How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
niánSecond tonelíngSecond tone
Hear it in conversation
rú如guǒ果wǒ我rèn认wéi为duì对fāng方de的nián年líng龄bǐ比wǒ我dà大
If I think the other person's age is older than mine
wǒ我bù不xǐ喜huan欢shuō说wǒ我de的nián年líng龄
I don't like to say my age.
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
?
What's your age?
?
How old are you?
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.