How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
kǎoThird toneshìFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
bǐ比rú如nǐ你yào要cān参jiā加yī一gè个kǎo考shì试
For example, you are going to take an exam
měi每cì次zhǔn准bèi备lì历shǐ史kǎo考shì试dōu都ràng让wǒ我头téng疼。
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
。
They flunked their exams.
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.