Mandarin Tone Pairs: How to Hear the Tones in Real Words
By Michael McGettrick and Wee Khang LinUpdated 11 October 2026
Knowing the four tones and hearing them are different skills, and the second one only comes from listening. Most Mandarin words have two syllables, so train your ear on tone pairs, not single tones. This page covers how to practise, what each tone sounds like in a word, the twenty pairs, and the tone changes you will hear.
Quick check
Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.
Pick the right one
0/3Name the tone pair. Read the marks on each syllable: flat is 1st, rising 2nd, dipping 3rd, falling 4th, and no mark is neutral.
老师 (lǎoshī, teacher)
中国 (Zhōngguó, China)
可能 (kěnéng, maybe)
How to train your ear
Ten minutes a day beats an hour on Sunday. Open the tone trainer and do one round:
- Listen to the word. Replay it before you answer; listening is the exercise.
- Name the tone you heard: 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th.
- Play the minimal pair on the reveal: the same syllable in the tone you confused it with.
Every word in the trainer is a real word with a real recording, and a round is twelve words, balanced across the four tones.
Two confusions catch nearly every adult, so expect them and listen for them on purpose:
| Confusion | Why | Listen for |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd vs 3rd | both have a rise | a 3rd starts LOW, often creaky |
| 1st vs 4th | both start high | a 4th drops; a 1st holds its note |
Do not stop at the trainer. Every word page on the site plays its audio, so press play before you read the pinyin and guess the tones first. For a faster round, the Tone Shooter game drills the same skill against the clock.
The four tones by ear: what to listen for
The marks tell you what the voice should do. Your ear needs something simpler: one thing to catch in each tone.
| Tone | Pinyin | Listen for | Mixed up with |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | mā | a flat, held, high note | 4th |
| 2nd | má | a climb that ends high | 3rd |
| 3rd | mǎ | low, often creaky, slow | 2nd |
| 4th | mà | a short, hard drop | 1st |
| neutral | ma | a quick, light tap | anything |
The 3rd is the one to fix first. On its own it dips and rises, but most of the time it is just low: the bottom of your voice, often with a creak. If a syllable sounds deeper and rougher than its neighbours, it is probably a 3rd.
The 4th is short; the full 3rd is the longest of the four. Length is a real clue, not just pitch: compare 。 (Shì.) - Yes, that's right, a quick drop, with 。 (Hǎo.) - OK, a slow, low dip.
Tone pairs: the twenty combinations
Four tones in the first syllable, four in the second, plus the four with a neutral second syllable: twenty pairs. One common word for each:
First syllable 1st or 2nd
| Pair | Word | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 + 1 | fēijī | aeroplane | |
| 1 + 2 | Zhōngguó | China | |
| 1 + 3 | kāishǐ | to begin | |
| 1 + 4 | gōngzuò | work | |
| 1 + neutral | tāmen | they | |
| 2 + 1 | míngtiān | tomorrow | |
| 2 + 2 | xuéxí | to study | |
| 2 + 3 | méiyǒu | not have | |
| 2 + 4 | ránhòu | then | |
| 2 + neutral | péngyou | friend |
First syllable 3rd or 4th
| Pair | Word | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 + 1 | lǎoshī | teacher | |
| 3 + 2 | Měiguó | America | |
| 3 + 3 | nǐ hǎo | hello, said ní hǎo | |
| 3 + 4 | hǎokàn | good-looking | |
| 3 + neutral | wǒmen | we | |
| 4 + 1 | qìchē | car | |
| 4 + 2 | wèntí | question, problem | |
| 4 + 3 | zìjǐ | oneself | |
| 4 + 4 | zàijiàn | goodbye | |
| 4 + neutral | xièxie | thank you |
The hardest pairs all involve the 2nd and 3rd tones. (méiyǒu, 2 + 3) and (Měiguó, 3 + 2) are mirror images, and (3 + 3) is said exactly like a 2 + 3, so it sounds the same shape as . Learn those three side by side.
4 + 4 is the other trap. The first fall stops halfway, so (zàijiàn) is a half drop then a full drop. Two full drops sounds like shouting.
不 (bù) and 一 (yī): tone changes you can hear
Two very common words change tone depending on what follows. Unlike the 3-3 rule, pinyin writes these changes: textbooks, the HSK course books and every word page on this site show búshì and yí ge, not bùshì and yī ge. Some dictionaries keep the original bù and yī and leave the change to you.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| búshì | is not | bú before a 4th | |
| búyào | don't want | bú before a 4th | |
| bù hǎo | not good | bù before the rest | |
| bù lái | not coming | bù before the rest | |
| yí ge | one (of) | yí before a 4th | |
| yíyàng | the same | yí before a 4th | |
| yì tiān | one day | yì before the rest | |
| yìqǐ | together | yì before the rest | |
| dì-yī | first | yī as a number | |
| shíyī | eleven | yī as a number |
- búsaid as tone 2
- shìsaid as tone 4
不是 bú shì: before a 4th tone, 不 rises.
Two sentences to say aloud:
。(Wǒ bú shì lǎoshī.) - I'm not a teacher.。(Wǒmen yìqǐ qù ba.) - Let's go together.
stays yī whenever it is a number in its own right: counting (yī, èr, sān), ordinals like (dì-yī, first), and inside a number like (shíyī, eleven).
(bù) has one more trick. In the middle of a set phrase it goes light and neutral, a quick tap rather than a rise or a fall:
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| duìbuqǐ | sorry | |
| shì bu shì | isn't it? | |
| kàn bu jiàn | can't see |
The 3-3 rule is the odd one out. Pinyin does not write it: stays nǐ hǎo on the page, and your voice makes it ní hǎo. Learn the difference once and the two systems stop clashing.
The neutral tone and the half third tone
The neutral tone has no pitch of its own. Where it lands depends on the tone before it, and that is how you hear it:
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | Neutral sits |
|---|---|---|---|
| tāmen | they | mid-low, after a 1st | |
| péngyou | friend | middle, after a 2nd | |
| wǒmen | we | fairly high, after a 3rd | |
| xièxie | thank you | lowest, after a 4th |
After a 3rd tone it bounces up, because the 3rd sits so low. After a 4th it falls to the floor with it.
Sometimes the neutral tone is the only thing between two words:
| Hanzi | Neutral | Full tone |
|---|---|---|
| dōngxi, thing | dōngxī, east and west | |
| duōshao, how many | duōshǎo, more or less | |
| dìdao, authentic | dìdào, tunnel |
The half third tone is the 3rd as you will hear it most of the time. Before a 1st, 2nd, 4th or neutral tone, it drops low and stays there, with no rise:
- lǎosaid as tone 3
- shīsaid as tone 1
老师 lǎoshī: a low half third, then a high 1st.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English | The 3rd sounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| lǎoshī | teacher | low, no rise | |
| Měiguó | America | low, no rise | |
| hǎokàn | good-looking | low, no rise | |
| wǒmen | we | low, no rise | |
| ní hǎo | hello | rising, like a 2nd | |
| ！ | hǎo! | good! | full dip at the end |
A few words with a neutral second syllable that was once a 3rd tone rise instead: (xiǎojie, miss) is usually said xiáojie. Most, like (wǒmen, we), keep the half third.
Mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One tone at a time | Practise pairs | Real words come in twos |
| Every 3rd a full dip | Low, no rise, mid-phrase | The full dip is only alone or at the end |
| Saying bù shì | Say bú shì | (bù) rises before a 4th tone |
| Saying yī ge | Say yí ge | (yī) rises before a 4th tone |
| Saying dì-yí | Say dì-yī | Ordinals keep yī |
| Two full falls (4+4) | Half fall, then full fall | (zàijiàn) is not two shouts |
| A heavy men in wǒmen | Keep it light and quick | A neutral syllable is a tap |
What to do next
- Ten minutes on the tone trainer today, aiming at the 2nd against the 3rd.
- Say
(méiyǒu),(Měiguó) and(nǐ hǎo) aloud, back to back, until the shapes feel different. - Revisit the four tones for the 3-3 rule and where the marks go.