How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
jīnFirst toneniánSecond tone
Hear it in conversation
jīn今nián年èr二shí十sì四suì岁,
I'm 24 years old, and
jīn今nián年wǒ我huí回zhōng中guó国
This year I went back to China
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
Is he graduating this year?
。
We're expecting a good harvest this year.
?
What sort of coats are in fashion this year?
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.