How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
ànFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
It's too dark here, too dark,
guāng光線zào造chéng成de的míng明àn暗對bǐ比
gèng更偏僻de的yī一gè个hěn很àn暗de的yī一gè个xiǎo小zhù住jiā家ér而yǐ已
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
The sky is very dark.
The future looked very gloomy.
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.