“How do I even tell the 3rd tone apart from the 2nd and 4th?”

“What do I do when I have a bunch of 3rd tones in a row?”

“Why can’t I pronounce the 3rd tone correctly?”

In today’s Practice Note, we’re going to clear up all your confusion about the 3rd tone once and for all. We’ll explore what the 3rd tone really sounds like, troubleshoot common pronunciation mistakes, compare it directly with the other tones, and walk through exactly how to apply tone change rules in complex situations.

Download the PDF to follow along with all the exercises:

What is a third tone?

Watch the video below to hear what the third tone sounds like in real speech, and learn how the tone change rule actually works. You can also skip ahead to the written explanation below.

There are two versions of the third tone:

1. The half 3rd tone
2. The complete 3rd Tone

The complete 3rd tone is what you probably learned first: it dips low and then rises back up, like in “Zǎo!” (Good morning!) and “Hǎo!” (Ok!)

But other than these monosyllabic words in isolation or when pausing for emphasis (like in a classroom), native speakers never pronounce it this way in everyday conversation.

The half 3rd tone is what native speakers actually use 99% of the time, and it’s way simpler than the complete 3rd tone: Just start low, go lower. That’s it.

How low is it exactly? Let’s listen to how it sounds like next to other tones.

The 3rd tone vs. the 1st tone

Listen for the pitch jumping between high (1st tone) and low (3rd tone).

The 3rd tone vs. the 2nd tone

The 2nd tone rises, while the 3rd tone stays low.

The 3rd tone vs. the 4th tone

You can hear a quick drop in pitch in the 4th tone, but the 3rd tone is nearly flat in comparison.

Minimal pairs

Listen to the minimal pairs below.

Do you think you can tell them apart? Take the quiz to test your ear! (click start test, and click on the sound icons to listen.)

The 3rd Tone Change Rule

The 3rd tone is so low that it feels very awkward to say multiple of them row. That’s why Mandarin has a tone change rule:

3 + 3 = 2 + 3

When two third tones appear together, the first one changes to a second tone. For exmaple, 你好 (nǐhǎo) is pronounced as níhǎo. The tone change happens automatically, and the spelling never changes.

What About Long Chains of 3rd Tones?

Native speakers group syllables into words and phrases, and then apply the tone change within those groups.

Let’s walk through this example:

Lǐ Xiǎojiě xiǎng jǐdiǎn mǎi shuǐguǒ?

Step 1: Group into words

Lǐ | Xiǎojiě | xiǎng | jǐdiǎn | mǎi | shuǐguǒ?

Step 2: Apply tone changes within words

Lǐ | Xiáojiě | xiǎng | jídiǎn | mǎi | shuíguǒ?

Step 3: Fix any remaining adjacent third tones (jiě and xiǎng; diǎn and mǎi)

Lǐ | Xiáojié | xiǎng | jídián | mǎi | shuíguǒ?

That’s your final pronunciation:

Lǐ Xiáojié xiǎng jídián mǎi shuíguǒ?

Wait, do native speaker to do all of these calculation in the speed of light as they speak?

Actually, native speakers learned the tones of each word in their changed form, so the tone change happening at the word level is already given. What they do is mostly just anticipating the next third tone at the phrase level (see footnote*).

With enough practice, you will be able to do the same thing, and feel the need to change your third tone to make your pronunciation natural. You will reach to the level of automaticity if you practice with consistency and listen intentionally.

I hope this Practice Note how you clarify the mystery around the third tone ✔️ Don’t forget to download your PDF for the exercises!

In our next note, we will figure out how to pronounce the 4th tone without sounding angry. Keep practicing and stay tuned!

*Footnote

Native speakers change the third tones differently based on the perceived grouping of the words. For example:

Wǒ yě hěn xiǎng nǐ. (I also miss you a lot)

• If you think of it as wǒ yě / hěn / xiǎng nǐ, you would say wó yé hěn xiáng nǐ.
• If you think of it as wǒ / yě hěn xiǎng / nǐ, you would say wǒ yé hén xiáng nǐ.
• If you think of it as wǒ yě /hěn xiǎng nǐ, you would say wó yě hén xiáng nǐ.
• If you are speaking super fast and think of the whole thing as one giant phrase,  you would say wó yé hén xiáng nǐ.

The pattern of the third tone change is like a tiny window into native speaker’s thinking pattern. Can you guess how would people say this phone number?

555-555-5555

Listen to find out if you share the same pattern as I do!

Wúwúwǔ, wúwúwǔ, wúwǔ wúwǔ.