Pinyin chart · mai

How to say mai

mai in its 3 tones, said in a female or a male voice. Tap a tone to hear it.

mai

Tap a tone to hear it; tap it again to hear it slower.

Voice

How to say it

m: As in English “m”.

ai: ai is close to the “eye” of English.

Its tones

mái 埋 to bury · mǎi 买 to buy · mài 卖 to sell. māi isn’t used in standard Mandarin. The pinyin trainer practices telling them apart in real words.

Words with mai

卖màito sell
买mǎito buy
外卖wàimàitakeout
购买gòumǎito purchase
买卖mǎimàibuying and selling
埋máito bury
迈màimile (unit)
小麦xiǎomàiwheat
麦克风màikèfēngmicrophone
出卖chūmàito sell
动脉dòngmài(fig.) artery
贩卖fànmài(slang) to peddle (emotions, anxiety)

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.