Pronunciation
Tone and Pronunciation Practice
Work through initials, finals, and real phrase drills. You can tap any example to hear it through browser speech synthesis, then record your attempt and get instant feedback.
Tone Quick Table
Click Play for a reference pronunciation.
Initials
Tap each to hear the sound and then repeat.
Finals
Build short syllables from these pinyin finals.
Phrase Drill
Select difficulty, record your phrase, and get a coach-like score.
你好
nǐ hǎo
Hello
Focus tips
- Keep the third tone in nǐ low first, then let it rise gently.
- Open hǎo fully so the final -ao does not sound clipped.
Manual transcript
Captured speech
No speech captured yet. Tap start recording or paste manual text.
Common pitfalls by first language
Quick fixes learners from Korean, Japanese, and English backgrounds hear most often in tutoring.
- Korean:aspiration contrasts (p/t/k vs unaspirated) — Chinese unaspirated stops can sound "weak"; practice minimal pairs like 八/趴 with a tutor or slow playback.
- Japanese: vowel devoicing and pitch vs Chinese tones — avoid flattening tone 3; exaggerate the dip on phrases like 你好 (nǐ hǎo) at first.
- English: r-colored vowels and stress — Chinese syllables are more even; reduce English stress bumps and keep finals full (especially -uang, -iong).
Tongue twisters (绕口令)
Tap play, repeat slowly, then speed up. Focus on one sound family per line.
s/sh/x
四是四，十是十，十四是十四，四十是四十。
sì shì sì, shí shì shí...
z/zh/j
知道就说知道，不知道就说不知道。
zhīdào jiù shuō zhīdào...
l/n
蓝教练是女教练，吕教练是男教练。
Lán jiàoliàn shì nǚ jiàoliàn...
Assessment
Assessments will appear after a successful recording or manual transcript.