How to say “tone” in Chinese
tone (in Chinese)
“Tone” in Chinese is 声调, shēng diào: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
声调 is read shēng diào: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 讠 “speech”. Its second reading is diào, “tone, melody”.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “声调”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 声调. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 普通话有四个声调。pǔtōnghuàyǒusìgeshēngdiàoPutonghua has four tones.
- 声调不同意思也不同shēngdiàobùtóng,yìsiyěbùtóngA different tone means a different meaning.
More words from the lesson “Dialects, tones, chengyu”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “tone” in Chinese?
“Tone” in Chinese is 声调, pinyin shēngdiào.
What does 声调 mean?
声调 (shēngdiào) means “tone (in Chinese)”.
How do you write 声调?
声调 is 2 characters: 声 (shēng) — sound, voice; 调 (tiáo) — adjust, tune. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 声调?
声调 is read shēngdiào. Tones: shēng — first tone, diào — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“tone” in the lesson “Dialects, tones, chengyu”
This word is from the topic “Texts and art” of HSK 6. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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