声调

聲調

shēngdiào

noun #20,917

Measure Word

一个声调 gè

Meanings

1 tone (in phonetics)
2 musical tone
3 pitch of voice

Characters

sound; voice; tone

tone; tune; melody

Examples

HSK 5

普通话有四个声调和一个轻声。

Pǔtōnghuà yǒu sì gè shēngdiào hé yī gè qīngshēng.

Mandarin has four tones and one neutral tone.

HSK 5

学好声调是学汉语的关键。

Xué hǎo shēngdiào shì xué Hànyǔ de guānjiàn.

Mastering tones is key to learning Chinese.

Tips

grammar

Mandarin has 4 tones: 1st (ā, high level), 2nd (á, rising), 3rd (ǎ, falling-rising), 4th (à, falling), plus a neutral tone (轻声). The same syllable with different tones means completely different things: mā (妈 mother), má (麻 hemp), mǎ (马 horse), mà (骂 to scold).

Stroke Order

声 shēng

调 tiáo