How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
shǒuThird tonezhǐThird tone
Hear it in conversation
shǒu手zhǐ指zài在鍵盤shàng上飛速dǎ打zì字de的xiǎo小花zhèng正zài在處lǐ理zhù著yī一xiàng項任務。
The little flower typing rapidly on the keyboard is working on a task.
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
。
She tapped the table with her finger.
。
Playing the piano requires manual dexterity.
。
My fingers are very cold.
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.