How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
líSecond tonekāiFirst tone
Hear it in conversation
zài再yě也méi没yǒu有lí离kāi开guo过dà大shān山
has never again left the mountains.
“nǐ你wèi为shén什me么lí离kāi开shàng上yī一fèn份gōng工zuò作?”
"Why did you leave your last job?"
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
Get out of here.
I'll be gone for a while.
She left early in the morning.
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.