声调 shēngdiào tone
tone; note; a tone (on a Chinese syllable)
How to remember 声调: 声 voice + 调 tune = tone.
Characters
How it is used
- The tone of a Chinese syllable - the pitch contour that distinguishes meaning: 汉语有四个声调 (Hànyǔ yǒu sì ge shēngdiào) Chinese has four tones.
- Distinguish from 语调 (yǔdiào), sentence-level intonation, and 音调 (yīndiào), musical pitch; 声调 is the lexical tone on a single syllable.
- Core term in language learning and phonetics.
Example sentences
- 请把音乐声调小！ Qǐng bǎ yīnyuè shēng tiáoxiǎo!Please turn down the music.
- 她声调突然变了。 Tā shēngdiào tūrán biàn le.There was a sudden change in her tone.