How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
pàFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
zhēn真bù不hǎo好yì意si思wǒ我tè特bié别pà怕nǐ你shēng生qì气
I'm really sorry, I'm especially afraid you'll get angry.
qí其實rén人zuì最pà怕de的jiù就shì是盲mù目dì的nǔ努lì力
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
Animals are afraid of fire.
I'm afraid to fall.
I'm afraid of earthquakes.
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.