声调 (shēng diào) — Chinese Word

noun HSK 4

Traditional 聲調

shēng diào

tone · pitch accent · tonal pattern

Meaning

声调 refers to the distinctive pitch contours used in tonal languages like Mandarin Chinese. In Mandarin, there are four main tones (plus a neutral tone) that change the meaning of syllables. This concept is fundamental to Chinese phonology and pronunciation.

Usage

Commonly used in language learning contexts, linguistics discussions, and when explaining Chinese pronunciation. Native speakers often discuss 声调 when teaching Chinese or noting pronunciation errors. Frequently paired with numbers (第一声调, 第二声调) or descriptive terms (平声, 上声).

Examples

01
汉语有四个声调，学习者需要多加练习。
Hàn yǔ yǒu sì gè shēng diào, xué xí zhě xū yào duō jiā liàn xí.
Chinese has four tones, and learners need to practice them more.
02
妈、麻、马、骂的声调不同，意思也完全不一样。
Mā, má, mǎ, mà de shēng diào bù tóng, yì si yě wán quán bù yī yàng.
The tones of mā, má, mǎ, and mà are different, and their meanings are completely different too.

Characters

Measure words

个gè四个声调
种zhǒng几种声调

Common collocations

四声
sì shēng
four tones
第一声
dì yī shēng
first tone
声调符号
shēng diào fú hào
tone marks
轻声
qīng shēng
neutral tone

Origin

Compound of 声 (sound/voice) and 调 (tone/tune). The term literally means 'sound tone' and has been used in Chinese linguistics to describe the tonal system that distinguishes meaning in Chinese syllables.