Chinese Tones Listening Practice: Four Tones, Tone Changes and Drills
Tones are the part of Mandarin where listening practice pays off fastest, because a different tone is a different word. This guide gives you the tones, the tone changes that confuse learners, and a short drill you can run with the reader, using pinyin and slow speed to train your ear.
The four tones and the neutral tone
First tone is high and level, second rises, third dips and rises, fourth falls sharply, and the neutral tone is light and short.
Learn them with one syllable that has four different meanings.
| Tone | Mark | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | mā | 妈 | mother |
| 2 | má | 麻 | hemp |
| 3 | mǎ | 马 | horse |
| 4 | mà | 骂 | to scold |
| Neutral | ma | 吗 | question particle |
Tone changes you will hear
Two third tones in a row change the first; 不 becomes bú before a fourth tone; 一 changes depending on the next tone.
The voice follows these changes, while pinyin usually shows the original tone, so noticing the difference is part of the practice.
| Written | Spoken as | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 你好 nǐ hǎo | ní hǎo | Third tone before another third tone |
| 不是 bù shì | bú shì | 不 before a fourth tone |
| 一个 yī gè | yí gè | 一 before a fourth tone |
| 一天 yī tiān | yì tiān | 一 before first, second or third tone |
A ten-minute drill
Listen to pairs of tones, then to sentences, then repeat aloud at a slower speed.
Choose six two-syllable words that cover different tone pairs, for example 中国, 学习, 老师, 谢谢, 朋友 and 大学. Paste them one per line into the reader. Play each word with pinyin on, then slow the speed to 0.75x and say it aloud. Finish by playing a short sentence containing two of them at normal speed.
- Pairs: listen and name the tones before you check the pinyin.
- Sentences: follow the tone marks and note the tone changes.
- Repeat: say each line aloud after the voice, at 0.75x then 1x.
What listening practice cannot do
It trains your ear and gives you a model, but it cannot tell you whether your own tones are correct.
Record yourself with another app, or ask a teacher, to check your own output. Use the reader as the reference and treat your recording as the thing to compare.
Frequently asked questions
- How many tones does Mandarin have?
- Four tones and a neutral tone.
- Can the reader check my tones?
- No. It plays a voice for you to imitate and does not grade your speech.
Related reading
- How to Pronounce Chinese: Hear Words and Sentences with Pinyin
- Pinyin Text to Speech: Hear Pinyin Read Aloud with Chinese Characters
- How to Use Chinese Text to Speech: Voices, Pinyin, Speed, PDF and Chrome
- Chinese Reader with Pinyin: Read Mandarin Aloud
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