How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
lāFirst tone
Hear it in conversation
Buckle it up. Hey, why can't I pull it? It's
bǎ把wǒ我lā拉xiàng向yī一gè个地fāng方
Pulling me towards a place
jiù就hěn很jí急wǒ我dōu都yī一zhí直zài在mén门kǒu口lā拉zhe着nà那ge个mén门
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
I have diarrhea.
。
Please pull this thread straight.
。
Cheerleading tryouts are tomorrow.
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.