How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
shuǐThird tone
Hear it in conversation
zhǔn准bèi备yī一点shuǐ水淀fěn粉
Prepare a little starch water.
běn本dì地 de的 shū蔬cài菜 hé和 shuǐ水 guǒ果
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
I have water.
Do you have water?
I want to drink water.
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.