Mandarin Tones 声调

Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language — the pitch of your voice changes the meaning completely. There are four basic tones plus a neutral tone. Use the colour-coded images below to learn each tone easily.

1st Tone 2nd Tone 3rd Tone 4th Tone Neutral
1
First Tone · High Flat
飞机
fēi jī
airplane
Airplane with straight red smoke trail
Airplane horizontal flight
Airplane straight flight path
Pronunciation tip: Keep your voice steady at a constant high pitch with no rise or fall, just like the airplane flying straight horizontally across the sky.
2
Second Tone · Rising
禾苗
hé miáo
rice seedling
Rice seedling growing upward
Rice leaf slanting upward
Green rice seedling leaf
Pronunciation tip: Start at a middle pitch, then raise your voice smoothly upward, following the upward slant of the rice leaf.
3
Third Tone · Falling-Rising
水手
shuǐ shǒu
sailor
Sailor on sailboat at sea
Sailboat on ocean waves
Blue sailor and sea
Pronunciation tip: Lower your voice to the lowest pitch first, then lift it back up to a middle pitch, like a boat dipping down and climbing back up over ocean waves.
4
Fourth Tone · Falling
降落
jiàng luò
descend / land
Skydiver falling diagonally
Purple skydiver descending
Falling descent movement
Pronunciation tip: Start high, then drop your voice quickly and firmly down to a low pitch, matching the fast downward movement of the skydiver.
5
Neutral Tone
星星
xīng xing
star
Stationary grey sphere
Pale grey sphere on blank background
Motionless star in center
Pronunciation tip: Speak softly and briefly with no rising or falling pitch change — hold a steady neutral middle pitch, just like this motionless star with no tilt or movement in the center of the frame.

Brief Summary

飞机 fēi jī (airplane) High Flat
禾苗 hé miáo (seedling) Rising
水手 shuǐ shǒu (sailor) Fall-Rise
降落 jiàng luò (descend) Falling
星星 xīng xing (star) Neutral