Tones
PhoneticsMandarin is a tonal language: the same syllable said with a different tone is a completely different word. There are four tones plus a light neutral tone. Press ▶ to hear each one, then copy it out loud.
The four tones
One syllable, five tones — listen to how only the pitch changes.
ā
→
First Tone
High and level — hold it flat and steady.
māmother
á
↗
Second Tone
Rising — like asking "huh?" in English.
máhemp / numb
ǎ
↘↗
Third Tone
Dip then rise — go low, then come back up.
mǎhorse
à
↘
Fourth Tone
Sharp falling — short and decisive.
màto scold
a
·
Neutral Tone
Short and light — unstressed, barely said.
maquestion particle
Same syllable, five tones
Each row is one syllable said in every tone — press ▶ across a row to hear how the tone alone changes the word. A blank cell means that syllable has no common word in that tone.
1st2nd3rd4thneutral
ma
ba
zhe
mo
xi
yi
wu
tang
shu
qi
Practise — hear it, then say it
Press ▶ on each word, listen carefully to the tone, then read it aloud yourself. Try to match the pitch you hear.
- 1人口Tone 2 + 3population
- 2大人Tone 4 + 2adult
- 3好人Tone 3 + 2good person
- 4中文Tone 1 + 2Chinese (language)
- 5早安Tone 3 + 1good morning
- 6谢谢Tone 4 + neutralthank you
- 7日本Tone 4 + 3Japan
- 8老师Tone 3 + 1teacher
- 9学生Tone 2 + neutralstudent
- 10再见Tone 4 + 4goodbye
Tip: say each word out loud straight after you hear it. Your ear trains your mouth — the more you copy, the more natural the tones become.