Tone pair chart · 1–1
First + first tone words
All 63 HSK 1–4 words with a first tone then a first tone, each to hear in a female or male voice. Tap a word to hear it, again for slower.
The 63 words
How 1–1 is said
Both syllables keep the first tone’s shape: each stays high and level, as in 今天 jīn tiān.
Questions
What are some first + first tone words?
今天 (jīn tiān, today), 东西 (dōng xī, thing), 飞机 (fēi jī, airplane), 分钟 (fēn zhōng, minute), 公司 (gōng sī, company), 星期 (xīng qī, week). This page has all 63 on the HSK 1 to 4 lists that we have checked recordings of.
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.
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.
Voices by ElevenLabs, the same two as the app’s word cards.