How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
lǎoThird toneshīFirst tone
Hear it in conversation
yǒu有de的péng朋you友jiù就wèn问le了liào廖lǎo老shī师
Some friends asked Teacher Liao
qí其cì次yīn因wèi为wǒ我shì是zhōng中wén文lǎo老shī师
Secondly, because I am a Chinese teacher.
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
I am a teacher.
?
Is she your teacher?
She is a Chinese teacher.
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.