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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/zh-four-tones

How many main tones does Mandarin Chinese have, not counting the light neutral tone?

Four: high, rising, falling-rising and falling.

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  1. Two
  2. Four ✔
  3. Nine

Why: Mandarin has four tones plus a light neutral tone. The same syllable, like ma, means different words in different tones.

Huh, didn't know that: Pinyin shows the tones with marks: ā (high), á (rising), ǎ (dip and rise) and à (falling).

The dad joke
Mandarin has four tones. My singing voice has one, and it is usually wrong.
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References

Answer: Four. Mandarin has four tones plus a light neutral tone. The same syllable, like ma, means different words in different tones.

  1. Peace Corps China, Chinese Basic Lessons for Invitees (Mandarin) files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/audio/languagelessons/thepeoplesrepublicofchina/CN_Mandarin_Language_Lessons.pdf
    Mandarin has four tones
    Checked 2026-10-12.
  2. Peace Corps China, Chinese Basic Lessons for Invitees (Mandarin) files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/audio/languagelessons/thepeoplesrepublicofchina/CN_Mandarin_Language_Lessons.pdf
    falling-rising and falling, plus a fifth
    Checked 2026-10-12.

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