How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
kāiFirst tonewánSecond tonexiàoFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
I'm just kidding
suǒ所yǐ以ā阿yí姨kāi开wán玩xiào笑gēn跟wǒ我shuō说
wǒ我men们tóng同shì事zhī之jiān间yě也huì会kāi开wán玩xiào笑shuō说
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.