LessonsChinese · Lesson 4
Chinese · Lesson 4 · When tones change
In connected speech a few tones shift to make the words easier to say — tone sandhi. There are only four rules, and dictionary pinyin usually does not write the change, so you apply it yourself when you speak.
🔊 The sound in these lessons comes from your device’s own Mandarin voice, so it differs from device to device. Recorded audio will follow.
1️⃣ Two third tones in a row
When two third tones meet, the first one is said as a second tone. That is why the best-known greeting sounds like “ní hǎo”.
| Hear it | Written | Said |
|---|---|---|
| nǐ hǎo | ní hǎo | |
| hěn hǎo | hén hǎo | |
| kěyǐ | kéyǐ | |
| shǒubiǎo | shóubiǎo |
2️⃣ The half third tone
Before a first, second, fourth or neutral tone, the third tone keeps only its low part and never rises. This is in fact the commonest form of the third tone — the full dip-and-rise is heard only when the word stands alone or ends a sentence.
3️⃣ 不 — bù becomes bú
不 is a fourth tone. Before another fourth tone it is said as a second tone — two sharp falls in a row would be heavy going. Before the other tones it stays as it is.
| Hear it | Written | Said |
|---|---|---|
| bù shì | bú shì | |
| bù duì | bú duì | |
| bù yào | bú yào | |
| bù hǎo | bù hǎo | |
| bù chī | bù chī |
4️⃣ 一 — yī, yí or yì
一 has three forms. Alone, in counting and at the end of a word it is yī. Before a fourth tone it is yí. Before a first, second or third tone it is yì.
| Hear it | Written | Said |
|---|---|---|
| shíyī | shíyī | |
| yī gè | yí ge | |
| yīyàng | yíyàng | |
| yī tiān | yì tiān | |
| yī nián | yì nián | |
| yīqǐ | yìqǐ |
📖 How this dictionary writes tones
Always the original tone
Like Chinese dictionaries, every entry and example sentence here writes the original tone: bù, yī, nǐ hǎo. You apply the four rules yourself when you speak.
Your device already applies them
The voice reads the characters, not the pinyin, so what you hear already has the changes. Listen first, then look at the spelling.
Textbooks may differ
Many textbooks do write the changed tone of 不 and 一 (bú shì, yí ge) while leaving third tones alone. Both conventions describe the same speech.