How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
xiùFourth toneziNeutral tone
Hear it in conversation
zhè这shí时hou候,tā他ná拿chū出le了cáng藏zài在xiù袖zi子lǐ里de的dāo刀,yào要shā杀sǐ死嬴政。
wǒ我bǎ把xiù袖zi子卷qǐ起lai来
I rolled up my sleeves.
Select a word for its meaning.
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.