Tone pair chart · 1–N
First + neutral tone words
All 21 HSK 1–4 words with a first tone then a neutral tone, each to hear in a female or male voice. Tap a word to hear it, again for slower.
The 21 words
How 1–N is said
The first tone stays high and level, then the neutral tone is short and light. Its height comes from the tone before it: after a first tone it sits low-mid, as in 妈妈 mā ma.
Questions
What are some first + neutral tone words?
妈妈 (mā ma, mom), 包子 (bāo zi, steamed bun), 杯子 (bēi zi, cup), 哥哥 (gē ge, older brother), 先生 (xiān sheng, Mr.), 衣服 (yī fu, clothes). This page has all 21 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.