How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
cǎiThird tone
Hear it in conversation
zhī之hòu后wǒ我jué觉de得wǒ我cǎi踩dào到shén什me么dōng东xi西le了
wǒ我jiù就cǎi踩dào到yī一duī堆suì碎bō玻li璃
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.