How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
pāiFirst tone
Hear it in conversation
Smash a few cloves of garlic, then chop finely.
pāi拍qì气zhěng整形de的guò过chéng程zhōng中nǐ你kě可yǐ以wén闻dào到jiǔ酒wèi味,还yǒu有yī一点点suān酸wèi味
zhǔn准bèi备jǐ几kuài块shēng生姜pāi拍sàn散zhī之hòu后fàng放rù入pén盆zhōng中
Take a few pieces of ginger, smash them, and place them with the knuckle.
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
。
He patted my shoulder.
。
Everyone is clapping.
。
She patted her hair into place.
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.