One syllable, four meanings
In Mandarin the pitch of a syllable is part of the word. Each row keeps the sound and changes only the tone. Characters come from the 2013 standard list (level 1), meanings from CC-CEDICT for that exact reading.
Cantonese: six tones on one syllable
Jyutping tone numbers 1–6; character readings from Unihan (kCantonese), meanings from CC-Canto 2017 for that reading.
Same syllables, different words
Everyday CC-CEDICT words with identical syllables. Only the tones tell them apart.
Tones in speech
Two third tones
Before another third tone, a third tone is said as a rising second tone. Dictionaries and pinyin keep the written tone.
- 管理guǎn lǐto supervisesaid guán lǐ
- 處理chǔ lǐto handlesaid chú lǐ
- 保險bǎo xiǎninsurancesaid báo xiǎn
- 選舉xuǎn jǔto electsaid xuán jǔ
- 產品chǎn pǐngoodssaid chán pǐn
- 老虎lǎo hǔtigersaid láo hǔ
- 領導lǐng dǎoleadsaid líng dǎo
- 老鼠lǎo shǔratsaid láo shǔ
不 bù
不 becomes bú before a fourth tone.
- 不過bù guòonlysaid bú guò
- 不見bù jiànnot to seesaid bú jiàn
- 不怕bù pàfearlesssaid bú pà
- 不住bù zhùunable to firmly or securelysaid bú zhù
一 yī
一 becomes yí before a fourth tone and yì before the other tones; counting and ordinals keep yī.
- 一次yī cìfirstsaid yí cì
- 一字yī zìin a rowsaid yí zì
- 一致yī zhìconsistentsaid yí zhì
- 一時yī shía period of timesaid yì shí
- 一點yī diǎna bitsaid yì diǎn
- 一言yī yánone sentencesaid yì yán
Selection uses source properties only: standard-list level, how many CC-CEDICT words a character or word forms, and classifier notes. Contours show idealised citation tones (Chao numerals), not recordings.
Same syllables.
A different meaning.
Compare attested readings, see which tones change, and practise recalling the difference.
Mandarin word readings from CC-CEDICT and Cantonese character readings from Unihan. Select a language to explore its own tone system.
Ready to compare
Diagrams illustrate idealized citation tones. They are not recordings, measured pitch or predictions of connected speech. Same-tone entries can have different meanings. A sound match alone does not establish a shared origin.