。
A group of young men are playing handball in the playground.
How to pronounce 手
How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
shǒu手
hand; (formal) to hold
HSK 2
Synthesized Mandarin audio · Vivian voice
shǒuThird tone
Hear it in conversation
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
。
She greeted him waving her hand.
！
Put your hands up!
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.