Tone pair 4-2

This page will cover some examples of the 4-2 tone pair, which Sinosplice rates as a "3" on a difficulty rating of 1-7 (easiest to hardest).

Practice this tone pair using the words below. Once you can say them reliable in isolation (as just a tone pair), try putting them in longer sentences while keeping the tones accurate.

4-2 Tone Pair Words (A2)

If you're just getting started with tone pairs, these simple two-syllable words and phrases are a good place to start. If these are too easy, you may want to move onto the longer (B1) phrases below.

Audio Chinese Pinyin English
上学 shàngxué to start school, to go to school
大学 dàxué university
问题 wèntí question; problem, issue
练习 liànxí to practice
去年 qùnián last year

Source: AllSet Learning's "Tone Pair" Pronunciation Pack (used with permission)

4-2 Tone Pair Phrases (B1)

Audio Chinese Pinyin English
星期天 xīngqītiān Sunday
吃 香蕉 chī xiāngjiāo to eat a banana
喝 咖啡 hē kāfēi to drink coffee
去 公司 qù gōngsī to go to the office
很 开心 hěn kāixīn very happy

Source: AllSet Learning's "Tone Pair" Pronunciation Pack (used with permission)

4-2 Tone Pair Combos

Source: Sinosplice's Mandarin Chinese Tone Pair Drills (used with permission)

  • 太忙 (tài máng) too busy
  • 太长 (tài cháng) too long
  • 太油 (tài yóu) too oily
  • 太强 (tài qiáng) too strong

Sources and further reading

Websites