How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
xìngFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
What should I do if I only know his last name?
duì对fāng方xìng姓shén什me么de的jù句zi子
A sentence asking for the other person's last name
yòng用dào到le了xìng姓jiā加shàng上职chēng称
we used the surname plus the title
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
My name is Yamada.
What is your last name?
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.