Mandarin Tone Player
Hear the four Mandarin tones and the neutral tone on real words, see each pitch curve, and play the tone-change rules — then say them and get a score.
Hear it, then test your tones
Take the free 3–5-minute pronunciation test and get a score for every tone.
The four tones (plus neutral)
1st tone — high and flat, like holding a musical note
2nd tone — rising, like asking "what?"
3rd tone — low dip; in speech usually just low
4th tone — sharp fall, like a firm "no!"
Neutral tone — short and light, no contour of its own
Tone changes (sandhi) you can't skip
Two 3rd tones in a row → 2nd + 3rd
A 3rd tone before another 3rd tone turns into a 2nd tone. That's why 你好 is written nǐ hǎo but said ní hǎo.
不 (bù) becomes bú before a 4th tone
Before another falling tone, 不 flips to rising: 不是 bú shì. Before tones 1–3 it stays bù.
一 (yī) becomes yí before a 4th tone, yì before tones 1–3
一 keeps its 1st tone only when counting or in ordinals like 第一 — everywhere else it changes.
The half-third tone: how the 3rd tone really sounds in speech
Before a 1st, 2nd or 4th tone, a 3rd tone only dips low and never rises back up: 我们 wǒmen is a low wǒ, not a full dip. The full dip-and-rise is heard mostly at the end of a phrase or when a word is said on its own. Three 3rd tones in a row split by meaning: 我很好 is usually said wó hén hǎo.
New to tones? Read Chinese tones: the complete guide — tone pairs, words that differ only by tone, and the mistakes English speakers make.
Mandarin has four tones plus a neutral one, and they are not decoration — they are the difference between mā (mother), má (hemp), mǎ (horse) and mà (to scold). The chart above plays all five on that classic series so you can hear the shapes, not just read about them: high and level, rising, a low dip, a sharp fall.
The part most pages skip is that tones *change* in real speech. Two 3rd tones can't sit next to each other, so 你好 comes out ní hǎo; 不 and 一 flip tone depending on what follows. Those three sandhi rules cover almost every tone change you'll ever hear — learn them here, then test whether you can produce them with the tone trainer or a free recording in the TonePerfect app.
What are the 4 tones of Mandarin Chinese?
1st: high and level (mā). 2nd: rising, like a question (má). 3rd: a low dipping tone (mǎ). 4th: sharp falling, like a command (mà). There is also a neutral tone — short, light, and taking its pitch from the syllable before it (the ma in māma).
Why does 你好 sound like ní hǎo?
Tone sandhi: when two 3rd tones meet, the first becomes a 2nd tone. It is automatic and universal — native speakers do not even notice they are doing it, but a learner who says nǐ hǎo with two full dips sounds distinctly off.
Do I really have to learn tones?
Yes — context saves you less than beginners hope, because whole sentences of mis-toned words compound. The good news: perception training works fast. Drill the pairs with our tone trainer, then record yourself in the TonePerfect app to see which tones you actually produce.
More free tools
Test your pronunciation
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How good is your Chinese pronunciation, really?
Reading about tones is not the same as producing them. Say a few words into your mic and the AI scores every syllable — tone, initial and final — then shows you which sounds are holding you back.
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Train, don't just read
Practice your pronunciation in the app
A guide can explain the tones, but you can't fix your pronunciation by reading. The TonePerfect app lets you actually say the words and scores every syllable — initial, final, and tone — in real time, so you hear your mistakes and correct them on the spot.
- Instant AI feedback on every syllable
- Practice any word, sentence, or HSK list
- Hands-on tone training you can't get from reading
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