小说 (xiǎo shuō) — novel in Mandarin
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#728 most common word · HSK 4 · CEFR B1
Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.
Tone breakdown
小说 is pronounced xiǎo shuō. Tap any syllable’s row to hear the whole word.
In a sentence
Wǒ hěn xǐhuān dú xiǎo shuō.
I like reading novels very much.
Hear it, then say it right
Reading pinyin only gets you halfway. ToneDeck plays native audio for 小说 and thousands more words, then scores your pronunciation so your tones land. HSK 1 is free, no install.
Start freeFrequently asked questions
What does 小说 mean?+
小说 (xiǎo shuō) means "novel" in Mandarin Chinese.
How do you pronounce 小说?+
小说 is pronounced xiǎo shuō. It uses the tone 3 (rising/dipping), then the tone 1 (high flat). Tap the character on this page to hear native audio.
How common is 小说 in Mandarin?+
小说 is the #728 most frequent word in spoken Mandarin, so it is one of the first words worth learning.
Where 小说 fits
Every HSK 4 word with tone-coloured pinyin and audio.
Words at a similar frequency
Master the tones first
What each tone sounds like and why it matters.
Why some tones change in connected speech.
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Browse more on the Mandarin vocabulary hub, or read how to learn Mandarin tones.