Chinese word

声调

Pronunciation

Pinyinshēng diào

Meaning

  • nountone

Example

我的声调不太准，需要练习。wǒ de shēng diào bú tài zhǔn xū yào liàn xí

My tones are not quite accurate, so I need to practice.

Illustration for 声调 (tone)

More examples

初学者常常难以分辨声调。chū xué zhě cháng cháng nán yǐ fēn biàn shēng diào

Beginners often have difficulty distinguishing tones.

Core concept

A pitch pattern carried by a syllable that helps identify its word and joins the melody of spoken language.

Common phrases

  • 分辨声调fēn biàn shēng diào

    distinguish tones

  • 学声调xué shēng diào

    learn tones

  • 模仿声调mó fǎng shēng diào

    imitate tones

Similar words

音调yīn diào: The typical pitch quality and movement of a voice or other sound.
语调yǔ diào: The changing pitch of the voice throughout a sentence.
音高yīn gāo: How high or low a sound is.

Definition in Chinese

表示汉语中对音节所规定的高低类别或标记，用于区别同音音节的词义和语法功能。biǎo shì hàn yǔ zhōng duì yīn jié suǒ guī dìng de gāo dī lèi bié huò biāo jì yòng yú qū bié tóng yīn yīn jié de cí yì hé yú fǎ gōng néng

Word origin

声 (shēng, "sound") + 调 (diào, "tune") forms a transparent compound for a sound's organized pitch pattern.

Usage tips

  • English tone often describes attitude, such as a friendly or angry manner, but in Mandarin pitch movement can identify a different word even when the attitude stays the same.

Other meanings

  • intonationnoun
  • inflectionnoun
  • pitchnoun

Word lists with this word