Mandarin Sandhi Sprint
The pinyin shows the dictionary tones. The audio says the connected tones. Pick what you actually hear.
Choose where the ladder starts
Ten words per round, three lives, unlimited replay. There is no clock: every two rounds the tone inventory widens instead.
Starts with second- and third-tone pairs, including the core 3+3 → 2+3 change.
Building this run from the indexed dictionary…
Which tone pair was spoken?
Keys 1–4 answer · Space replays · Enter continues
Run complete
How the ladder gets harder
Beginner starts with second- and third-tone pairs, where 3+3 sandhi is easiest to isolate. Intermediate adds tone 1. Advanced adds tone 4, which brings in the changes for 不 and 一. Expert adds neutral tones. Every two cleared rounds widens the inventory.
The written pair is always one of the four buttons. Sometimes it is right; when sandhi applies it is the trap. Replay is unlimited and costs no points, because careful listening—not speed—is the skill being trained.
Where the words come from
Every prompt is a real two-syllable headword already indexed in this site's dictionary. Its citation and connected readings are derived when the app starts by the same rule engine as the Tone Sandhi Checker. There is no hand-written question list and no separate copy of the pinyin.