How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
kōngFirst tonetiáoSecond tone
Hear it in conversation
nà那nǐ你xǐ喜huan欢chuī吹kōng空tiáo调ma吗
30duō多dù度de的shí时hou候wǒ我zhǐ只xiǎng想zài在jiā家kāi开kōng空tiáo调
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
The air conditioner has got out of order.
。
The air conditioner doesn't work.
The air conditioner doesn't work.
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.