？
Why are you so secretive?
How to pronounce 为什么
How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
wèi为shén什me么
why?; for what reason?
HSK 2
Synthesized Mandarin audio · Vivian voice
wèiFourth toneshénSecond tonemeNeutral tone
Hear it in conversation
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Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
？
Why are you wearing that scarf?
？
Why?
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.