How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
gǔThird tonedàiFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
，？
zài在zhè这lǐ里，wǒ我men们yào要zhù注yì意，zhè这lǐ里de的韩guó国bù不shì是jīn今tiān天de的Korea，ér而shì是gǔ古dài代zhōng中guó国de的yī一gè个xiǎo小guó国jiā家。
gǔ古dài代，zhōng中guó国de的huáng皇dì帝qǐng请dà大jiā家chī吃fàn饭，yǒu有shí时候jiù就shì是chī吃gǒu狗ròu肉。
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
。
There were no chairs in ancient China.
。
My father is interested in ancient history.
。
Myths reflect the beliefs of ancient civilizations.
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.