Tones on their own
20 phrases
妈 麻 马 骂 - mother, hemp, horse, to scold - is the classic set, and the four words differ in nothing but pitch. Play the group first, then the four separately. Hearing the difference comes before producing it, and this page is only about hearing.
yī yí yǐ yì i — 1st tone / 2nd tone / 3rd tone / 4th toneyī → — 1st tone - high and flatyí ↗ — 2nd tone - rising, like a questionyǐ ↘↗ — 3rd tone - dips down then upyì ↘ — 4th tone - falls sharplywū wú wǔ wù u — 1st tone / 2nd tone / 3rd tone / 4th tonewū → — 1st tone - high and flatwú ↗ — 2nd tone - rising, like a questionwǔ ↘↗ — 3rd tone - dips down then upwù ↘ — 4th tone - falls sharplyyū yú yǔ yù ü — 1st tone / 2nd tone / 3rd tone / 4th toneyū → — 1st tone - high and flatyú ↗ — 2nd tone - rising, like a questionyǔ ↘↗ — 3rd tone - dips down then upyù ↘ — 4th tone - falls sharplymā má mǎ mà ma — 1st tone / 2nd tone / 3rd tone / 4th tonemā → — 1st tone - high and flatmá ↗ — 2nd tone - rising, like a questionmǎ ↘↗ — 3rd tone - dips down then upmà ↘ — 4th tone - falls sharply
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