fourth tone in Mandarin; departing tone in Middle Chinese
Meanings
2 senses · 6 examplesnoun
the fourth tone in Modern Standard Mandarin Chinese (high falling tone)
In modern Mandarin, this is the high falling tone (51), also known as the fourth tone or falling tone.
The four tones in Mandarin include the first tone, second tone, third tone, and fourth tone.
This character should be read with the fourth tone.
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The pronunciation characteristic of the fourth tone is a high falling tone.
noun
the third of the four traditional tones in Middle Chinese (departing tone)
In the traditional four-tone system of Middle Chinese (平上去入), this was the 'departing' tone (去聲), one of the three 'oblique' (仄) tones used in classical poetry.
In Middle Chinese, the departing tone was an important tonal category.
In classical poetry, oblique tones include the rising tone, departing tone, and entering tone.
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Many characters that had the departing tone in Middle Chinese are still read with the fourth tone in modern Mandarin.