Tones 声调
Colour legend
| mā | 1st · high level (5→5) | #D32F2F |
| má | 2nd · rising (3→5) | #EF6C00 |
| mǎ | 3rd · dip then rise (2→1→4) | #2E7D32 |
| mà | 4th · falling (5→1) | #1565C0 |
| ma | neutral · light and short | #555555 |
Characters and pinyin are coloured by tone; English stays black. In sentences, a pale background links each Chinese word to its English meaning.
Contours
The four tones and neutral, as taught
妈 mā mother
* 1st tone, high and level (5→5). Hold it high, like “Aaah” at the doctor.
麻 má hemp
* 2nd tone, rising (3→5). Like the end of a question: “What?”
马 mǎ horse
* 3rd tone, dips then rises (2→1→4). Like a surprised “Really?”
骂 mà to scold
* 4th tone, short sharp fall (5→1). A firm “No!”
Tone changes (sandhi)
3rd + 3rd
When two 3rd tones meet, the first is said as a 2nd tone. The spelling keeps both marks: 你 好 nǐ hǎo is said ní hǎo, 可 以 kě yǐ is said ké yǐ.
不 bù
不 bù is 4th tone, but becomes 2nd tone before another 4th tone. It is written as said: 不 是 bú shì, 不 客 气 bú kè qi. Its colour follows the written mark.
Neutral tone
No tone mark: light and short, as in the second 谢 xie of 谢 谢 xiè xie.