How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
zuóSecond tonetiānFirst tone
Hear it in conversation
For example, I didn't sleep last night
wǒ我bù不shì是zuó昨tiān天hóng红lǐng领巾yī一bāo包rán然hòu后huí回qu去le了ma嘛
zuó昨tiān天wǎn晚shang上méi没yǒu有shuì睡hǎo好ma吗?
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
。
I only found out yesterday.
。
I printed three photos yesterday.
。
It is less humid today than it was yesterday.
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.