Pinyin tones: how to hear, say and remember them

The four tones and the neutral tone

The same syllable, four words:

1. First tone (mā, 妈, mother): high and level, like holding a note (55).
2. Second tone (má, 麻, hemp): rising from mid to high (35).
3. Third tone (mǎ, 马, horse): a low, dipping tone; the final rise mostly appears at the end of a sentence or before a pause. The traditional contour is 214, in modern speech often 21(4).
4. Fourth tone (mà, 骂, to scold): a sharp fall from high to low (51).
5. Neutral tone: short and weak, as in ma (吗, the question particle). Its pitch follows the tone of the syllable before it.

These are four different words. A wrong tone gives a wrong word, so tone practice is part of learning vocabulary.

How the tone marks work

The mark sits over the vowel of the syllable: ā (first tone), á (second), ǎ (third), à (fourth). The neutral tone takes no mark.

Where the mark goes follows three short rules:

• a and e always take the mark (hǎo, xiè).
• In ou, the o takes the mark (hòu).
• In all other cases, the last vowel takes the mark (liù, guì).

Numbered pinyin (ma1, ma2, ma3, ma4, ma5) says the same thing and helps when you type.

Tone changes to know

In connected speech, a few tones change automatically. The technical name is tone sandhi:

• Third tone before third tone: the first becomes a second tone. 你好 (nǐ hǎo) sounds like ní hǎo. Before other tones, the third tone often stays low without the rise (the half third tone).
• 不 (bù, not): normally the fourth tone; before another fourth tone it becomes second, so 不是 is said bú shì.
• 一 (yī, one): as the ordinal "first" it stays first tone, for example 第一 dì yī. As "one" it follows the next tone: before a fourth tone it becomes second (一次 yí cì, 一半 yí bàn), and before a first, second or third tone it becomes fourth (一般 yì bān, 一天 yì tiān).

Alone, 不 and 一 keep their base reading (bù, yī); the changes happen in the sentence, with the next word.

Use colour as a memory hook

Give each tone a colour, and let the colour become part of the word. There is no single standard for the colours, so pick five you can tell apart and use them everywhere: in your notes, on your cards and in your reader. The colour adds a second cue to the sound, and two cues stick better than one. The goal is still the sound; the colour is scaffolding for the learning phase.

Train your ear

Listening improves with practice, and short sessions work well:

• Start with the same syllable. Listen to mā, má, mǎ, mà and name the tone before you check.
• Then practise tone pairs. Real words come in pairs, so two-syllable drills transfer better than single syllables.
• Shadow words you know. Listen and say along, keeping the tone.
• A few minutes daily. Short daily sessions beat one long session per week.
• Trust the training. Hearing the difference between tones is a perception skill, and focused listening practice improves it.

How Hanzi By Heart helps with tones

Hanzi By Heart colours every syllable by tone, and you can switch the colours off when you no longer need them. 不 and 一 keep their base form (bù, yī) on the cards; under words like 不客气 a short note shows the spoken tone (bú before a fourth tone), and the example sentences let you hear the change in context. Every word and sentence can be played; the audio is generated by speech synthesis. Reading, listening and writing each have their own review schedule, so a word you read well can still come back for listening practice.

Questions and answers

Are tones really that important? Yes. Words that differ only in tone are different words, for example 买 mǎi (to buy) and 卖 mài (to sell).

Can adults still learn to hear tones? Yes. It is a perception skill, and targeted practice works.

Tone colours or tone numbers? Either, or both. Numbers are precise for study; colours are a fast visual cue. Many learners need the colours less over time.

Do I need to memorise the tone changes? Learn the three rules above rather than extra word lists. When a word contains 不 or 一, look at the next tone and you can predict the spoken form yourself.

Sources

• Standard Chinese phonology (tone contours, half third tone)
• Tone sandhi (third tone, 不 and 一)
• Pinyin.info: Where do the tone marks go?
• Hacking Chinese: How to learn to hear the sounds and tones in Mandarin
• Hacking Chinese: Training and testing your ability to hear Mandarin sounds
• Chinese tones colour-coding (mnemonic technique, no single standard)