Chinese tones

Practice Chinese tones with the tools on this page. Pick the one that fits your goals and get started.

Before you study tones, an important reminder: Chinese tones have nothing to do with having a musical ear or being able to sing on pitch. What matters more is your overall intonation and understand which direction your voice is going.

Almost anyone can hear and repeat the direction of a voice. Even someone who is tone-deaf. I have neither a musical education nor a musical ear, but I managed to get pretty good at Chinese tones (if I don’t praise myself, no one will). A musical ear gives you a head start, but it doesn’t determine if you can learn Chinese.

In real life, a Chinese learner’s best friend is context. It helps the person you’re talking to understand you, even if you get a tone wrong.

There’s a problem that SayMandarin was created to solve. It’s very hard to hear and accurately judge your own voice even in your native language, let alone in Chinese.

3 Tips I’d Give Myself Before Learning Chinese Tones

Looking back, here are three tips I would give myself at the start of learning Chinese tones. I still give them to my students today.

Read the tips

Chinese Tones: 20-Minute Training Method with a Free Tool

Three simple steps to practice Chinese tones. The method I started with in 2012, adapted for practice with a tool that checks you and gives you feedback.

Read the method and try the tone pair tool