Mandarin sounds, written with letters.

Pinyin tones and tone marks.

Learn the four Mandarin tone marks, the neutral tone, and where to place the mark in a Pinyin syllable. Check your understanding with short exercises.

Mandarin syllables have tones as well as consonants and vowels. mā (媽, mother) and mǎ (馬, horse) have the same letters but different tones.

These contours are simple practice guides. Natural pitch depends on the speaker, sentence and surrounding tones. The neutral tone is short and light, with no written tone mark.

First tone

High and level

Keep the pitch steady in a comfortable upper range.

mā媽mother · typed reading ma1

Second tone

Rising

Move upward through the syllable.

má麻hemp · typed reading ma2

Third tone

Low; a dip in isolation

Practise the full dip on its own. In connected speech, the low part often matters more than a full rise.

mǎ馬horse · typed reading ma3

Fourth tone

Falling

Let the pitch fall clearly through the syllable.

mà罵to scold · typed reading ma4

No mark does not mean first tone

The neutral tone

The question particle 嗎 is written ma, without a tone mark. It is shorter and less prominent than a full-tone syllable; its pitch depends on the preceding tone. Numbered learning notation often uses ma5 or ma0.

This differs from Zhuyin, which normally leaves first tone unmarked and uses a dot for neutral tone. In Pinyin, mā has first tone and ma has neutral tone.

Which vowel gets the mark?

If there is an a, mark a.hǎo, xiǎo, guān
Otherwise, mark e or the o in ou.xiě, xué, kǒu
For iu and ui, mark the second vowel.liú, huí — the order matters.
Otherwise, mark the last written vowel.nǐ, guó, zhōng, shū, nǚ

A tone mark replaces the dot on i: ī í ǐ ì. Keep both dots on ü when they belong in the spelling: ǖ ǘ ǚ ǜ.

Written tones and spoken changes

The dictionary tones in 你好 are nǐ hǎo. In normal speech, the first third tone becomes a rising tone before the next third tone.

Dictionary spellingnǐ hǎoSpoken togetherní hǎo

Keep the underlying tones when you answer our spelling exercises: ni3 hao3. A spoken tone change does not automatically change the dictionary spelling.

Third-tone combinations are a useful first example. Words such as 一 and 不 also have context-dependent changes; study them inside phrases.

Check the spelling

Three quick tone questions

Choose an answer, then check the explanation.

1Where does the second-tone mark go in liu?

líu liú lǐu

2Which spelling shows neutral-tone ma?

mā mǎ ma

3Which dictionary reading should you enter for 你好?

ni3 hao3 ni2 hao3 ni3 hao2

Reference checks: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University · Initials, Pinyin spelling rules and tone changes. Explanations, examples and diagrams here are original learning material for i2Bopomo.

Keep going

Learn Pinyin

Pinyin practicePractice the Pinyin readings of useful Chinese words. Enter tone numbers or marks, use hints, and check each answer as you learn. Pinyin sound chartExplore common Pinyin initials and finals through real words. Filter the reference, check spelling notes, and print a study sheet. Tones & syllablesUnderstand the tone marks, learn where they belong, and connect written Zhuyin to spoken Mandarin.