How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
yánSecond tonezhòngFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
diàn电néng能损耗jiù就huì会biàn变得xiāng相dāng当yán严zhòng重
zhè这ge个cí词yòng用de得yǒudiǎnr有点儿yán严zhòng重ba吧?
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
。
The situation is very serious.
。
It is a serious problem.
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.