How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
cōngFirst tonemingNeutral tone
Hear it in conversation
tài太cōng聪ming明le了,jiù就shì是zhè这ge个yì意si思!
nǐ你yīng应gāi该tīng听bǐ比nǐ你gèng更cōng聪ming明de的rén人shuō说huà话
You should listen to people who are smarter than you.
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
,。
She is not only beautiful but also clever.
He is sharp-witted.
You're very smart.
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.