2. Tone 1 to Tone 6
We have learned all the six tones. Let’s revise them together.
| Tone Number | Tone 1 | Tone 2 | Tone 3 | Tone 4 | Tone 5 | Tone 6 |
| Tone Name | High level | Mid rising | Mid level | Low falling | Low rising | Low level |
| Diagram |  |  |  |  |  |  |
The Romanization system Jyutping uses numbers to represent the tone of a syllable. It could be difficult to remember which tone is represented by which number. You can try to associate each tone with the shape of its number.
Also, to remember Tone 4 is the falling tone, remember the number four sounds like fall. To remember Tone 5 is a rising tone, remember the food fried rice. Fried sounds like the number five, and rice sounds like rise.
Step 1 Listen to the syllable si in Tone 1 to Tone 6 together. Pay attention to the pitch.
si1
si1 si2
si1 si2 si3
si1 si2 si3 si4
si1 si2 si3 si4 si5
si1 si2 si3 si4 si5 si6
Step 2 Practice saying the syllable si in Tone 1 to Tone 6. Listen and repeat.
si1
si1 si2
si1 si2 si3
si1 si2 si3 si4
si1 si2 si3 si4 si5
si1 si2 si3 si4 si5 si6
💡 Tips
If you find it difficult to remember the tones, you can remember their similar sounds in English.
Practice Practice saying Tone 1 to Tone 6 with other syllables. Listen and repeat.
- fu1 fu2 fu3 fu4 fu5 fu6
- fan1 fan2 fan3 fan4 fan5 fan6
- hon1 hon2 hon3 hon4 hon5 hon6
- soeng1 soeng2 soeng3 soeng4 soeng5 soeng6