Back to Third tone sandhi in Mandarin

Word Guide

Tier 1 Practice Page

How to pronounce 水果 (shuǐ guǒ)

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

Pinyin

shuǐ guǒ

Tone Pattern

Tone 2 + Tone 3

Pronunciation Focus

toneSandhi

How to say it

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

Phonetic Breakdown

sh+ui_g+uo

Most common error

The first syllable often stays too low and breaks the sandhi rhythm.

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.

你好 (nǐ hǎo)

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

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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