How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
piánSecond toneyiNeutral tone
Hear it in conversation
「」
tā它men们dōu都hěn很pián便yi宜
; they're all very cheap
zuì最zuì最pián便yi宜de的jiù就shì是zhuō捉mí迷cáng藏
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
It seemed to be cheap.
。
This kind of cloth is both cheap and sturdy.
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.