！
Drop the knife!
How to pronounce 刀
How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
dāo刀
knife
HSK 4
Synthesized Mandarin audio · Vivian voice
dāoFirst tone
Hear it in conversation
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
？
Do you have a knife?
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.