How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
láiSecond tonezìFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
The term "online" actually comes from English
shì是lái来zì自nǎ哪ge个guó国jiā家de的
which countries are you from?
rú如guǒ果nǐ你shì是lái来zì自英语de的mǔ母yǔ语guó国
if you are from an English-speaking country
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.