First- and Fourth-Tone Pairs

The first and fourth tones are the two “extremes” of Mandarin: one holds a flat high note, the other slams down from top to bottom. Mastering first tone pairs and fourth tone pairs first is a smart move, because their starting points are unambiguous — you always begin high — which makes the second syllable easier to aim. This chapter drills every 1+x and 4+x combination with common words.

First-tone pairs: start high and hold

The first tone is a steady high level: imagine humming a single sustained note near the top of your comfortable range. In a first-tone pair, that flat note is your launch pad, and the second syllable does all the moving.

Pattern	Word	Pinyin	Meaning	What the pitch does
1 + 1	飞机	fēijī	airplane	high, then stay high
1 + 2	中国	Zhōngguó	China	high, then rise
1 + 3	方法	fāngfǎ	method	high, then dip low
1 + 4	工作	gōngzuò	work	high, then fall sharply

The trap is 1 + 1, like 飞机 (fēijī) — “airplane” or 天空 (tiānkōng) — “sky”. English speakers instinctively let the second syllable drift down. Don’t — keep it parked at the same high pitch for both syllables, like two beats of the same note. For 1 + 3 such as 方法 (fāngfǎ) — “method”, resist the urge to start the dip early; hold the high note fully, then drop into the low third tone.

Fourth-tone pairs: drop, then reset

The fourth tone is a fast fall from high to low, like a sharp command: “Stop!” In a fourth-tone pair you make that drop on the first syllable, then your voice has to climb back up to set up the second.

Pattern	Word	Pinyin	Meaning	What the pitch does
4 + 1	教室	jiàoshì	classroom	fall, then jump back to high
4 + 2	大学	dàxué	university	fall, then rise
4 + 3	电脑	diànnǎo	computer	fall, then dip low
4 + 4	再见	zàijiàn	goodbye	fall, reset, fall again

A clean 4 + 1 like 教室 (jiàoshì) — “classroom” requires a real reset: your pitch crashes down on jiào, then must spring back to the top for the level shì. The hardest one is 4 + 4, where you fall twice in a row. The classic example is 再见 (zàijiàn) — “goodbye”: don’t let the two falls slur into one long downward slide. Pop your pitch back up to the top between them — fall… reset up… fall — so each syllable gets its own drop. Compare 下次 (xiàcì) — “next time”, another crisp double fall.

The famous neutral-tone exceptions

Two of the most common “fourth-tone” words actually end in a neutral tone, not a full fourth:

• 谢谢 (xièxie) — “thank you”: the first xiè is a real fourth tone, but the second xie is light and unstressed.
• 再见 (zàijiàn) keeps both falls, but reduplicated words like 看看 (kànkan) — “take a look” drop the second tone entirely.

We cover these light syllables in neutral-tone words; for now, just notice that not every repeated character keeps its tone.

A note on 4 + 2

The 4 + 2 pattern is real but less common than the others, so good anchor words are worth memorizing: 大学 (dàxué) — “university” and 饭钱 (fànqián) — “meal money”. Stick with 大学 as your 4 + 2 reference: fall sharply on dà, then rise smoothly into xué. Note that 电视 (diànshì) — “television” looks like it might fit here, but shì is fourth tone, making it 4 + 4 — always check the second syllable rather than guessing from a similar-looking word.

Why these two tones pair well for early practice

Both the first and fourth tones have a fixed, unambiguous starting pitch: the top of your range. That gives your ear a stable reference. With a second tone you have to judge how far to rise, and with a third tone you have to judge how low to dip — both require calibration. But “start high” is binary: you either hit the top or you don’t. Drilling 1+x and 4+x pairs first builds confidence on the easy axis (where to begin) so you can focus your attention on the harder one (where the second syllable goes). Once these feel automatic, the rising-start and low-start pairs in the next two chapters will come faster.

Drill it

Pick one anchor word per pattern — 飞机 for 1+1, 再见 for 4+4 — and say it until the melody is automatic. Then swap in new words that share the pattern. Next we tackle the rising tone as a starting point in second-tone pairs.