Let’s revise the six tones.

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

Step 1  Listen to the syllable si in Tone 1 to Tone 6 together. Pay attention to the pitch.

Step 2  Practice saying the syllable si in Tone 1 to Tone 6. Listen and repeat.

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

There are two rising tones in Cantonese:

Tone Number	Tone 2	Tone 5
Tone Name	Mid rising	Low 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.

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

Practice

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

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

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

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

The following two tones are at or partly at the high pitch:

Tone Number	Tone 1	Tone 2
Tone Name	High level	Mid rising
Diagram

The pitch of Tone 1 remains steady throughout the whole syllable, whereas the pitch of Tone 2 goes up noticeably and rapidly in the syllable.

Step 1  Listen to the syllable si in Tone 1 and Tone 2 together. Pay attention to the pitch. Tone 2 has a noticeable change in pitch, but Tone 1 doesn’t.

Step 2  Practice saying the syllable si in Tone 1 and Tone 2. Listen and repeat.

Practice

Practice saying Tone 1 and Tone 2 with other syllables. Listen and repeat.

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

You will hear three syllables each time. The first two syllables are Tone 1 and Tone 2 respectively. Which tone is the last syllable?

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

The following three tones are at or partly at the low pitch:

Tone Number	Tone 4	Tone 5	Tone 6
Tone Name	Low falling	Low rising	Low level
Diagram

All of these three tones start at the low pitch. The difference between them is whether the pitch then goes down, goes up, or remains steady.

Step 1  Listen to the syllable si in Tone 4, Tone 5 and Tone 6 together. Pay attention to the pitch. Observe whether and how the pitch changes in the second half of the syllable.

Step 2  Practice saying the syllable si in Tone 4, Tone 5 and Tone 6. Listen and repeat.

Practice

Practice saying Tone 4, Tone 5 and Tone 6 with other syllables. Listen and repeat.

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

You will hear four syllables each time. The first three syllables are Tone 4, Tone 5 and Tone 6 respectively. Which tone is the last syllable?

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

You will practice saying words with different tone combinations (e.g., Tone 1 followed by Tone 1, Tone 1 followed by Tone 2). This practice can train you to say different tones consecutively more smoothly.

Listen and repeat. The actual pitch of a tone is affected by its neighboring tones. Therefore, you may find that some of the tones sound slightly different from when they are said individually.

1.		si1 si1	香蕉 hoeng1 ziu1 banana	飛機 fei1 gei1 plane	餐廳 caan1 teng1 restaurant
2.		si1 si2	的士 dik1 si2 cab	巴士 baa1 si2 bus	公園 gung1 jyun2 park
3.		si1 si3	菠菜 bo1 coi3 spinach	功課 gung1 fo3 homework	鐘意 zung1 ji3 to like
4.		si1 si4	菠蘿 bo1 lo4 pineapple	足球 zuk1 kau4 football	商場 soeng1 coeng4 mall
5.		si1 si5	燒賣 siu1 maai5 siu mai	粟米 suk1 mai5 corn	經理 ging1 lei5 manager
Siu mai is a type of street food in Hong Kong. (It is also the authorʼs favorite street food!)
6.		si1 si6	煙肉 jin1 juk6 bacon	測驗 caak1 jim6 test	音樂 jam1 ngok6 music
7.		si2 si1	矮瓜 ai2 gwaa1 eggplant	茄汁 ke2 zap1 ketchup	火車 fo2 ce1 train
8.		si2 si2	腸仔 coeng2 zai2 sausage	餃子 gaau2 zi2 dumpling	診所 can2 so2 clinic
9.		si2 si3	警察 ging2 caat3 police officer	底褲 dai2 fu3 underpants	酒店 zau2 dim3 hotel
10.		si2 si4	演員 jin2 jyun4 actor / actress	欖球 laam2 kau4 rugby	鎖匙 so2 si4 key
11.		si2 si5	主婦 zyu2 fu5 housewife	警署 ging2 cyu5 police station	考試 haau2 si5 exam
12.		si2 si6	可樂 ho2 lok6 coke	小學 siu2 hok6 elementary school	跑步 paau2 bou6 to run
13.		si3 si1	雪糕 syut3 gou1 ice cream	爆谷 paau3 guk1 popcorn	課室 fo3 sat1 classroom
14.		si3 si2	意粉 ji3 fan2 spaghetti	戲院 hei3 jyun2 movie theatre	教堂 gaau3 tong2 church
15.		si3 si3	法國 faat3 gwok3 France	聖誕 sing3 daan3 Christmas	設計 cit3 gai3 design
16.		si3 si4	蒜頭 syun3 tau4 garlic	背囊 bui3 nong4 backpack	器材 hei3 coi4 equipment
17.		si3 si5	糙米 cou3 mai5 brown rice	正午 zing3 ng5 noon	豁免 kut3 min5 to exempt
18.		si3 si6	教練 gaau3 lin6 coach	雪櫃 syut3 gwai6 refrigerator	作業 zok3 jip6 workbook
19.		si4 si1	檸檬 ning4 mung1 lemon	洋蔥 joeng4 cung1 onion	蘑菇 mo4 gu1 mushroom
20.		si4 si2	蘋果 ping4 gwo2 apple	薯仔 syu4 zai2 potato	郵局 jau4 guk2 post office
21.		si4 si3	椰菜 je4 coi3 cabbage	玫瑰 mui4 gwai3 rose	時間 si4 gaan3 time
22.		si4 si4	牛油 ngau4 jau4 butter	籃球 laam4 kau4 basketball	銀行 ngan4 hong4 bank
23.		si4 si5	牛奶 ngau4 naai5 milk	朋友 pang4 jau5 friend	迷你 mai4 nei5 mini
24.		si4 si6	同事 tung4 si6 colleague	同學 tung4 hok6 classmate	容易 jung4 ji6 easy
25.		si5 si1	老公 lou5 gung1 husband	老師 lou5 si1 teacher	領呔 leng5 taai1 tie
26.		si5 si2	老鼠 lou5 syu2 mouse	眼鏡 ngaan5 geng2 glasses	社會 se5 wui2 society
27.		si5 si3	老細 lou5 sai3 boss	冷氣 laang5 hei3 air-conditioning	免費 min5 fai3 free (price)
28.		si5 si4	老婆 lou5 po4 wife	網球 mong5 kau4 tennis	語言 jyu5 jin4 language
29.		si5 si5	螞蟻 maa5 ngai5 ant	上網 soeng5 mong5 to surf the Internet	永遠 wing5 jyun5 forever
30.		si5 si6	乳酪 jyu5 lok6 yogurt	禮物 lai5 mat6 gift	肚餓 tou5 ngo6 hungry
31.		si6 si1	麵包 min6 baau1 bread	蛋糕 daan6 gou1 cake	學生 hok6 saang1 student
32.		si6 si2	熱狗 jit6 gau2 hot dog	電話 din6 waa2 telephone	字典 zi6 din2 dictionary
33.		si6 si3	侍應 si6 jing3 waiter / waitress	地鐵 dei6 tit3 subway	重要 zung6 jiu3 important
34.		si6 si4	泳池 wing6 ci4 swimming pool	電郵 din6 jau4 email	問題 man6 tai4 question
35.		si6 si5	電腦 din6 nou5 computer	夜晚 je6 maan5 night	物理 mat6 lei5 physics
36.		si6 si6	護士 wu6 si6 nurse	學校 hok6 haau6 school	運動 wan6 dung6 sport

6. Revision Section A

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

You will hear seven syllables each time. The first six syllables are Tone 1 to Tone 6 respectively. Which tone is the last syllable?

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

Follow the steps below to complete each question.

Step 1: Say the word or sentence aloud yourself.
Step 2: Listen to the recording and compare your pronunciation to the recording.
Step 3: Follow the recording and say the word or sentence again.

Say the words below.

Say the sentences below.