How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
kūFirst tone
Hear it in conversation
dǎ打dào到nǐ你kū哭yī一dìng定yào要nǐ你kū哭
wǒ我yǒu有yī一点xiǎng想kū哭le了
I kind of want to cry
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
Don't cry.
Mummy cried.
They burst into tears.
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.