How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
kèFourth tonehùFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
jiǎ假shè设yǒu有yī一wèi位kè客hù户zǒu走jìn进le了nǐ你de的bàn办gōng公shì室
Suppose a client walks into your office
wǒ我men们jīng经cháng常yào要gěi给kè客hù户tóng同shì事dǎ打diàn电huà话
We often have to call clients and colleagues
Select a word for its meaning.
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.