How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
lěngThird tone
Hear it in conversation
Hot or cold?
xiàn现zài在shuǐ水shì是lěng冷de的shuǐ水shì是lěng冷de的
the water is cold.
kě可néng能xiāng相duì对huì会bǐ比jiào较de的孤僻lěng冷ma吗
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
It is cold today.
Today is even colder.
The food is cold.
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.