hear all 5 tones — same syllable "ming", five different meanings:

mīng Tone 1 — level 冥 · dark/underworld

míng Tone 2 — rising ★ 明 · bright/tomorrow

mǐng Tone 3 — dip-rise 酩 · intoxicated

mìng Tone 4 — falling 命 · life / fate

mingtian Neutral — unstressed 明天 · tomorrow

★ = used in this batch | Neutral: 天 is unstressed after 明 in the compound 明天.

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 (ming2, zao3) 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.

明

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.

明 míng — bright / tomorrow

明 = 日 (sun) + 月 (moon). Sun AND moon = BRIGHT — one of the most satisfying character combinations. 明天 (tomorrow) = 'bright day ahead'. 明白 (understand) = bright + white = crystal clear. 聪明 (cōng míng) = clever/smart. The character encapsulates 'illumination' in every sense.

Tone 2 (阳平 yángpíng) — rising tone, like asking "Really?".

明天míng tiāntomorrow
明白míng baiunderstand
聪明cōng míngclever

Míng tiān wǒ yǒu kòng.

明天我有空。

I'm free tomorrow.

Nǐ míng bai ma?

你明白吗？

Do you understand?

昨 zuó — yesterday

昨 = 日 (sun) + 乍 (suddenly). The sun that 'suddenly passed' = yesterday. 乍 gives a sense of 'just occurred'. ⚠️ 昨 is almost never used alone — only in 昨天 (yesterday), 昨晚 (last night), 昨日 (yesterday, formal). Learn these compounds, not 昨 in isolation.

Tone 2 (阳平 yángpíng) — rising tone.

昨天zuó tiānyesterday
昨晚zuó wǎnlast night
昨日zuó rìyesterday (formal)

Zuó tiān tā lái le.

昨天他来了。

He came yesterday.

Zuó wǎn wǒ méi shuì hǎo.

昨晚我没睡好。

I didn't sleep well last night.

午 wǔ — noon

午 looks like a sundial at noon. It marks the midpoint of the day: 上午 (morning/AM = above noon), 中午 (noon = middle noon), 下午 (afternoon/PM = below noon). ⚠️ 午 (noon, wǔ) and 五 (five, wǔ) are homophones — same tone, same sound — only writing differs.

Tone 3 (上声 shǎngshēng) — the dip-and-rise.

中午zhōng wǔnoon
上午shàng wǔmorning / AM
下午xià wǔafternoon / PM

Wǒ měi tiān chī wǔ fàn.

我每天吃午饭。

I eat lunch every day.

Zhōng wǔ wǒ zài jiā.

中午我在家。

I'm at home at noon.

早 zǎo — early / morning

早 = 日 (sun) on top + 十 (cross) below. Sun rising above the horizon cross = early morning. 早 alone is also a greeting: 早！(Morning!). 早饭 = breakfast. Cultural note: 早到早好 — 'arriving early is good' reflects the Chinese value of punctuality and preparedness.

Tone 3 (上声 shǎngshēng) — the dip-and-rise.

早上zǎo shangmorning
早饭zǎo fànbreakfast
早安zǎo āngood morning (formal)

Zǎo shang qī diǎn qǐ chuáng.

早上七点起床。

Get up at 7 in the morning.

Zǎo shang hǎo!

早上好！

Good morning!

晚 wǎn — late / evening

晚 = 日 (sun) + 免 (rabbit). In Chinese mythology, a rabbit lives on the moon — it appears when the sun sets. 晚 means both 'late' (opposite of 早/early) and 'evening/night'. 晚安 (wǎn ān) = good night. 晚饭 = dinner. ⚠️ 晚 is Tone 3, not to be confused with 万 (wàn, Tone 4, ten thousand).

Tone 3 (上声 shǎngshēng) — the dip-and-rise.

晚上wǎn shangevening
晚饭wǎn fàndinner
晚安wǎn āngood night

Tā wǎn shang kàn diàn shì.

他晚上看电视。

He watches TV in the evening.

Wǎn ān!

晚安！

Good night!

Tone System

Tone	Mark	Number	Chinese	Description	Batch example
1st	ā	1	阴平	High, flat, held steady	—
2nd	á	2	阳平	Rising — like "Really?"	míng (明), zuó (昨)
3rd	ǎ	3	上声	Dip then rise — lowest tone	wǔ (午), zǎo (早), wǎn (晚)
4th	à	4	去声	Sharp falling — like "No!"	—
Neutral	a	5 / 0	轻声	Short, unstressed	shang in 早上, 晚上

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 09 Summary — Time II (时间 II)

Char	Pinyin	Meaning	Strokes	HSK
明	míng	bright / tomorrow	8	HSK 1
昨	zuó	yesterday	9	HSK 1
午	wǔ	noon	4	HSK 1
早	zǎo	early / morning	6	HSK 1
晚	wǎn	late / evening	11	HSK 1

Pinyin Typing Guide

All exercises accept tone marks (míng, zǎo) or tone numbers (ming2, zao3). Tone numbers are always easier — just type the syllable followed by 1, 2, 3, or 4. 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.