Five tones, and the rules that decide them

The five

Five example words, one for each tone. Play them in order first, then try saying each one back before you move on.

Two things decide the tone before any mark does

The class of the first consonant, and whether the syllable is live or dead.

Put those two together with the tone mark and you can read the tone of a word you have never seen. Here is how.

Play them back to back

The difference stops being theoretical about four plays in. Open two tones at once and go down them in turn, rather than trying to hold one in your head.

Hearing them is a separate job from knowing them

You can learn the five contours off this page in an afternoon. Telling them apart at speaking speed is ear training, and ear training is repetition, which is unbearable unless something makes it bearable.

So two of the app's five games are about nothing else. Tone Boss is one boss per tone and you beat it by hearing which one you were given. Tone Tap is the same job against a clock.

Both are available to explore on this website for free. The rest of what it does.