Tâi-gí Tones: Ingeniously Melodic but Extremely Difficult

Have you ever thought that Chinese tones are difficult to learn? Wait until you hear about Tâi-gí's tone-changing system. Also known as tone sandhi, this system might seem extremely complex, but it helps the language sound melodic — one of Tâi-gí's truly unique features. Want to learn more about tone change, as well as some useful Tâi-gí phrases? Listen to the last part of our conversation with Kí Phín-tsì (紀品志), a Tâi-gí linguist, translator, and co-creator of the Bite-Size Taiwanese podcast. New episodes are released every Tuesday at 21:00 (Taipei, GMT+8). For engaging updates and video snippets of #InTaiwanWeSpeak, follow Radio Taiwan International on socials and YouTube ⁠here⁠. Give us feedback and share the podcast with others to help mainstream the conversation.