Chinese Tones (Sishēng) Explained

Whether your Chinese pronunciation is understandable or not comes down almost entirely to tones (sìshēng). The same sound can mean something completely different depending on the tone, so when you practice pronunciation, tones should come first. For the basics of pinyin, see Pinyin for Beginners.

A Quick Review of the Four Tones

Tone	Mark	Image	Example
1st tone	mā	Held high and flat	妈 (mā) mother
2nd tone	má	Rising sharply	麻 (má) hemp
3rd tone	mǎ	Dipping low	马 (mǎ) horse
4th tone	mà	Falling sharply from high to low	骂 (mà) to scold

Tips for Memorizing Tones

Move your hand: moving your hand up and down along with the pitch helps your body remember it.
Imitate the sound: listen to audio and reproduce the same pitch and movement out loud. Imitation beats book knowledge here.
Learn tones together with each word: whenever you learn a new word, bundle its meaning, pinyin, and tone together as one set.

Tone Changes to Watch For

Third-Tone Sandhi

When two 3rd tones occur back to back, the first 3rd tone changes to a 2nd tone.

你好 (nǐ hǎo) → in practice it’s pronounced like “ní hǎo.”

Also, when a 3rd tone is followed by any other tone, it’s natural to pronounce it as a “half third tone” — just dipping low without rising back up.

Tone Changes of “Yī” and “Bù”

不 (bù): changes to bú when followed by a 4th tone. Example: 不是 (bú shì).
一 (yī): changes to yí before a 4th tone, and to yì before any other tone. Example: 一个 (yí ge) / 一天 (yì tiān).

The Neutral Tone

A syllable that loses its original tone and is added lightly and briefly is called the neutral tone. Example: 妈妈 (māma), 谢谢 (xièxie).

Summary

In Chinese, meaning changes with tone, so tones should be the top priority in pronunciation practice.
Use hand movement and imitation to internalize tones physically. Memorize each word together with its tone.
Third-tone sandhi and the tone changes of “yī” and “bù” and the neutral tone all come up constantly — get comfortable with them early.

For how tones change in connected speech, go deeper with tone sandhi and the neutral tone and erhua.

TONE CONTOUR MAP

Read tones as movement, not a fixed pitch

Your pitch range can differ from a model. Copy the direction of the line; a third tone also has a different shape when it is connected to another syllable.

First tonestay high and level

Second tonemove upward to the end point

Third tonesettle low before any return

Fourth tonedrop briefly and clearly

In connected speech, do not force every third tone to complete a full dip. Link it into the next syllable instead.