How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
shíSecond tonetouNeutral tone
Hear it in conversation
zhè这ge个shí石tou头hěn很piào漂liang亮
This stone is very beautiful.
xiàng像bēi背le了yī一kuài块dà大shí石tou头yī一yàng样。
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
Rock, paper, scissors.
Rock-paper-scissors, shoot!
Rock, paper, scissors.
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.