How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
děngThird tonedàiFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
wǒ我xiàn现zài在yào要děng等dài待zhè这ge个shāo烧shuǐ水hú壶shāo烧kāi开
Now I need to wait for the water to boil.
nǐ你kě可yǐ以děng等dài待děng等dài待
You can wait.
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
。
There was no choice but to sit and wait.
Don't wait.
I await updates.
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.