How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
tāFirst tone
Hear it in conversation
Why didn't he come to work today?
rán然hòu后jiā家tíng庭lǐ里miàn面yǒu有hěn很duō多fěn粉丝tā他chǎo炒zhè这ge个
But when you cook this dish in your home stove
gēn跟着tā他zǒu走jìn进yī一jiān间huì会yì议shì室。
followed him into a conference room.
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
He does not drink coffee.
He has water.
He is well.
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.