Tone pair chart

How to read it

Each square is a real word: its first tone is the row, its second the column. The line is its pitch, low to high, as it is said.

The third tone in a pair

Before another tone, a third tone stays low and doesn’t come back up: 米饭 mǐfàn. Before another third, it rises like a second tone: 你好 is written nǐ hǎo and said ní hǎo.

The neutral tone

Short and light, and its height comes from the tone before it: low after a fourth tone (爸爸 bàba), high after a third (饺子 jiǎozi).

Why pairs

Most Mandarin words have two syllables, so these 20 shapes are most of what you hear. Learn the shape of a pair and every word with it sounds familiar.

Questions

How many tone pairs are there in Mandarin?

Twenty. Each of the four tones can be followed by any of the four, which makes 16, and each can be followed by the neutral tone, which makes 4 more.

Why does 你好 sound like ní hǎo?

When two third tones come together, the first is said as a second tone. The pinyin keeps the written tones: nǐ hǎo.

Practise the pairs

Pinyin test: one word for each of the 20 pairs, one score. Tone practice: say a word and see your tones over a native speaker’s. Pinyin trainer: more of the pairs you miss until they stick.