Back to Third tone sandhi in Mandarin

Word Guide

Tier 1 Practice Page

How to pronounce 你好 (nǐ hǎo)

你好 means "hello". Use this guide to lock in the tone pattern, articulation target, and the mistake most learners still make.

Pinyin

nǐ hǎo

Tone Pattern

Tone 2 + Tone 3

Pronunciation Focus

toneSandhi

How to say it

Treat the first syllable as a light rise so the phrase flows naturally into hǎo.

Phonetic Breakdown

n+i_h+ao

Most common error

Both syllables are often pronounced as heavy full third tones.

HSK Level

HSK1

Related pronunciation rules

Third tone sandhi: why 你好 sounds like ní hǎo

Understand the most common third-tone sandhi pattern, where the first of two third tones changes before the second.

Practice similar examples

雨伞 (yǔ sǎn)

Keep yǔ rounded and forward, then let the first third tone rise into the next syllable.

水果 (shuǐ guǒ)

Let shuǐ rise into guǒ instead of dipping fully on both syllables.

不要 (bú yào)

Practice 不要 (bú yào) as one phrase so the third-tone sandhi happens smoothly in connected speech.

Hear the same pattern in sentences

你很好。 (nǐ hěn hǎo.)

The first two syllables both surface higher because each leads into another third-tone environment.

你好。 (nǐ hǎo.)

Practice 你好。 (nǐ hǎo.) as one phrase so the third-tone sandhi happens smoothly in connected speech.

你好吗？ (nǐ hǎo ma?)

Practice 你好吗？ (nǐ hǎo ma?) as one phrase so the third-tone sandhi happens smoothly in connected speech.

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