How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
cóngSecond toneshìFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
Engaging in sales work
cóng从shì事脑lì力láo劳dòng动de的gōng工zuò作rén人yuán员
Workers engaged in mental labor
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
I work in customer service.
。
He works in archeology.
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.