I’ve lost count of how many students I’ve seen try to pronounce the 4th tone by yelling as loudly—and as angrily—as possible, only to miss the falling pitch entirely.

The “angry tone” analogy can be a useful starting point, but it doesn’t take you very far. In fact, it can start to do more harm than good as you progress. Today, I want to provide you a better guide, one that actually reflects how the fourth tone works.

Watch the video for troubleshooting tips, or scroll down for a full explanation and practice tips.

The 4th tone starts high and falls quickly to the bottom of your voice. Coincidentally, it is similar to the intonation of a single-word assertive sentence such as “No!” and “Go!” in English. While that’s a helpful place to begin, relying on your native language’s emotional tone can easily lead you astray. Because, if your pitch isn’t actually falling, no matter how short, loud, or forceful you sound, you’re not producing a fourth tone.

Try this instead: close your mouth and say a thoughtful “Hmm…” You’ll notice your voice naturally drops. Use that as you guide. (If you happen to play Minecraft, think of the sound the villagers make. It’s more bottom-heavy, but still has that falling quality.)

Build up the 4th Tone

Let’s build up your tone one syllable at a time. Record yourself and compare your recordings to mine.

Start with a single syllable, then gradually extend the phrase:

diàn (電/电 electricity)

diànshì (電視/电视 TV)

kàn diànshì (看电视/看电视 to watch TV)

qù kàn diànshì (去看電視/去看电视 to go watch TV)

yào qù kàn diànshì (要去看電視/要去看电视 will go watch TV)

Xiànzài yào qù kàn diànshì (现在要去看電視/现在要去看电视 I will go watch TV now.)

Successive 4th tones are notoriously tricky. Go slowly.

Tones vs. Sentence Intonation

If you’re a beginner or early intermediate learner, I recommend holding off on using emotional highs and lows in your Chinese speech for now. Your native language’s patterns can easily interfere with correct tone production. The most common error is raising your pitch when pausing or asking questions.

Let’s compare:

Correct:
Nǐ dào nǎr qù?
Common mistake:
Nǐ dǎo nǎr qú? (← Rising at the end, throwing off the tones)

Correct:
Xīngqīliù, wǒ zhǐ xiǎng shuìjiào, chīfàn, shuìjiào.
Common mistake:
Xīngqīliú, wǒ zhǐ xiǎng shuǐjiō, chǐfān, shuǐjiào. (← Rising at the pauses)

Stay mindful of tone over emotion, at least for now. Once the tones become your second nature, you’ll have full freedom to express yourself with all the nuance you want.

The 4th tone vs. other tones

4th Tone vs. 1st Tone

A lot of people mispronounce the 4^th tone as the 1^st tone. Listen carefully to the sentence below. Can you tell the differences between them?

4th Tone vs. 2nd Tone

Listen for the rollercoaster of rising and falling pitches.

4th Tone vs. 3rd Tone

The fall in third tone is subtle, while with the fourth tone, the fall is dramatic and sharp.

Minimal Pairs

Here are some minimal pairs to test your ear and pronunciation. Listen and repeat:

Can you hear the difference? Take the quiz and test yourself! (click start test, and click on the sound icons to listen.)

One Last Challenge

Now that you’ve reviewed all four tones and practiced them in depth, it’s time to test your skills again.

Try the 12-word tone challenge again here.
Are you hearing tones more clearly? Are you producing them with more precision?

I’d love to hear about your progress, your struggles, and your “aha” moments. Share your story with me!

Language learning is all about patience and practice. You’re already doing the hard, thoughtful work it takes to sound more natural and confident in Chinese. Stay tuned for the next Practice Note, and keep practicing. You’ve got this!