Hanzi Sheets
Pinyin Tone Marks: The Rules, Explained
Every pinyin syllable carries one tone mark, and the rules for where it goes are simple enough to fit on an index card: mark the main vowel, a beats o beats e, iu and ui take it on the second letter, and i drops its dot. Here is the whole system, with the examples your child will actually meet.
The four tones and the neutral tone
Mandarin has four full tones plus a light neutral tone, and the mark's shape mirrors the pitch movement. First tone: a high flat line, mā (妈, mom) — hold it steady like a sung note. Second tone: a rising line, má — the pitch of a surprised question. Third tone: a dip down and up, mǎ (马, horse) — in fast speech it often sounds like just a low dip. Fourth tone: a sharp fall, mà — the pitch of a firm "no." The neutral tone gets no mark at all and is spoken short and light: the second syllable of 谢谢 (xiè xie) and 妈妈 (mā ma). Same letters, four tones, four different words — which is why the marks are part of the spelling, not decoration.
Which vowel gets the mark
When a syllable has several vowels, only one wears the mark, and there is a strict priority list: a first, then o, then e. So 好 is hǎo (mark on a, even though o is present), 手 is shǒu, and 谢 is xiè. If the syllable has only i, u or ü, the mark goes there: nǐ, wǔ, nǚ. One exception to memorize: in the pairs iu and ui, the mark always sits on the second letter — 六 is liù, 对 is duì. A classroom rhyme sums it up: "a o e come first; i u ü line up behind; whoever stands last in iu or ui wears the hat."
The i-dot rule
Whenever i carries a tone mark, its dot disappears to make room: nǐ, bí, xī, dì. This trips kids who copy pinyin carefully — a dotted í looks right to an English-trained eye but is never correct. ü keeps its two dots in all tones (nǚ, lǜ) except after j, q, x and y, where the dots are always dropped, tone mark or not: jú, qù, xuě, yuán.
How to practice the rules
Drill placement, not just reading. Say a word, have your child write its pinyin and place the mark, then check: 苹果 (píng guǒ), 牛奶 (niú nǎi), 米饭 (mǐ fàn), 香蕉 (xiāng jiāo) between them exercise nearly every rule above. On tracing sheets, keep pinyin labels visible while the character is being written — sound, mark and shape learned in one pass.
Try it
Pre-filled with 苹果, 牛奶, 米饭, 香蕉 — four food words whose pinyin exercises the a/o/e priority rule, with labels and stroke order on.
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FAQ
Which vowel gets the tone mark in pinyin?
The mark goes on the main vowel, in priority order: a first, then o, then e — hǎo, shǒu, xiè. If the syllable has only i, u or ü, it goes there. The one exception: in iu and ui, the mark always sits on the second letter — liù, duì.
Why does the i in pinyin sometimes lose its dot?
Whenever i carries a tone mark, the dot is dropped so the mark can sit in its place: nǐ, bí, xī. It is purely a writing convention — the pronunciation does not change.
What is the neutral tone?
A fifth, light tone with no mark at all, pronounced short and unstressed. It appears in the second syllable of many family words and particles: mā ma (妈妈), xiè xie (谢谢), le (了).
Do two third tones in a row change?
In speech, yes — the first of two consecutive third tones is pronounced as a second tone, so nǐ hǎo sounds like ní hǎo. In writing, the original marks stay: you still write nǐ hǎo (你好). Kids only need the writing rule for worksheets.