How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
hàiFourth tonepàFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
nán难dào道shì是hěn很hài害pà怕ma吗
Is it really very scary?
ā啊hǎo好hài害pà怕hā哈hā哈hā哈
! I'm so scared! Haha,
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
I'm scared.
We are scared.
There's no reason to be afraid.
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.