shēngdiào

声调

Word · NounTraditional聲調

tone; pitch; intonation

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

2 senses · 6 examples
1.

noun

tone; pitch; intonation

Refers to the pitch level, modulation, or musical quality of the voice in speech.

Tā她
de的
shēng声
diào调
hěn很
gāo高
 ，
tīng听
qǐ起
lái来
hěn很
nián年
qīng轻
 。

Her pitch is very high, making her sound very young.

Zhè这
jù句
huà话
yīng应
gāi该
yòng用
xià下
jiàng降
de的
shēng声
diào调
lái来
dú读
 。

This sentence should be read with a falling intonation.

Show 1 more example
Tā他
shuō说
huà话
de的
shēng声
diào调
hěn很
píng平
hé和
 。

The tone of his speech is very gentle.

2.

noun

tone (of a Chinese character); lexical tone

Specifically refers to the phonemic tone categories in tonal languages like Mandarin Chinese (e.g., first tone, second tone, third tone, fourth tone).

Pǔ普
tōng通
huà话
yǒu有
sì四
gè个
shēng声
diào调
 。

Mandarin Chinese has four tones.

Zhè这
gè个
zì字
shì是
dì第
sān三
shēng声
 。

This character is third tone.

Show 1 more example
Xué学
xí习
hàn汉
yǔ语
yào要
zhǎng掌
wò握
hǎo好
shēng声
diào调
 。

Learning Chinese requires mastering tones well.