Here's a frustrating scenario every Chinese learner knows: you find a great sentence in your textbook, or a catchy lyric from a Chinese song, and you want to practice saying it out loud. But who's going to tell you if your pronunciation is correct?
Your textbook can't hear you. Google Translate's audio shows you the right pronunciation but can't evaluate your attempt. And asking a native speaker friend to listen to you repeat the same sentence 15 times is... a lot.
What if you could paste any Chinese text and instantly get AI feedback on your pronunciation?
Custom Text Practice: How It Works
TonePerfect's custom text practice feature does exactly this:
- Type or paste any Chinese text — a single character, a word, a full sentence, or even a paragraph
- Hit record and read the text aloud
- Get instant AI analysis — syllable-by-syllable breakdown with scores for tone accuracy and pronunciation clarity
That's it. No sign-up required. No app download needed. You can try it right now in your browser.
Why This Changes Your Study Routine
Most pronunciation tools give you a fixed set of exercises. You practice what they chose for you. This is fine for learning fundamentals, but it means you can't practice:
- The sentence from your HSK textbook that you just learned
- The lyrics of that Jay Chou song you're obsessed with
- The phrase your Chinese colleague uses in meetings
- Your self-introduction before a job interview in Chinese
- That tongue twister your teacher recommended
With custom text practice, your study material becomes your practice material. The boundary between "learning new content" and "drilling pronunciation" disappears.
What the AI Actually Tells You
When you record yourself, the AI doesn't just give you a single "good" or "bad" score. It breaks down every syllable:
Per-Syllable Scores
Each character in your text gets its own score card:
- Overall score — how close you were to native pronunciation
- Tone score — was your pitch contour correct?
- Pronunciation score — were the initial and final sounds accurate?
Tone Mismatch Detection
If you said 2nd tone when you should have said 3rd tone, the AI flags it explicitly: "Expected 3rd tone, detected 2nd tone." No ambiguity.
Color-Coded Feedback
- Green (90+): Excellent — native-like
- Blue (75-89): Good — clearly intelligible
- Amber (60-74): Fair — understandable but with noticeable errors
- Red (below 60): Needs work — likely to cause confusion
This level of detail means you know exactly which syllables to focus on. Instead of vaguely thinking "my Chinese sounds off," you can target the specific characters causing problems.
Practice Strategies for Custom Text
Strategy 1: Textbook Shadow Practice
After each lesson, paste the key sentences into TonePerfect and practice until you score above 80 on every syllable. This reinforces both the vocabulary and pronunciation simultaneously.
Strategy 2: Song Lyric Drilling
Chinese songs are excellent pronunciation practice because:
- They're memorable and motivating
- They contain natural vocabulary
- Rhythm forces you to maintain consistent tone patterns
Paste a verse, practice it line by line, then put the whole verse together.
Strategy 3: Presentation Prep
Before giving a presentation or speech in Chinese, paste your script into TonePerfect. Practice until your pronunciation is smooth and confident. This is especially powerful for business Chinese.
Strategy 4: Weak Point Isolation
If you know you struggle with certain sounds (e.g., zh/ch/sh vs j/q/x), create sentences loaded with those sounds and drill them specifically.
Free to Try, No Account Needed
Custom text practice is available at toneperfect.app/practice — completely free, no account required. Just type, record, and get feedback.
For unlimited assessments and advanced features like spaced repetition and progress tracking, check out TonePerfect Premium.
The best pronunciation practice material is the material you're actually studying. Custom text practice makes every Chinese text a pronunciation exercise.