hmmm, i currently work here in China but i don't think i'm an authority yet with regard to the Chinese language...i'm still studying and learning it...anyway, allow me to comment on some of the messages posted here...
Quote:
Originally Posted by CoolNard
Well, like i said earlier on, Chinese words are categorized into different pitches, according to how they're said.
There're four different classifications altogther. This is their correct order, from first to last.
-normal pitch.
-high pitch, rising alittle to the end.
-low pitch, rising alittle to the end.
-short and sharp pitch.
It's hard to describe how they really sound like, you'll have to hear them for yourself. ^_^
hope that helps. 
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you're right...although let me elaborate it further...
Mandarin or the official Chinese Language is commonly described as having four tones but it's more accurate to think of it as having five tones, that is, if we include the neutral tone (but don't worry about this 5th tone yet)...
Now as coolnard already mentioned, chinese has four tones...
(1) high tone
(2) high rising tone
(3) low falling rising tone
(4) high falling tone
coolnard is again right in saying that it's better to hear them rather than describe them...Unfortunately, we have to pay close attention to these tones if we want to learn how to speak chinese correctly because a single chinese word can have different meanings depending on their tones...
For example, the chinese word 'ma' can have various meanings depending on the tone.
ma(1) - mother as in 'ma ma'
ma(2) - hemp
ma(3) - horse
ma(4) - scold
ma(5) - question marker (placed at the end of the sentence)
So make sure you say or pronounce the word correctly to avoid being misunderstood...
Btw, the Chinese word(s) i posted and those that have been posted by others like coolnard are known as the Pinyin System...it's a way of writing Chinese using the Roman alphabet...It's a very good start to learn chinese before moving on to the more difficult Chinese characters...
Will post more later...