How to check your Chinese tones
- Listen. Play the word. Notice where the pitch starts and ends.
- Say it once. Tap Record and speak normally. It stops by itself.
- Compare. See your line next to the reference. Try again or move on.
The four tones at a glance
- 1st, 妈 (mā, mom): high and level, held like a sung note. Common mistake: sagging at the end, so it sounds like a 4th. Fix: hold the pitch steady to the end, as if you were singing one note.
- 2nd, 麻 (má, hemp): rises from mid to high, like a question. Common mistake: dipping first, so it sounds like a 3rd. Fix: start in the middle of your voice and rise straight up, without sinking first.
- 3rd, 马 (mǎ, horse): low; on its own it dips, then lifts. Before another third tone it rises: 你好 is said ní hǎo (see Tone Sandhi Rules). Common mistake: starting high, so it sounds like a 4th. Fix: start low, not high: sink, then let it lift.
- 4th, 骂 (mà, scold): falls sharply from high to low. Common mistake: starting mid-range, so the fall is too small. Fix: begin near the top of your voice so there is room to fall, like a firm "No!"
- Neutral, 吗 (ma, question word): short and light; its pitch follows the syllable before. Common mistake: stressing it like a full tone. Fix: keep it short and light.
How it works
What it judges
It hears the pitch shape of one syllable: whether your voice stays level, rises, dips or falls. It does not judge consonants, vowels, rhythm or accent, and it gives no score.
How it compares
It measures your pitch line against the four tones' textbook shapes, and after a few words it learns where your own voice sits high and low. When it isn't sure, or you sound between two tones, it says so instead of guessing.
How we tested it
In our test on 4,344 recordings from 7 computer-generated voices, it named the right tone 84% of the time. The voices include deeper, flatter and noisier altered copies. It hasn't been tested on human voices. The third tone is the hardest to judge, because on its own it can dip and rise or just stay low.
Private by design
Your recording is analyzed on this device and is never uploaded.
Keep going
Panda Tone Toss
Give your ears a little adventure
Hear a Mandarin word, find its tones, and send a plush panda flying toward the matching target.
- Listen to a word
- Choose its tones
- Aim and toss
Free to start
Play Panda Tone TossPlay in your browser · No account needed