How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
shìFourth toneshíSecond tone
Hear it in conversation
He believes what the facts are
tā他de的xiǎng想fǎ法bù不dài代biǎo表shì事shí实shì是zhè这yàng样
His thoughts do not represent the facts
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
Let's face facts.
It's the truth.
I know the facts.
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.