How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
gǎiThird toneshànFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
ér而shì是wèi为le了gǎi改shàn善xīn心lǐ理jiàn健kāng康
néng能 zhēn真zhèng正 gǎi改shàn善 huán环jìng境
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.