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How to pronounce 调

Its characters sit above it. Words that use it sit below. Select one to go there.

diào调to transfer (staff, troops)

More with 调: 调皮 · 调整

How to pronounce

in Mandarin Chinese

diào调

to transfer (staff, troops)

HSK 5

Synthesized Mandarin audio · Vivian voice

diàoFourth tone
tiáo调

to harmonize; to reconcile

HSK 5

Synthesized Mandarin audio · Vivian voice

tiáoSecond tone

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.

Dictionary and example sources

Definitions adapt CC-CEDICT through HSK 3.0, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Definitions are shortened for study.

Examples include Lock In original sentences and the Tatoeba Project, under CC BY 2.0 France. Chinese text is normalized to simplified characters. Pinyin follows the study dictionary.