How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
jiàoFourth toneshòuFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
duì对cǐ此shén神jīng经kē科xué学xīn心lǐ理xué学hé和zhé哲xué学jiào教shòu授
ér而qiě且jiù就shì是wǒ我de的yé爷ye爷tā他shì是dà大xué学jiào教shòu授
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
I am a professor.
You are a professor.
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.