The four tones and the neutral tone
Chinese Foundations · Lesson 3 of 11 · About 15 minutes
Preview version — Chinese review in progress.
Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can hear and say the four tones and the neutral tone, and you know why a wrong tone changes the word.
Audio preview uses your device’s Chinese voice. It is not a recording.
Warm-up: do you remember?
Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.
Pinyin
Quick recall: which initial does 吃 (to eat) start with?
Show the answer
Answer: A, ch.
吃 is chī: ch with a curled tongue.
New words
Four tones and a light one
Mandarin uses pitch to tell words apart. 买 (mǎi) is to buy and 卖 (mài) is to sell: same initial, same final, only the tone differs. A tone is part of the word, just like its consonants.
| Tone | Mark | Pitch | On ma |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | ā | high and level | mā |
| Second | á | rises, like a surprised what | má |
| Third | ǎ | low and dipping | mǎ |
| Fourth | à | falls sharply, like a firm no | mà |
Words you already know: 茶 chá rises (second tone), 水 shuǐ dips (third), 去 qù falls (fourth) and 喝 hē stays high (first).
The neutral tone is short and light and has no mark: the second syllable of 妈妈 (māma) and of 谢谢 (xièxie).
Two third tones in a row: the first one rises. 你好 is written nǐ hǎo but said ní hǎo. Pinyin keeps the original marks; your voice makes the change.
Where the mark goes: on a or e when the syllable has one, on the o of ou, and otherwise on the last vowel: shuǐ, xiè.
茶 tea
- First tone
- Second tone
- Third tone
- Fourth tone
Show the answer
chá: Second tone
水 water
- First tone
- Second tone
- Third tone
- Fourth tone
Show the answer
shuǐ: Third tone
去 to go
- First tone
- Second tone
- Third tone
- Fourth tone
Show the answer
qù: Fourth tone
喝 to drink
- First tone
- Second tone
- Third tone
- Fourth tone
Show the answer
hē: First tone
买 to buy
- First tone
- Second tone
- Third tone
- Fourth tone
Show the answer
mǎi: Third tone
卖 to sell
- First tone
- Second tone
- Third tone
- Fourth tone
Show the answer
mài: Fourth tone
Speak: listen, record, compare
Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.
Recordings stay in this browser tab: nothing is uploaded, and they disappear when you leave the page unless you save a copy of a task recording to your device yourself. Your browser asks for the microphone first.
Recording is not available in this browser. Listen, then repeat aloud and compare by ear.
妈妈
māma
mum
买
mǎi
to buy
卖
mài
to sell
你好
nǐ hǎo
hello (said ní hǎo)
Practice
Tones
Which tone does 茶 have?
茶
Show the answer
Answer: B, Second tone.
茶 is chá, second tone: the voice rises.
Listening
Listen: is this to buy or to sell?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
卖 mài
Show the answer
Answer: B, to sell (mài, falling).
You heard 卖 (mài): the fourth tone falls sharply. 买 (mǎi) dips low.
Pinyin
Which syllable has the third tone?
Show the answer
Answer: A, mǎi.
mǎi has the third-tone mark: low and dipping.
Tones
In 妈妈 (māma), how is the second syllable said?
Show the answer
Answer: B, short and light: the neutral tone.
The second 妈 in 妈妈 is short and light: the neutral tone, written without a mark.
Your turn
Type to buy in pinyin with its tone: a mark like ǎ, or the number 3.
Show the answer
Answer: mǎi
To buy is mǎi (买), third tone. Without the tone it could be mài (卖), to sell.
Meaning
What does 好 mean on its own?
Show the answer
Answer: A, good, well.
好 (hǎo) means good or well. You know it from 你好, hello.
Tones
How do you say 你好 out loud?
Show the answer
Answer: B, ní hǎo: the first syllable rises.
Two third tones in a row: the first one rises. You write nǐ hǎo and say ní hǎo.
Your mission: buy or sell?
Tones are muscle memory: two minutes a day beat an hour once a week.
- Say 买 and 卖 five times each, slowly, exaggerating the dip and the fall.
- Record 买, then 卖, and play them back: can you hear which is which?
- Do the tone drill above again tomorrow before you start lesson 4.
Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:
Review and finish
Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.
- I can say the four tones on ma and on words I know.
- I know that 买 and 卖 differ only by their tone.
- I say 妈妈 and 谢谢 with a light second syllable.
- I say 你好 as ní hǎo.
Review works best spaced out: answer these exercises again tomorrow, then after a few days. Your progress is saved in this browser.
Completing records that you finished the lesson. Mastery is separate: it grows as reviews bring the exercises back and you answer them correctly.