How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
chuānFirst tone
Hear it in conversation
Okay, I need to put on shoe covers
jiù就shì是kàn看這個nǚ女孩chuān穿zài在jiē街shàng上de的mí迷nǐ你qún裙zi子
shǎn闪diàn电shì是diàn电liú流jī击chuān穿kōng空qì气de的shí时hou候
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
。
She was wearing a red skirt.
She draws on her socks.
。
She is wearing a white shirt.
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.