pronouncekit

TONE

ma: neutral tone: light and short

Learn the Mandarin neutral tone: short, weak, and shaped by the syllable before it. Practice māma, nǐ de and xièxie.

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Mouth & tongue

Enable JavaScript to view the 3D panda. Pronunciation steps remain available below.

Vocal folds: vibrating

TongueTeethUvula

Simplified human pronunciation. The small uvula hangs from the palate; it is not the vocal folds. The wave indicates voicing.

Nasal: the soft palate lowers; air exits the nose

Sound to demonstrate
Tone

Short and light. Its pitch depends on the syllable before it.

Voice settings

The mouth starts slightly open. Movement is slowed for observation; the synthetic sound plays once at its original speed. Pause holds the current mouth shape; reset returns to the relaxed position. The panda is a symbolic teaching aid for human pronunciation, not animal anatomy. A simplified teaching model, not a measured or anatomically validated simulation. It shows the soft palate lowering for nasal sounds, but not airflow. Single syllables use eSpeak NG, a synthetic voice on your device. Its pitch range is narrower than natural speech, so use the tone diagrams and word buttons as well. Words and sentences use a voice from your browser or device when one is available. No native recordings are bundled.

Words to practice

Sentence to practice

Listen and compare

Keep the second syllable of the first word short; give the second word a full tone.

Pinyin here shows dictionary tones. Spoken tones change in some contexts, such as nǐ hǎo; see the lessons on tone changes.

What you are learning

Some syllables lose their own tone and are said lightly. Pinyin shows this with no tone mark. Particles such as de, le and ma, and many second syllables, use it.

What your mouth is doing

The syllable is short and low in energy. Its pitch depends on what comes before: a little lower after first and second tones, higher after a third tone and low after a fourth.

Tone is pitch from the vocal folds, so the panda’s mouth shows the vowels and consonants, not the tone.

Compared with English

The unstressed second syllable of English “sofa” or “mother” is a similar idea, but Mandarin keeps a clear consonant and a pitch that depends on the previous tone. Taiwan Mandarin often uses a full tone in words where Beijing uses the neutral tone.

Build the sound, step by step

  1. Say māma with a short, light second syllable.
  2. Try nǐ de: the de sits a little higher after the low third tone.
  3. Say xièxie and gēge, shortening the second syllable.

What to watch for

  • Giving de or le a full tone and full length makes speech sound stiff.
  • Dropping the syllable entirely is not the goal. It remains short but audible.

Related lessons

Keep practicing

References & editorial notes

PronounceKit wrote this lesson as practical guidance for English speakers, based on the references below. The comparisons are editorial teaching suggestions. It describes common Mainland Standard Mandarin patterns, not every accent or regional variety, and it has not been independently reviewed by a pronunciation specialist or Mandarin teacher.

Published 5 November 2026