How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
māoFirst tone
Hear it in conversation
zhè这xiē些shì是gěi给māo猫chī吃de的
māo猫fēi非cháng常xǐ喜huan欢shài晒tài太yáng阳
cat loves to sunbathe.
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
I have a cat.
Do you like cats?
The cat is under the chair.
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.