Pinyin chart · ci
How to say ci
ci in all four tones, said in a female or a male voice. Tap a tone to hear it.
ci
Tap a tone to hear it; tap it again to hear it slower.
How to say it
c: Like the ts in “cats”, with a strong puff of air. It is never a k or an s sound.
The i: The i in ci is not “ee”. Hold the c sound and let the voice carry on with the tongue where it was, a soft “zz” buzz.
Its tones
cī 疵 flaw · cí 词 word · cǐ 此 this · cì 次 next. The pinyin trainer practices telling them apart in real words.
Sounds near it
Learners often mix ci up with these. Listen to them one after the other.
Words with ci
The voices are generated speech (ElevenLabs), the same two the app’s word cards use, each tone said as one real word. The words are from the official HSK list (the exam’s 2025 syllabus), easiest first. Every syllable is on the pinyin chart.