How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
kǒngThird tonepàFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
I'm afraid it won't work today
rú如guǒ果wǒ我bǎ把kǒng恐pà怕ná拿zǒu走jīn今tiān天bù不xíng行
If I take away the "don't think," I can't today
tā他shuō说zhè这kǒng恐pà怕bù不xíng行zhè这bù不xíng行
He said this probably won't work, this won't work.
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.