Chinese Tone Pairs: The 20 Combinations to Drill

Two-syllable Mandarin words have 20 tone combinations: four tones on the first syllable times four tones plus the neutral tone on the second (4 × 5). The table below gives one Taiwan-standard word for each, with pinyin and Zhuyin. If you drill these 20 pairs, you cover the patterns behind most of the two-syllable vocabulary you will meet. One pair, third plus third, changes its sound in connected speech, and that is covered after the table.

Every reading below was checked against moedict.tw, which mirrors the Ministry of Education dictionary, so the Zhuyin matches what is printed in Taiwan.

The 4 × 5 grid

Tone numbers: 1 high level, 2 rising, 3 low (dipping in isolation), 4 falling, 0 neutral.

Pair	Word	Pinyin	Zhuyin	Meaning
1+1	今天	jīntiān	ㄐㄧㄣ ㄊㄧㄢ	today
1+2	今年	jīnnián	ㄐㄧㄣ ㄋㄧㄢˊ	this year
1+3	開水	kāishuǐ	ㄎㄞ ㄕㄨㄟˇ	boiled water
1+4	工作	gōngzuò	ㄍㄨㄥ ㄗㄨㄛˋ	work
1+0	桌子	zhuōzi	ㄓㄨㄛ ˙ㄗ	table
2+1	明天	míngtiān	ㄇㄧㄥˊ ㄊㄧㄢ	tomorrow
2+2	銀行	yínháng	ㄧㄣˊ ㄏㄤˊ	bank
2+3	牛奶	niúnǎi	ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄋㄞˇ	milk
2+4	學校	xuéxiào	ㄒㄩㄝˊ ㄒㄧㄠˋ	school
2+0	孩子	háizi	ㄏㄞˊ ˙ㄗ	child
3+1	老師	lǎoshī	ㄌㄠˇ ㄕ	teacher
3+2	美國	měiguó	ㄇㄟˇ ㄍㄨㄛˊ	United States
3+3	水果	shuǐguǒ	ㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄍㄨㄛˇ	fruit
3+4	比賽	bǐsài	ㄅㄧˇ ㄙㄞˋ	competition
3+0	椅子	yǐzi	ㄧˇ ˙ㄗ	chair
4+1	上班	shàngbān	ㄕㄤˋ ㄅㄢ	go to work
4+2	問題	wèntí	ㄨㄣˋ ㄊㄧˊ	question, problem
4+3	報紙	bàozhǐ	ㄅㄠˋ ㄓˇ	newspaper
4+4	再見	zàijiàn	ㄗㄞˋ ㄐㄧㄢˋ	goodbye
4+0	弟弟	dìdi	ㄉㄧˋ ˙ㄉㄧ	younger brother

The neutral-tone rows are the least fixed. A word can carry a neutral second syllable in one dictionary or speaker and a full tone in another, so treat them as typical examples. The neutral tone guide deals with that separately.

What to listen for in each group

First syllable high (1+). The second syllable starts where the first one ended, so the interest is all in what happens next: stay level (今天), climb (今年), drop low (開水) or fall (工作).

First syllable rising (2+). The rise has to finish before the next syllable starts. Many learners rush the rise and land the second syllable too low. In 明天 the second syllable begins high again.

First syllable low (3+). Before a first, second, fourth or neutral tone, the third tone is a low, mostly flat or gently falling pitch with little or no rise. Do not add a rise in 老師 or 美國; the next syllable provides the movement. This is the general rule for Mandarin. Many Taiwanese speakers keep the third tone low, often slightly falling, even when a syllable is said alone or ends a phrase, so with Taiwanese audio you may rarely hear the textbook rise at all.

First syllable falling (4+). The fall is quick and decisive. Because it ends low, the following syllable has to jump back up for 4+1 and 4+2, and the contrast is easy to hear.

Neutral second syllable (+0). The second syllable is short and light, and its pitch depends on the tone before it. Listen to the length and weakness as much as to the pitch.

Third plus third: the one pair that changes

水果 is written with two third tones, but when you say it in connected speech the first syllable sounds like a second tone: shuíguǒ. This is third-tone sandhi (變調). The same happens in 你好 (ní hǎo) and 老闆 (lǎobǎn, said láobǎn). Only the first syllable changes, and the second keeps its low tone.

The writing does not change: Zhuyin and pinyin still mark both syllables as third tone. You only hear the change. That means the 3+3 row of the grid is the only one where the tone category itself changes. Pairs involving 一 and 不 follow their own rules, set out in the tone sandhi guide, which also covers longer strings of third tones, where speakers vary.

After sandhi, 水果 (shuíguǒ) has the same 2+3 shape as 牛奶 (niúnǎi). That makes 2+3 and 3+3 close cousins, and training them together is worthwhile: listen to the two words back to back.

How to drill the grid

1. Take four pairs a day, one from each first-tone group, and listen to each several times.
2. Say each aloud, matching the audio. Do not look at the Zhuyin or pinyin while you say it.
3. Repeat the next day with four new pairs, and keep the ones you missed.
4. Once you know the 20 patterns, apply them to the words in your current lessons: label each new two-syllable word with its pair type when you learn it.

The Chinese tone practice tool plays native audio for single syllables, and the Zhuyin tone drill opens the same trainer with Zhuyin notation. These train your ear on the building blocks. For production practice with pairs, shadow the words in this table. The tools do not assess your own pronunciation, so ask a teacher or partner to listen for the pairs you find hardest.

Related reading

• Mandarin Tone Sandhi: Why 一, 不 and Third Tones Change
• Second vs Third Tone: How to Tell Them Apart
• Why You Can’t Hear Chinese Tones (and How to Train)
• Mandarin Tones Guide