How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
bùFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
zhōng中jiān间yòng用jìn浸guo过yán盐shuǐ水de的bù布gé隔kāi开
yǒu有 rén人 yòng用 bù布 dài袋, yǒu有 rén人 yòng用 fān帆 bù布 bāo包
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
Rock, paper, scissors.
Rock-paper-scissors, shoot!
This piece of cloth is very soft.
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.