Mandarin pronunciation
How to pronounce the four Mandarin tones
Mandarin has four main tones, and each one is part of the word: first tone is high and level, second rises, third dips, and fourth falls. The same syllable with a different tone is a different word, so 妈 mā (mother) and 骂 mà (to scold) are not interchangeable. To say them, keep each pitch shape clear across the whole syllable.
How to say the four tones
Find your comfortable speaking pitch, then go a little higher. First tone stays there, high and level, like holding a sung note: 妈, 书, 八.
Second tone rises from the middle of your voice to the top, like the end of a surprised question: 麻, 鱼, 白.
Third tone dips: start low, go lower, then come up a little. Said on its own it dips and returns; in a quick run of words it often just stays low: 马, 雨, 百.
Fourth tone falls sharply from high to low, like a firm “No!”: 骂, 树, 爸.
Practise tones in pairs, not one at a time. Keep the two words of a pair clearly different, then compare the pitch shape of each with the reference: 八 / 爸, 鱼 / 雨.
Why it’s hard
In English or Spanish, pitch carries emotion, emphasis and questions, but it never changes what a word means. So learners let their sentence melody take over: a word at the end of a question rises whatever its tone, and a stressed word falls.
Second and third tone are the pair learners confuse most, because said on their own, both can contain a rise. Second tone rises from the start; third tone goes down first. Hearing that difference — 鱼 yú (fish) and 雨 yǔ (rain) — comes before saying it.
Words to practise
PronounceFit has pairs for every combination of the four tones. Each pair is the same syllable with two different tones.
First vs fourth tone (high level vs falling)
- 妈 / 骂
- 书 / 树
- 汤 / 烫
- 八 / 爸
Second vs third tone (rising vs dipping)
- 麻 / 马
- 鱼 / 雨
- 白 / 百
- 曹 / 草
First vs second tone (high level vs rising)
- 包 / 薄
- 猜 / 才
- 插 / 查
- 超 / 朝
First vs third tone (high level vs dipping)
- 八 / 把
- 班 / 版
- 包 / 宝
- 杯 / 北
Second vs fourth tone (rising vs falling)
- 白 / 拜
- 才 / 菜
- 常 / 唱
- 除 / 处
Third vs fourth tone (dipping vs falling)
- 把 / 爸
- 宝 / 报
- 北 / 被
- 矮 / 爱
Common mistakes, and how to catch them
Letting sentence melody take over
A word at the end of a question rises whatever its tone. To catch it, say 书 (book) as a statement and then as a question: the tone should stay high and level both times.
Rising too early on third tone
If third tone starts by going up, 马 sounds like 麻. To catch it, start third tone lower than your normal voice and go down before anything else.
Flattening fourth tone
A gentle fall can sound like first tone, so 爸 drifts towards 八. To catch it, start fourth tone high and drop all the way: short and decisive.
How PronounceFit trains the four tones
Ear training comes first — same or different, which one did you hear — because a tone you can’t hear yet is one you can’t aim for. Tone pairs then set every tone against every other: hear the pair, say it back, and see whether the tone came through. Mandarin also has a pinyin chart trainer for the initials, finals and tones, one unit at a time.
Mandarin is in early access: you get the full practice and the same word-by-word marks, but the scores are still being tuned for Mandarin, so treat them as a guide — the app labels them that way too.
Read more about each step:
FAQ
Questions about the four tones
What are the four tones in Mandarin?
First tone is high and level, second rises, third dips low, and fourth falls sharply. Said on 妈, 麻, 马 and 骂, they give four different words.
Which Mandarin tones are hardest to tell apart?
For most learners, second and third: 鱼 yú (fish) and 雨 yǔ (rain), or 白 and 百. Said on their own, both can contain a rise, but third tone dips first; in quick speech third tone often just stays low.
Does PronounceFit check my tones?
It checks them in tone pairs: you hear two words that differ only in tone, say them back, and see whether the tone came through. While Mandarin is in early access, treat those scores as a guide.
Mandarin pronunciationGet the tone right the first time.
Say a few Mandarin words aloud and see which tones slipped — privately, on your device.