Tonal languages
In a tonal language, the pitch of your voice changes a word's meaning. Of the 527 languages sampled by the World Atlas of Language Structures, 220 have tone: 132 with a simple system and 88 with a complex one.
Source: Ian Maddieson, “Tone”, WALS Online chapter 13 (feature 13A), CC BY 4.0. Each dot is one language in the WALS sample. Tap a dot for its name.
Tonal languages in this guide
Vietnamese
6 tones in the Northern standard
WALS: Complex tone system
Lesson: Vietnamese Tones - A FULL SIMPLE Guide With Exercises
Japanese has a pitch accent rather than full lexical tones, which WALS codes as a simple tone system.
Frequently asked questions
What is a tonal language?
A language in which the pitch pattern of a syllable is part of the word, so the same syllable said with a different pitch can be a different word. Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Thai and Yoruba are well-known examples.
How many tones does Mandarin have?
4 tones plus a neutral tone.
How many tones does Vietnamese have?
6 tones in the Northern standard.
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