How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
lāFirst tonejīFirst tone
Hear it in conversation
Don't forget to take your trash with you.
mǎi买kuài快cān餐dǎo倒lā垃jī圾
Buy fast food and take out the trash
méi没yǒu有rèn任hé何de的lā垃jī圾
There is no litter at all.
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
。
I don't eat junk food.
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.