Tones can make or break your meaning in Chinese-literally. Say mā and you’re talking about mother; say mǎ and you’re on a horse. If you’ve ever mixed up a purchase because your tone was off, you know exactly why this list exists.
We’ve rounded up around 160 practical tone patterns, neutral tone words, and tone change rules so you can stop guessing and start sounding like you mean it. No dusty theory, just the differences that show up in real conversations-whether you’re chatting about your day or reading a sign in Traditional Chinese.
Don’t worry—tones get friendlier with a little practice, and your ears will catch on faster than you think. Scroll to the bottom of this article for the free printable Chinese tones vocabulary list PDF and the free downloadable printable Chinese tones flashcards.
Use this list as a starting point, then keep going in the Yak Yacker Traditional Chinese section for more words, phrases, and study-friendly reference pages.
Quick Quiz
Think you’ve got the tones down? The quick quiz below will let you know which ones might still be playing tricks on you.
Browse the Full List
| Word | Pinyin | Type | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 大 | dà | adjective | big, large | 這個房間很大。 |
| 大 | dà | adjective | big, large | 這隻狗很大。 |
| 天 | tiān | noun | day, sky, heaven | 今天天氣好。 |
| 天氣 | tiānqì | noun | weather | |
| 她 | tā | pronoun | she, her | 她很漂亮。 |
| 她 | tā | pronoun | she, her | 她是我的老師。 |
| 好 | hǎo | adjective | good | 今天天氣很好。 |
| 好 | hǎo | adjective | good, fine | 今天天氣很好。 |
| 好吃 | hǎo chī | adjective | Delicious; tasty. | 這個蘋果很好吃。 |
| 好玩兒 | hǎo wánr | adjective | fun, interesting | 這個遊戲很好玩兒。 |
| 字 | zì | Noun | character, word | |
| 學 | xué | verb | to learn, to study | 我學中文。 |
| 學 | xué | verb | to learn, to study | 我學中文。 |
| 學校 | xuéxiào | noun | school | 我的學校很大。 |
| 學生 | xuéshēng | noun | student | 我是學生。 |
| 學生 | xué shēng | noun | Student. | 他是好學生。 |
| 家 | jiā | noun | home, family | 我家有三個人。 |
| 家 | jiā | noun | Home; family. | 我家有三個人。 |
| 寫 | xiě | Verb | to write | |
| 對不起 | duì bu qǐ | expression | Sorry; excuse me. | 對不起，我遲到了。 |
| 小 | xiǎo | adjective | small, little | 小貓很可愛。 |
| 小 | xiǎo | adjective | small, little | 我有一隻小貓。 |
| 少 | shǎo | adj | few, little | |
| 工作 | gōngzuò | noun/verb | work; job | 我每天去工作。 |
| 很 | hěn | adverb | very, quite | 他很聰明。 |
Free Chinese Tones Vocabulary List PDF and Flashcard Downloads
Use the purple vocab-list button to get your Chinese tones vocabulary list, and the teal flashcards button for your Chinese tones flashcards. Both downloads are 100% free and require no signup.
