ToneDeck Daily
One Mandarin tone puzzle a day - the same 5 syllables for every player in the world. Listen, name each tone, get your score, and share the grid. One attempt; the next puzzle drops at midnight UTC.
How it works
- Same puzzle for everyone.The day's questions are derived from the UTC date itself, so your friend in another timezone hears exactly the same syllables on the same day.
- One attempt per day. Like Wordle - no retries, so a shared score actually means something.
- Spoiler-free sharing.The emoji grid shows only hits and misses, never the answers, so it can't ruin the puzzle for anyone.
- Streaks. Play daily to build a streak - sign in free and it follows you across devices.
New to tones? Warm up with the unlimited Mandarin tone test, step up to the tone pairs game, or read the four tones explained.
FAQ
What is the ToneDeck daily challenge?
A Wordle-style daily quiz for Mandarin tones. Every day there is one fixed puzzle - 5 real Chinese syllables to listen to and identify by tone - and it is exactly the same for every player in the world. You get one attempt, a score out of 5, and a spoiler-free emoji grid to share.
When does the new puzzle come out?
At midnight UTC, every day. The page shows a countdown to the next puzzle once you've finished today's. Because the day is measured in UTC, everyone in the world switches to the new puzzle at the same moment.
Do I need an account to play?
No - the daily challenge is completely free and playable without signing up. If you do sign in, your daily results and streak are saved to your account so they follow you across devices.
Can I retry for a better score?
No - one attempt per day, like Wordle. That's what makes shared scores mean something. If today went badly, tomorrow's puzzle is a fresh start, and the unlimited tone test is always open for practice.
Does the shared emoji grid spoil the answers?
No. The grid only shows which questions you got right or wrong (green or black squares), never which tones the answers were, so sharing your result can't spoil the puzzle for friends who haven't played yet.
Don't stop at one puzzle a day
Tone drills, spaced-repetition review, and a pronunciation check that scores your tones - free to start.
Start free →