neutral tone

noun

The lack of one of the four primary phonetic tones of Chinese, sometimes viewed as a tone in its own right, and unmarked in Hanyu Pinyin.

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Meanings

nounneutral tone (plural neutral tones)

plural neutral tones

  1. Chinesehuman sciencesThe lack of one of the four primary phonetic tones of Chinese, sometimes viewed as a tone in its own right, and unmarked in Hanyu Pinyin.

Translations

Bulgarian нулев тон
  • нулев тон (nulev ton)Translations
Chinese 輕聲 /轻声
  • 輕聲 /轻声 (qīngshēng)Translations
Portuguese tom neutro
  • tom neutroTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

neutral tone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neutral%20tone

MLA

“neutral tone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neutral%20tone. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “neutral tone,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neutral%20tone.

Source: neutral tone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.