The Five Tones
Learn all five tones and their marks.
Chapter 2 of 8Page 1 of 2
The Five Tones
Every syllable in Mandarin carries a tone, and the tone is part of the word. You already know the first one: it has no mark at all!
The light tone is the odd one out. Its dot goes before the syllable!
High
Rising
Dipping
Falling
Light
The line by each syllable traces its pitch. Some stay flat, while others rise, dip, or fall.