Minimal pair · Standard Mandarin (Putonghua), isolated citation tones
Mandarin /˧˥/ vs /˨˩˦/Rising or low?
One of the six tone comparisons included in Dong et al.; these particular words are not appendix-confirmed.
Practice these sounds/˧˥/
The ˧˥ category
Listen for the target sound in each word.
As in麻
/˨˩˦/
The ˨˩˦ category
Listen for the target sound in each word.
As in马
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
A small change.
A different word.
Compare má/mǎ, yú/yǔ and pí/pǐ. These are citation forms spoken on their own, so you can focus on rising tone 2 versus low tone 3.
Listen for the target sound in each word.
A common trap
Third tone does not always finish with a rise in conversation. A following third tone can also change its realization; isolated forms are only the starting point.
Sound examples
Tap to hear each word麻
/ma˧˥/numb拔
/pa˧˥/pull out达
/ta˧˥/reach; attain十
/ʂɻ̩˧˥/ten糖
/tʰɑŋ˧˥/sugar急
/tɕi˧˥/urgent; anxious骑
/tɕʰi˧˥/ride席
/ɕi˧˥/mat盐
/jɛn˧˥/salt竹
/ʈʂu˧˥/bamboo房
/fɑŋ˧˥/room; house坟
/fən˧˥/grave; tomb鱼
/y˧˥/fish皮
/pʰi˧˥/skin马
/ma˨˩˦/horse把
/pa˨˩˦/hold; grasp打
/ta˨˩˦/hit; strike使
/ʂɻ̩˨˩˦/make; cause躺
/tʰɑŋ˨˩˦/lie down挤
/tɕi˨˩˦/squeeze起
/tɕʰi˨˩˦/rise; get up洗
/ɕi˨˩˦/wash眼
/jɛn˨˩˦/eye煮
/ʈʂu˨˩˦/boil; cook in water仿
/fɑŋ˨˩˦/imitate粉
/fən˨˩˦/powder雨
/y˨˩˦/rain, noun匹
/pʰi˨˩˦/classifier for a length of cloth28 words. Words stay hidden during practice unless you choose to reveal them.