Chinese tone pair trainer.
Mandarin is rarely heard one syllable at a time in real speech. The real difficulty comes when two tones have to stay distinct inside a normal word, especially when the pair is unstable or easy to blur.
This trainer focuses on three combinations that learners often flatten together at first: 2-3, 3-3, and 4-4. Listen through the word bank, then test whether you can identify the pattern by ear.
Overview
Last updated April 15, 2026.
- Practice tricky Mandarin tone combinations such as 2-3, 3-3, and 4-4 with real two-syllable audio examples.
- Pronunciation problems get easier when the contrast is isolated and replayed in a narrow frame instead of buried in too much extra material.
- These pages are meant to move quickly from explanation to listening, so the ear can build a real category rather than a vague impression.
Tones have to survive contact with neighboring tones.
Single-syllable tones are only the beginning. Real Mandarin words are usually heard in strings of two or more syllables, which means the ear has to follow pitch movement across a sequence, not just identify one isolated contour.
Some tone combinations are harder than others. A 2-3 sequence asks you to hear a rise and then a low target. A 3-3 sequence is especially important because the first third tone is normally reshaped by tone sandhi and often surfaces more like a rising contour in connected speech. A 4-4 sequence demands two clean falling tones in a row without flattening the second one.
The trainer below keeps the focus on those combinations. First you can listen through a library of common two-syllable words. Then you can switch into quiz mode and see whether you can identify the tone pair by ear before looking at the answer.
The tone combinations this page trains.
2nd tone + 3rd tone
Listen for a clear rise on the first syllable, then a lower second syllable that does not turn into a full fourth-tone fall.
3rd tone + 3rd tone
In natural speech the first third tone is usually reshaped by sandhi, so this pair often sounds closer to a rising syllable followed by a low third tone.
4th tone + 4th tone
Both syllables fall. The challenge is keeping the second fall strong instead of letting it flatten out after the first one.
Listen to real two-syllable words by pattern.
Click any word to hear it. The goal is to keep the pair in your ear as one contour sequence rather than two unrelated syllables.
2-3 words
These are common words where a rising tone is followed by a third tone.
3-3 words
These are useful sandhi examples because the first third tone is usually reshaped in real speech.
4-4 words
These demand two distinct falling tones in a row, which many learners blur together at first.
Can you identify the pair by sound?
Play the word first. Then decide whether the pattern was 2-3, 3-3, or 4-4.
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