{
  "name": "Mandarin Chinese tones (with Zhuyin & Pinyin marks)",
  "description": "The four Mandarin tones plus the neutral tone, each with its Chao pitch-contour number, description, Zhuyin (Bopomofo) tone mark, Pinyin mark and the classic 'ma' example.",
  "identifier": "https://alice51849.github.io/ios-app-guide/data/mandarin-tones.json",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "creator": "Lumi Apps",
  "dateModified": "2026-07-10",
  "tones": [
    {
      "tone": "1st (high level)",
      "chaoContour": "55",
      "description": "High and level, like holding a steady high note",
      "zhuyinMark": "(unmarked)",
      "pinyinExample": "mā",
      "exampleCharacter": "媽",
      "meaning": "mother"
    },
    {
      "tone": "2nd (rising)",
      "chaoContour": "35",
      "description": "Rises from mid to high, like a questioning 'eh?'",
      "zhuyinMark": "ˊ",
      "pinyinExample": "má",
      "exampleCharacter": "麻",
      "meaning": "hemp"
    },
    {
      "tone": "3rd (dipping)",
      "chaoContour": "214",
      "description": "Dips low then rises; often just low in fast speech",
      "zhuyinMark": "ˇ",
      "pinyinExample": "mǎ",
      "exampleCharacter": "馬",
      "meaning": "horse"
    },
    {
      "tone": "4th (falling)",
      "chaoContour": "51",
      "description": "Starts high and drops sharply, like a firm command",
      "zhuyinMark": "ˋ",
      "pinyinExample": "mà",
      "exampleCharacter": "罵",
      "meaning": "scold"
    },
    {
      "tone": "Neutral (light)",
      "chaoContour": "—",
      "description": "Short, light, unstressed; pitch depends on the tone before",
      "zhuyinMark": "˙",
      "pinyinExample": "ma",
      "exampleCharacter": "嗎",
      "meaning": "question particle"
    }
  ]
}