How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
xīFirst tone
Hear it in conversation
méi没yǒu有 xīn新xiān鲜 de的 kōng空qì气 hū呼 xī吸
ràng让jī鸡dàn蛋xī吸zú足le了xī西hóng红shì柿jiàng酱de的wèi味dao道
Let scrambled eggs fully absorb the tomato flavor.
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
Smoking means suicide.
Smoking is bad for the lungs.
Smoking is strictly prohibited.
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.