How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
yánSecond tonesùFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
💃。
yī一gè个bǐ比jiào较yán严sù肃de的xué学xiào校huó活dòng动
tā它men们shì是duì对wǒ我men们de的yán严sù肃de的jǐng警gào告。
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
。
We don't think it's serious.
。
He has a very serious attitude toward work.
Hear the difference
A syllable has a shape.
Tone marks show how pitch changes. Colors help you follow each syllable in the app.
ā →First toneHigh and level
á ↗Second toneRising
ǎ ↘↗Third toneLow, then rising in isolation
à ↘Fourth toneFalling
a ·Neutral toneShort and light
These are dictionary tones. In natural speech, tones can change with context. A third tone often stays low before another syllable.