Pinyin 1 of 6 · day 1
Tones in words
Hear the four tone shapes once, then catch them the way they really come: in pairs, inside words.
What to listen for
- 1st: high and level — hold it. 2nd: climbs, like a surprised “what?”. 3rd: low; it only dips back up at the end of a phrase. 4th: a sharp drop.
- Every two-syllable word is one of sixteen tone pairs. Learn the pairs and whole sentences get easier.
- The usual mix-ups: 2nd against 3rd (both can rise), 1st against 4th (both start high).
Watch
On the morning ride: watch the mouths and mime the sounds. The listening check below works on the same ride.
Hear the difference
Tap any sound. Native speakers, not a robot voice.
The four shapes
Once, on one syllable, so you know the shapes. From here on, only inside words.
Starting high · 1st
Starting rising · 2nd
Starting low · 3rd
Two 3rds in a row change the first one — that's unit 6.
Starting with a drop · 4th
Listening check
Ten sounds. Nine right and the unit is solid; below that, replay the pairs you missed and go again.
10 sounds · 9 right is solid
Earbuds in. Each sound plays as its question appears — replay it as often as you like, then pick what you heard.
Say it out loud
At the evening desk: hear a word, say it, record yourself, play both back. Whole words — the tone rides along.
Every word in the tone-pair grid above, one row at a time.
Tutor: Say the tone-pair grid; the tutor stops you on every 2nd/3rd and 1st/4th slip.
Native recordings: Chen Wang (syllables) and Yue Tan (words), from the audio-cmn project, CC BY-SA. Source