1. Tone 1 to Tone 6

Let’s revise the six tones.

Tone NumberTone 1Tone 2Tone 3Tone 4Tone 5Tone 6
Tone NameHigh levelMid risingMid levelLow fallingLow risingLow level
Diagram

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

Come back and revise the set of the syllable si from Tone 1 to Tone 6 until you can recall them effortlessly. It will be a useful tool that you can use to recall each tone easily.

Practice  Say the following syllables from Tone 1 to Tone 6. Try it yourself before listening to the recording.

  1. wan1 wan2 wan3 wan4 wan5 wan6
  2. jim1 jim2 jim3 jim4 jim5 jim6
  3. seoi1 seoi2 seoi3 seoi4 seoi5 seoi6
  4. jau1 jau2 jau3 jau4 jau5 jau6
  5. wui1 wui2 wui3 wui4 wui5 wui6