Is there an app that tells me if my Mandarin tones are correct?
Yes. TonePerfect records you saying a Mandarin word or sentence and scores the tone of each syllable separately from its initial and final, so you see which syllable slipped and which tone it heard instead. You can try it free on this page, in the browser, with no signup, and the iOS, Android and web app does the same for words, sentences and any text you paste.
Record a word and see each syllable's tone
Same syllable, four tones: the cleanest test of your range and contours.
Facts (checked )
- On toneperfect.app, the free browser tests and tools use your recording to compute your score. TonePerfect does not store it unless you are signed in, have confirmed you are an adult and have turned on "contribute recordings to research". To score it, the audio is processed by TonePerfect's servers and, depending on the language or feature, by the speech-scoring provider SpeechSuper.
- In the TonePerfect app, scored recordings are saved with your account until you delete the account.
- TonePerfect scores pronunciation in 8 languages: Mandarin Chinese, English, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Japanese and Korean.
- In Mandarin, the tone of each syllable is scored separately from its initial and final.
- The browser tests are free and need no account. The app runs on iOS, Android and the web, with a free tier with daily limits and a Premium subscription.
- TonePerfect is not affiliated with Michigan State University's "Tone Perfect" audio database.
What a phone microphone can and can’t hear
A Mandarin tone is a pitch shape, not a musical note. What any tone checker measures is the fundamental frequency (F0) of your voice across the voiced part of each syllable, and an ordinary phone or laptop microphone records it well enough to compare shapes.
What it can hear
- The pitch contour (F0) of voiced syllables, recorded in a quiet room close to the microphone.
- Tone shapes relative to your own range, so a deep voice and a high voice are judged the same way.
- A normal speaking pace and volume.
What it struggles with
- Background noise, music or other voices.
- A clipped start, when the recording begins after you have started speaking.
- Whispering, which has no voiced pitch to measure.
- Very creaky third tones, where the pitch breaks up into irregular pulses.
- Neutral tones, which are short and take their pitch from the syllable before.
- Very fast connected speech, where syllables run into each other.
It scores the recording you made, not your listening: a high tone score means you produced the tone, not that you can hear it in someone else’s speech. For listening, use a perception drill such as the Chinese tone trainer. TonePerfect has not published an accuracy benchmark yet, so this page quotes no accuracy figure; if a score surprises you, record again in a quiet room and run the two-minute check below.
What per-syllable scoring adds
Naming the tone of one isolated syllable is a good warm-up, but it is not how Mandarin is spoken. Scoring every syllable of a real word or sentence adds three things:
Tones inside real words and sentences
Many learners are perfect on mā má mǎ mà and lose the tones in a phrase. A score per syllable shows the one syllable that slipped instead of averaging it into a grade for the whole word.
Tone changes
Two third tones in a row become rising + third (你好 nǐ hǎo is said ní hǎo), 不 bù becomes bú before a fourth tone, and 一 yī changes with the syllable after it. These changes only exist in context, so a check of one isolated syllable never meets them.
Initials and finals scored separately
A right tone on a wrong consonant, or a wrong vowel, shows up on its own instead of dragging the tone score down. You know whether to fix the pitch or the sound.
How to check any tone checker yourself in two minutes
- Go somewhere quiet, hold the microphone close and speak at normal volume.
- Pick a word whose tone you know, for example 马 mǎ (horse), and record it with the right tone.
- Record the same word again with a deliberately wrong tone: say mǎ as mà, a sharp fall.
- A checker that hears tones must mark the second take wrong, and a good one tells you which tone it heard. If both takes score the same, it is not judging the tone.
- Repeat each pair three times. One take can be off; the pattern over three takes is what counts.
- For a harder test, use a two-syllable word such as 电话 diàn huà and say only the second syllable wrong (diàn huā). The checker should flag that syllable, not the first.
To run it on TonePerfect, type 马 or 电话 into the practice page, or record “The four tones” above with two tones swapped on purpose.
Other ways to get tone feedback
- A teacher or tutor. Hears everything, including what no software scores, and can explain it. Only available during lessons.
- Recording yourself next to native audio. Free and always available. You are the judge, which works once your ear can already hear the difference.
- Free pitch-tracking software such as Praat. Draws your pitch curve so you can compare it with a native recording. No score and no guidance, and it takes some setup.
- Human-feedback services such as Speechling. A person listens to your recordings and sends corrections, after a delay.
- Speech-recognition exercises in general course apps. Useful practice, but many mark a whole word or phrase right or wrong instead of scoring the tone of each syllable.
Questions about checking Mandarin tones
Can an app really hear my tones?+
Yes, within limits. A tone is a pitch shape, and a phone or laptop microphone records pitch well in a quiet room. TonePerfect compares the shape of each syllable you say with the tone it should carry, relative to your own voice range. Background noise, whispering, very creaky third tones, neutral tones and very fast speech make any automatic check less reliable, so record again in a quiet room if a result looks wrong.
Is it free?+
The tests on toneperfect.app are free and need no account; each item can be recorded a few times a day. The TonePerfect app runs on iOS, Android and the web, with a free tier with daily limits and a Premium subscription.
Are my recordings stored?+
Not by this page. On toneperfect.app, your recording is used to compute your score and is not stored by TonePerfect, unless you are signed in, have confirmed you are an adult and have turned on "contribute recordings to research". To score it, the audio is processed by TonePerfect's servers and, depending on the language or feature, by the speech-scoring provider SpeechSuper. In the TonePerfect app, scored recordings are saved with your account until you delete the account.
Does it work on a phone?+
Yes. This page works in a phone browser once you allow the microphone, and the TonePerfect app is on iOS and Android.
Which languages does it score?+
Eight: Mandarin Chinese, English, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Japanese and Korean. Tone is scored for Mandarin; the other seven are scored sound by sound. Japanese pitch accent is not scored.
Does it handle tone sandhi?+
Yes. The items are written in dictionary pinyin, as textbooks do, and you say them the way they are spoken: 你好 nǐ hǎo is said ní hǎo. The hint under each item tells you which change applies, and the practice page scores any sentence you type, including ones with 不 and 一.
Is TonePerfect the Michigan State "Tone Perfect" database?+
No. That is a university audio corpus of Mandarin syllables for researchers. TonePerfect at toneperfect.app is an independent pronunciation app and is not affiliated with it.
Check your tones
- Mandarin tones test →Five words and tone pairs, plus all 20 tone pairs to record.
- Chinese pronunciation test →Twelve prompts, scored for tone, initial and final.
- Practise any Chinese text →Type a word or sentence and score it syllable by syllable.
- Chinese tone trainer →Train your ear: hear a word and name its tone pattern.
The TonePerfect app turns the tones you miss into a few minutes of daily practice. Free to start.