Tone practice
Listen to a word from the HSK 1–4 list and choose its tones. Start with single syllables, then move to two-syllable words, which is how tones appear in real speech. The drill keeps track of the tone pairs you miss and gives you more of them.
The four tones and the neutral tone
Mandarin has four tones plus a light, short neutral tone. The same syllable with a different tone is a different word: mā 妈 (mother), má 麻 (hemp), mǎ 马 (horse), mà 骂 (to scold).
- 1st tone (ā): high and level. Hold it steady, a little higher than your normal speaking voice.
- 2nd tone (á): rises from middle to high, like a surprised “what?”.
- 3rd tone (ǎ): low. On its own or at the end of a phrase it dips and rises again; before another syllable it usually stays low and does not rise.
- 4th tone (à): falls sharply from high to low, like a firm “no!”.
- Neutral tone (a): short and light, with no mark. Its pitch depends on the syllable before it. It is common in the second half of words like 爸爸, 东西 and 朋友.
Why practise with two-syllable words
Most HSK words have two syllables, and a tone sounds different depending on its neighbour. A 3rd tone before a 4th tone stays low and does not rise (kěshì 可是), and a 1st tone after a 4th has to jump back up from low to high (qìchē 汽车, dàjiā 大家). Learners who can name single tones often still mix up pairs such as 2+3 and 3+2, or 1+4 and 4+1. At HSK 1–3, many listening questions turn on a single word, so hearing these pairs quickly is worth the practice.
Tone changes this drill leaves out
In speech, some tones change from what the dictionary shows. To keep the answers clear, the drill skips words where that happens:
- Two 3rd tones in a row: the first becomes a 2nd tone. 你好 is written nǐ hǎo but said ní hǎo.
- 不 bù: becomes bú before a 4th tone, as in 不是 búshì.
- 一 yī: becomes yí before a 4th tone (一样 yíyàng) and yì before other tones (一起 yìqǐ).
The HSK word lists show the dictionary tones, so learn those. Then listen for the spoken versions; you will hear them in every listening section.
Tone pairs with examples
Two common words for each pair, from the HSK 1–4 list. Press ▶ to hear a word.
| First ↓ / Second → | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | neutral |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 飞机 fēijī 分钟 fēnzhōng | 非常 fēicháng 家人 jiārén | 中午 zhōngwǔ 机场 jīchǎng | 超市 chāoshì 高兴 gāoxìng | 包子 bāozi 杯子 bēizi |
| 2nd | 白天 báitiān 读书 dúshū | 明年 míngnián 同学 tóngxué | 没有 méiyǒu 牛奶 niúnǎi | 没事 méishì 学校 xuéxiào | 孩子 háizi 觉得 juéde |
| 3rd | 好吃 hǎochī 好听 hǎotīng | 起床 qǐchuáng 小时 xiǎoshí | said as 2 + 3 | 好看 hǎokàn 米饭 mǐfàn | 饺子 jiǎozi 姐姐 jiějie |
| 4th | 大家 dàjiā 面包 miànbāo | 大学 dàxué 去年 qùnián | 电脑 diànnǎo 电影 diànyǐng | 电话 diànhuà 电视 diànshì | 爸爸 bàba 弟弟 dìdi |
A short daily routine
- Do one round of 20 single syllables until you score 18 or more.
- Switch to two-syllable words at your current level and do two rounds.
- Say each word aloud after you check it. Copy the pitch, not only the vowel.
- Once a week, check “Tones you miss most” and spend a session on those pairs.
Next: test the same words for meaning in the vocabulary quiz, or read how the listening section works in the listening guide.