Master Chinese Tones. Finally.

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Why Native Speakers Don't Understand You

You've studied for years. You know 2,000 characters. But every time you order 水餃 (shuǐjiǎo - dumplings), the waiter brings you a pillow.
That's because you said 睡覺 (shuìjiào - sleep).
Tones aren't optional. They're 50% of the meaning. And no amount of vocabulary will fix this.

XWhat you said

mǎi 买(buy)
wèn 问(ask)
shuǐjiǎo 水餃(dumplings)

?What they heard

mài 卖(sell)
wěn 吻(kiss)
shuìjiào 睡覺(sleep)

See Your Tones, Don't Just Hear Them

Traditional methods: Teacher says "no, more like THIS" — you have no idea what changed. With Tonetify, the gap is visual and obvious.

Your tone

Too flat

mǎ(3rd tone attempt)

Native tone

Proper dip

mǎ(correct 3rd tone)

See exactly where your voice goes flat. Fix it in seconds.

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Native instructors from Beijing, Taipei & Singapore

"I've been studying for 3 years and just realized my tones were wrong the whole time. Wish I had something like this earlier."

— Paraphrased from r/ChineseLanguage

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The Complete Guide to Mandarin Tones

Everything you need to know about Chinese tones, explained simply.

Mandarin Chinese has four main tones that change the meaning of words:

First Tone (ˉ) - High and flat, like singing a high note. Example: mā (妈) means "mother"

Second Tone (ˊ) - Rising, like asking a question. Example: má (麻) means "hemp"

Third Tone (ˇ) - Falling then rising, dips down then comes back up. Example: mǎ (马) means "horse"

Fourth Tone (ˋ) - Sharp falling, like giving a command. Example: mà (骂) means "to scold"

Getting these wrong can completely change what you're saying!

The neutral tone (also called the "light" or "5th" tone) is a short, unstressed syllable with no specific pitch. It's usually attached to the end of words.

Common examples:
- 妈妈 (māma) - mother: the second "ma" is neutral
- 爸爸 (bàba) - father: the second "ba" is neutral
- 吗 (ma) - question particle: always neutral

The neutral tone is shorter and lighter than the other tones. It takes on a pitch relative to the tone before it.

Tone sandhi are rules where tones change based on the tones around them:

Third Tone + Third Tone Rule:
When two third tones appear together, the first one changes to second tone.
Example: 你好 (nǐhǎo → níhǎo)

不 (bù) Rule:
- Before 1st, 2nd, 3rd tones: stays 4th tone (bù)
- Before 4th tone: changes to 2nd tone (bú)
Example: 不是 (bú shì), 不好 (bù hǎo)

一 (yī) Rule:
- Alone or at end: 1st tone (yī)
- Before 4th tone: 2nd tone (yí)
- Before 1st, 2nd, 3rd tones: 4th tone (yì)

English speakers often struggle with tones because English uses pitch for emphasis and emotion, not meaning.

Common mistakes:

1. Flattening tones - Making all syllables similar pitch, like flat English speech

2. Question intonation - Raising pitch at sentence end (English habit) can accidentally change meanings

3. Third tone trouble - Not going low enough, or making it sound like 2nd tone

4. Ignoring tone sandhi - Pronouncing each character in isolation instead of applying tone change rules

5. Stress patterns - Adding English stress patterns which interfere with proper tone production

The solution: Working with an experienced instructor who can demonstrate the correct tones and pinpoint exactly where you're going wrong.

Tonetify helps you practice all of this. Join the waitlist