2. Rising Tones

There are two rising tones in Cantonese:

Tone NumberTone 2Tone 5
Tone NameMid risingLow rising
Diagram

Both Tone 2 and Tone 5 start from the low pitch. The difference between them is that Tone 2 ends at the high pitch, but Tone 5 ends at the mid pitch.

Step 1  Listen to the syllable si in Tone 2 and Tone 5 together. Pay attention to the pitch. The pitch of Tone 2 goes up much more noticeably and rapidly than that of Tone 5.

si2 si5

Step 2  Practice saying the syllable si in Tone 2 and Tone 5. Listen and repeat.

si2 si5

Practice

Question 1

Practice saying Tone 2 and Tone 5 with other syllables. Listen and repeat.

  1. fu2 fu5
  2. se2 se5
  3. co2 co5
  4. hau2 hau5
  5. mou2 mou5

Question 2

You will hear two syllables each time. Are their tones the same (S) or different (D)?

  1. S / D
  2. S / D
  3. S / D
  4. S / D
  5. S / D
  6. S / D
  7. S / D
  8. S / D

Question 3

You will hear three syllables each time. The first two syllables are Tone 2 and Tone 5 respectively. Which tone is the last syllable?

  1. si ____
  2. si ____
  3. si ____
  4. si ____
  5. fu ____
  6. se ____
  7. co ____
  8. hau ____

Question 4

You will hear one syllable each time. Which tone is the syllable?

  1. si ____
  2. si ____
  3. si ____
  4. si ____
  5. fu ____
  6. se ____
  7. co ____
  8. mou ____