How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
tōngFirst tonezhīFirst tone
Hear it in conversation
yóu由zhèng政fǔ府zhí直jiē接fā發tōng通zhī知hán函
rú如guǒ果nǐ你shōu收dào到le了tōng通zhī知
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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.