How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
xiàFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
wǒ我shuō说nǐ你men们干ma嘛xià吓dāi呆
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
。
I was frightened by the sight.
Wolves scare me.
I was shocked.
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.