Tone pair chart · 1–2
First + second tone words
All 18 HSK 1–4 words with a first tone then a second tone, each to hear in a female or male voice. Tap a word to hear it, again for slower.
The 18 words
How 1–2 is said
Each tone keeps its own shape: the first syllable stays high and level, then the second rises from mid to high, as in 今年 jīn nián.
Questions
What are some first + second tone words?
今年 (jīn nián, this year), 帮忙 (bāng máng, to help), 出来 (chū lái, to come out), 当然 (dāng rán, of course), 东南 (dōng nán, southeast), 公园 (gōng yuán, park). This page has all 18 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.