How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
xiànFourth tonezàiFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
But if you want to
xiàn现zài在lái来zhǔn准bèi备yī一xià下辅liào料
Now to prepare some spices
xiàn现zài在wǒ我qù去zuò坐缆chē车
Now I'm going to take the cable car
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
It is three o'clock now.
I am at home now.
Begin now.
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.