PSC Putonghua spoken-language foundations (Hong Kong) cheat sheet
PSC Putonghua spoken-language foundations (Hong Kong) · Keep the key ideas within reach.
Sound contrasts and Hanyu Pinyin conventions
Pinyin letters follow Chinese conventions, not ordinary English sound values.
Aspiration differs from simply voicing a consonant.
Compare initials, finals and tone separately before combining them.
Distinguish Pinyin spelling from actual articulatory feedback.
Written recognition is not an oral proficiency score.
Tone, neutral syllables and connected pronunciation
Distinguish citation spelling from a transcription of actual sandhi.
Third-tone behavior depends on neighboring tones and phrasing.
Read 一 and 不 in the actual construction.
Neutral tone is not one fixed fifth contour.
Erhua changes a syllable; it is not automatically a separate ér.
Vocabulary, grammatical structure and communicative choice
A legitimate synonym is not automatically an incorrect distractor.
Identify the requested variety, register and actual context.
Distinguish a double-object structure from a related 把 structure.
Aspect particles are not simple replacements for English tense endings.
Meaning and scope matter in complements and negated comparisons.