Please install 
to view full content of this site.
Tones
Hanyu is a tonal language. A tone means the relative pitch difference and the pattern of pitch change. The pitch of a tone is not absolute. People speak in different pitch ranges, but the relative patterns of pitch change are the same. There are 4 tones in Hanyu.Click the following links to hear and practice pronouncing finals in four tones:
- Simple finals in four tones (1 page)
- Composite finals in four tones (1 page)
Rules for Tone Marking
Hanyu Pinyin uses tone marks to indicate the 4 tones in Hanyu.
The pronunciation of a Chinese character is a syllable. For every syllable, the tone mark is placed over the most distinctly pronounced simple final.
These are rules for tone marking:
- Always over “a” if there is one.
- Either “o”or “e”will be the choice if no “a” exists.
- If “i”and “u”stand next to each other, place the tone mark over the second as iú or uí.
- Remove the dot of “i” if a tone mark is placed over it.
