How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
xiǎoThird tonemàiFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
piāo漂bái白de的guò过chéng程jiù就bǎ把xiǎo小mài麦shàng上zì自dài带de的菌种shā杀de的qī七qī七bā八bā八le了,bù不lì利yú于wǒ我men们péi培yǎng养酵mǔ母。
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
。
Flour is made from wheat.
。
Bread is made from wheat.
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.