Serene Zawaydeh: Chinese Tone Changes Rules. Could reading given pinyin result in pronunciation errors? By Serene Zawaydeh. March 15, 2026

Chinese Pronunciation and Tone Changes Rules. Could reading given pinyin result in pronunciation errors? By Serene Zawaydeh. March 15, 2026

While studying Chinese, the student needs to pay attention to the tone of each Character learnt. Not only that, but there are some rules that should be implemented while reading text and while speaking. If the pinyin is given for the text, the tones shown do not always show the actual tone that should be said out loud.

The student needs to watch out for tone changes, when coming across:
Two third tones or multiple third tones; 不; 一; and using neutral tone.

Knowing the correct tones for characters is needed to make the corresponding tone changes, and this should improve pronunciation. If the student does not pay attention to the tones while studying, as there is so much information that needs to be learnt, pronunciation will not be accurate.

Following are some examples. Details can be reviewed in multiple videos that Chinese language teachers have on Youtube.

1) If there are two third tones, the first Character will become Second Tone.

你(nǐ)好(hǎo)，你should be second tone, since it is followed by third tone, but the pinyin will always show it as third tone.

表(biǎo)演(yǎn) has two third tones. We will say 表(biǎo) as second tone, because it is followed by a third tone.

Multiple Third Tones

Chinese Zero to Hero, Topics in Chinese Linguistics, provides explanations of Tone Sandhi; how to deal with multiple third tones; and provides a sentence that is full of third tones

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ9JcweJp-I
Multiple third tones | Topics in Chinese Linguistics | CZH308

Tone Sandhi In depth - Why tone sandhi | Topics in Chinese Linguistics | CZH309

2) The word 不 is fourth tone.
不(bù)高(gāo), 不(bù)一(yí)定(dìng), 不(bù)冷(lěng)，不(bù)忙(máng)
If 不is followed by fourth tone, 不 will become second tone.

Examples of 不second tone: 不(bú)是(shì) , 不(bú)大(dà) as it is followed by fourth tone.

不 would be neutral tone, when it comes in the form 忙不忙，累不累，去不去。

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENbannpUPu8

好(hǎo)久(jiǔ)不(bú)见(jiàn) is shown correctly on MS Word.
On Google Translate, it is shown as fourth tone. This shows that different software tools sometimes make the change in tone, and sometimes do not. The student should know the rules and make the required change alone.

3) The word 一(yī) which means one is first tone when it is a number. If it is followed by first, second or third tone, it will be fourth tone. If it is followed by fourth tone, it will be second tone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3AXlTQPK68

一(yī)will be first tone when it is a number， and if it is at the end of the sentence:
一(yī)二(èr)三(sān) ; 第(dì)一(yī) ; 五(wǔ)十(shí)一(yī)

一is second tone if it is followed by fourth tone: 一(yí)下(xià), 一(yí)样(yàng)， 一(yí)动(dòng)

一(yī)个(gè) is not correct, and when reading out loud, 一should be second tone.

一 is fourth tone, if it is followed by first, second, or third tone. However, this change in 一’s tone will not always be shown when you use software tools, and it will be shown as first tone.

一Followed by first tone, becomes fourth tone
一(yì)双(shuāng)， 一(yì)心(xīn)： Correct. 一 is fourth tone as it is followed by first tone.

一Followed by Second Tone, becomes fourth tone

一(yì)直(zhí)，一(yì)年(nián) ， Correct. 一 is fourth tone as it is followed by second tone.

一 Followed by Third tone, becomes fourth tone

一(yì)起(qǐ) ，一(yì)点(diǎn) Correct. 一 is fourth tone as it is followed by third tone.

The following are incorrect tones for 一

一(yī)只(zhī)，一(yī)棵(kē)，一(yī)杯(bēi) Incorrect. 一should be fourth tone as it is followed by fourth tone.

一(yī)瓶(píng) Incorrect. 一Should be fourth tone

一(yī)本(běn) ，一(yī)桶(tǒng)，一(yī)碗(wǎn), 一(yī)种(zhǒng) Incorrect. 一 should fourth tone, as it is followed by second tone.

一(yī)个(gè) : Incorrect. 一should be second tone, and not be first tone, since it is followed by

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce_Af5yL_Eg

Notice the difference in tones that is shown if you add the tones on Microsoft Word

一(yī)部(bù), 一(yí)部(bù)分(fen),

一(yī)句(jù)，一(yí)句(jù)话(huà)

It is important to know the tone of each character, as there are several characters that have a similar sound but different tones. If 一appears before each word, its tone needs to be changed according to the rules.

一(yí)半(bàn) half 一(yì)般(bān) average 第(dì)一(yī)版(bǎn) first edition
Notice that 上(shàng)班(bān) going to work, 班(bān) is first tone.

To make it easier to remember the tone changes, the key can be remembering
不(bú)是(shì) / \ 2 4 Second if followed by fourth tone
一(yí)定(dìng) / \ 2 4 Second if followed by fourth tone

一(yì)起(qǐ) \ fourth if followed by first, second, third tones

一 is neutral if it is mentioned in the middle of a verb that is repeated. For example 看一看，一should be neutral tone and not first tone.

When saying phone numbers, or apartment numbers, 一 would be pronounced Yao.

https://www.hanyuace.com/blog/the-tone-changes-rules-of-yi

Neutral Tone
The neutral tone is another point that needs to be taken into consideration, as it might not be shown precisely in software tools.

For example, if two characters are repeated, the second character would be neutral tone.
姐(jiě)姐(jiě) The second character should be neutral tone, and not third tone.

https://youtu.be/nNWCS3zEfQk?si=IKxpGqz8Wpik7Isa

If you haven't tried adding pinyin on Mirosoft Word, it can be done using Phonetic Guide A^abc

一个: 一 should be second tone

Here are the rules that I wrote in Chinese, to practice writing in Chinese.

朗读或者说汉语的时候，应该注意声调。我们不但要看一下每个汉字的声调，而且，我们应该注意汉字的声调。有几个规则关于声调的有变化。

比如收，我们看到两个三声的时候，我们应该说起来第一汉字用“二声，不是三声。

1. 表(biǎo)演(yǎn)，这两个词都有是三声。但是，我们说出来这个词，（表）因该说出来二声，不是三声，因为后面有三声。

下面的视频说明我们怎么能说出来一个句子，如果句子里面的词汇有有更多的三声

2. 不(bù)，就是四声。

但是，如果后面有四声的汉字，不因该改变到二声。比如说：不(bú)是(shì)。

3. 一(yī) 这个词应该注意，因为有不同的规则。

如果是数字，或者是句子最后的一个词，一就是一声。比如说：第(dì)一(yī)；五(wǔ)十(shí)一(yī)。

如果【一(yī)】后面有四声，我们因该改变【一】的声调说出来二声。比如说：
一个(gè)。

如果【一】后面有一声，二声，三声，【一】的声调改变到四声。

我们用软件的时候，应该注意这个规则。因为，如果我们看到拼音的时候，有的时候软件不会改变【一】的声调。

比如收，我用MS Word 的时候，我可以加上拼音用Phonetic Guide。

但是，我们看到
一(yī)个(gè) ，一(yī)次(cì)

在谷歌翻译也不正确

在Yabla 也不是正确

这些软件都说一(yī)个(gè)，一就是一声。

但是我们应该注意，如果【一】以后有四声，【一】的声调改变到二声。

一(yí)下(xià) 对 【一】后面有四声，【一】 的声调应该说出来二声。

还有别的规则：
如果【一】后面的词语有一声，二声，三声的词语，【一】应该说出来四声。这个规则非常重要。如果汉语学生只看到上面写的拼音，不关注这个规则，发音有问题。

我们来看到别的例子，看上面写的拼音对不对。

一(yì)家(jiā) 对 【一】 的声调是四声因为后面的词语是一声。

一(yī)棵(kē) 不对【一】以后有一声，应该改变【一】的声调到四声。

一(yì)年(nián) 对 【一】以后面有 二声，【一】 的声调应该说出来四声。

一(yì)直(zhí) 对 【一】以后面有 二声，【一】 的声调应该说出来四声。

一(yì)点(diǎn) 对 【一】后面有三声，应该改变【一】的声调到四声。

一(yī)本(běn) 不对【一】后面有三声，应该改变【一】的声调到四声。

一(yī)种(zhǒng) 不对【一】后面有三声，应该改变【一】的声调到四声。

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF3rlQcOlI0

The next time you see 一，make sure to look at the tone of the following character, and make the necessary change to 一's tone. In one of the past exam papers of HSKK 高级 , the text given to be read out loud had multiple 一's.

Knowing the tones of each character is important after all.

Following are links to other Blogs I wrote about Learning Chinese.

1 Examples of Chinese Characters, Similarities, and Meanings. By Serene Zawaydeh. December 21, 2025

2 HSK3.0 Syllabus - Note about 400 page Syllabus document available on test center's website.

3 Sharing tips about studying Chinese: From typing Chinese characters, to apps used for studying. By Serene Zawaydeh. November 3, 2025

4 Is it easy to determine the pinyin and tone of a Chinese character 汉字 seen for the first time? By Serene Zawaydeh. September 19, 2025

5 Dynamic learning of Chinese: “Shi” is the most common sound in Chinese Words from HSK1 through HSK6. By Serene Zawaydeh. November 24, 2024

6 Tips for Practicing Writing Chinese Characters. By Serene Zawaydeh. September 10, 2024

7 Change is the only Constant Thing in the Process of Learning Chinese. By Serene Zawaydeh. July 19, 2024

8 Making up Stories using Chinese Characters. 看汉字写小故事！by Serene Zawaydeh. June 29, 2024

9 What if… Higher Levels of HSK Chinese Tests could be Redesigned? By Serene Zawaydeh. April 2, 2024

10 Examples of Simplified Chinese. There is no end to learning 学无止境! By Serene Zawaydeh. January 22, 2024

11 The Ongoing Process of Learning Chinese, HSK5. By Serene Zawaydeh. January 10, 2024