The Mandarin Tone Trial turns Chinese tone practice into a focused flashcard loop. Search 176 cards by hanzi, tone-marked or numbered pinyin, or English, then narrow the library by collection and tone. The library includes 96 isolated full-tone cards and 80 common neutral-ending words. Choose Record on a full-tone card to open immersive practice and start recording. Neutral-ending cards offer listening practice. It is free with no signup.
Each tone 1–4 card presents one common Mandarin word with enlarged pinyin above the hanzi. Play the reference, then record the word for two seconds while one timer bar shows the remaining recording time. When the recording ends, the browser follows the voiced part of your pitch, adjusts the line to your vocal range, and compares its broad movement with the expected isolated contour.
The result pairs your pitch line with the target shape and gives one direct outcome. A match means the broad movement was consistent with the card's isolated contour. If the sample is too quiet, short, clipped, or noisy, the trial asks for another recording instead of guessing.
The first (ā) is high and held flat. The second (á) rises from mid to high, the shape of an English question. The third (ǎ) dips low and only climbs back at the end when the syllable stands alone; inside a phrase it usually just stays low. The fourth (à) falls sharply from high to low. Your pitch line is compared against these isolated shapes, which is why a third that sounds perfectly fine inside a sentence can still read as unmatched here.
Record at a normal speaking volume, close to the microphone, and let the syllable run its full length rather than clipping it short — rushing it loses the low stretch the comparison is looking for.
Neutral tone has no fixed isolated pitch shape. It is short and light, and its pitch depends on the full tone before it. The Neutral endings collection therefore presents 80 common two-syllable words for listening in context without issuing a misleading isolated match verdict.
This is a pitch-shape comparison, not a complete pronunciation grade. A browser microphone can follow a stable voiced pitch contour, but this trial does not judge consonants, vowel quality, rhythm, fluency, or pitch changes inside connected speech. Isolated citation tones are a useful first step; a human listener and practice in real phrases are still important.
Use the interactive Pinyin chart to hear syllables and review how initials and finals fit together. Then practice two-syllable transitions, including neutral endings, in the Mandarin Tone Pair Trainer, or check contextual changes with the Chinese Tone Sandhi Checker. You can also browse all free Chinese learning tools.
A match means the broad pitch movement in the voiced part of your recording was consistent with the isolated target tone on that flashcard. It does not mean every part of the word's pronunciation was correct.
Search 176 cards across seven focused collections, then narrow the library by tone. Full-tone cards use a two-second listen-record-compare loop; neutral-ending cards are listening practice in short, common words.
No. The Tone Trial compares pitch movement with an isolated target tone. It does not evaluate initials, finals, vowel quality, rhythm, fluency, or connected-speech changes, so the result is a tone-shape comparison rather than a full pronunciation score.
Neutral tone has no fixed isolated contour. It is short and light, and its pitch depends on the full tone before it, so SayMei presents neutral endings inside common two-syllable words instead of giving a misleading isolated match result.
Pitch can only be compared while your voice produces a stable trace. Background noise, whispering, clipping, or a very short vowel can make the result inconclusive. Move closer to the microphone, say the word clearly, and try again.