Home / Learn Mandarin / Foundations / Tone changes: 3rd tone, 不 and 一

Tone changes: 3rd tone, 不 and 一

Two third tones in a row: the first becomes second (你好 sounds like ní hǎo). 不 becomes bú and 一 becomes yí before a fourth tone.

Dictionaries write the original tone. Speakers change it in these cases, and HSK materials often show the spoken tone for 不 and 一.

不 bù becomes bú before a fourth tone: 不是 bú shì.

一 yī becomes yí before a fourth tone (一个 yí gè) and yì before other tones (一天 yì tiān).

In the drills, pick the pinyin as it is actually said.

Practice this lesson

Updated

Before this lesson

This unlocks after: Tone pairs in two-syllable words.