Guide · Mandarin tones
Mandarin Tones Explained: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th + the Neutral Tone
Mandarin is a tonal language: the pitch you say a syllable on changes its meaning. The classic example is mā (mother), má (hemp), mǎ (horse), and mà (to scold) — one syllable, four words, told apart only by tone. Here is each tone, what it sounds like, and how to read its mark.
First tone
阴平A steady, level pitch held high — like singing one sustained note. Think of the flat “aah” a doctor asks for. The pitch never rises or falls.
Example: mā (妈) = mother
Second tone
阳平Starts mid and rises sharply, like the questioning lift in English “huh?” or “what?”. The voice climbs from the middle of your range to the top.
Example: má (麻) = hemp / numb
Third tone
上声Dips down low, then rises back up — a low “valley” shape. In real speech it is often just the low dip, with the rise dropped unless the syllable is stressed or final.
Example: mǎ (马) = horse
Fourth tone
去声Starts high and drops sharply to the bottom, like a firm command or the emphatic English “No!”. Short and decisive.
Example: mà (骂) = to scold
Neutral tone
轻声Unmarked, quick, and unstressed — its pitch is borrowed from whatever tone came before it. It appears on grammatical particles and the second half of some words (e.g. māma, 妈妈).
Example: ma (吗) = question particle
Tone marks at a glance
In pinyin, the diacritic over the main vowel is a tiny picture of the pitch: a flat line for the first tone, a rising line for the second, a dipping V for the third, and a falling line for the fourth. The neutral tone is simply left unmarked.
One rule worth knowing: third-tone sandhi
When two third tones land next to each other, the first becomes a second (rising) tone. The most common example is nǐ hǎo (hello), which is actually pronounced ní hǎo. The spelling keeps the original marks; only the sound changes. This is the single biggest thing that trips up learners reading tone marks literally.
Frequently asked questions
How many tones does Mandarin have?+
Mandarin has four main tones — first (high-flat), second (rising), third (dipping), and fourth (falling) — plus a fifth “neutral” tone that is light, short, and unstressed. Every syllable carries one of these.
What do the tone marks mean (mā má mǎ mà)?+
The mark over the vowel shows the pitch shape: a flat line (ā) is the first tone, a rising line (á) is the second, a dipping line (ǎ) is the third, and a falling line (à) is the fourth. The neutral tone has no mark (a).
Why do tones change the meaning of a word?+
Mandarin has only about 400 base syllables, so the same syllable is reused for many words. Pitch is what distinguishes them: mā means mother, but mà means to scold. The tone is not an accent — it is part of the word.
What is the third tone sandhi rule?+
When two third-tone syllables come together, the first one is pronounced as a second (rising) tone. So nǐ hǎo (你好) is actually said ní hǎo. This shift is called tone sandhi.