How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
shéiSecond tone
Hear it in conversation
Who are they selling mobile phones to
nǐ你shì是shéi谁nǐ你zuò做shén什me么
Who are you? What do you do?
jiào教shì室de的wèi卫shēng生shì是shéi谁lái来zuò做ne呢
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.