How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
zhēnFirst tonezhèngFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
kě可shì是dāng当wǒ我men们zhēn真zhèng正kāi开shǐ始
But when we really start
yǔ语yán言xiǎng想yào要zhēn真zhèng正xué学huì会
To truly learn
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
。
Our true nationality is mankind.
。
That's a real person.
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.