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.

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 ‒
si1 si2 si3 si4 si5 si6 ‒
si1 si2 si3 si4 si5 si6 ‒
si1 si2 si3 si4 si5 si6 ‒
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 ‒
si1 si2 si3 si4 si5 si6 ‒
si1 si2 si3 si4 si5 si6 ‒
si1 si2 si3 si4 si5 si6 ‒
si1 si2 si3 si4 si5 si6

💡 Tips

If you find it difficult to remember the tones, you can remember their similar sounds in English.

Tone 1

Tone 2

Tone 3

Tone 4

Tone 5

Tone 6

si1
season

si2
sea?

si3

si4
juicy

si5

si6
sociology

Practice 🎮

Practice saying Tone 1 to Tone 6 with other syllables. Listen and repeat.

--:--

fu1 fu2 fu3 fu4 fu5 fu6 ‒
fu1 fu2 fu3 fu4 fu5 fu6 ‒
fu1 fu2 fu3 fu4 fu5 fu6
fan1 fan2 fan3 fan4 fan5 fan6 ‒
fan1 fan2 fan3 fan4 fan5 fan6 ‒
fan1 fan2 fan3 fan4 fan5 fan6
hon1 hon2 hon3 hon4 hon5 hon6 ‒
hon1 hon2 hon3 hon4 hon5 hon6 ‒
hon1 hon2 hon3 hon4 hon5 hon6
soeng1 soeng2 soeng3 soeng4 soeng5 soeng6 ‒
soeng1 soeng2 soeng3 soeng4 soeng5 soeng6 ‒
soeng1 soeng2 soeng3 soeng4 soeng5 soeng6