# Cantone

> Learn and practice tones in tonal languages like Cantonese and Mandarin. (iPhone/iPad app by Brent Ho.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cantone/id1602297692 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Brent Ho](https://appshunter.io/developer/1602297694)
- Category: Education
- Price: Free
- Rating: 5.00/5 from 11 App Store ratings · 8 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 12.4 · 32 MB
- Languages: English
- Released: 2022-01-12
- Data updated: 2026-07-21
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cantone/id1602297692/reviews.md

## What is Cantone?

Cantone helps you to put the tones in tonal languages.

Cantone helps learners learn to perceive or speak tones in Cantonese or Mandarin - and reinforces this knowledge with vocabulary, tone sandhi, and other activities.

We offer support for 
* traditional and simplified characters.
* multiple transcription systems (Jyutping and Yale for Cantonese; Pinyin and bopomofo for Mandarin)
* English, German, Mandarin, and Cantonese user interfaces.
* light mode and dark mode

You can learn tones and words incrementally and move on to more advanced topics when ready - or you can simply practice what you already know with tasks and ther fun activities.

Perception activities tone your abilities to distinguish tones:
* Hear sounds and guess the tones.
* Match sounds to corresponding tone or word labels.

Production activities help you to speak:
* Personalize the system to you and your voice.
* Listen to exemplars adjusted for your vocal range.
* Listen to and match points in a tonal contour.
* Follow tone contours at a slower speed with pitch feedback.
* Plot attempts against canonical tone contours.

Vocabulary activities reinforce your knowledge through words.
* Learn words that differ in tone only (e.g. 買 vs. 賣).
* Match words by tone, definition, character, and pronunciation.

Tone Sandhi activities teach you about tone changes.
* Learn tone change rules.
* Listen to characters and predict the tones when the characters are put together.

Other activities help hone your abilities:
* Follow along with hilarious single syllable poems.
* Listen to and internalize the "tone melody"
* Learn common phrases.

Enjoy!

P.S. If you encounter bugs, please let me know at cantone.app@gmail.com, and I'll try to get back to you (and the bug) as quickly as possible.

## Key features

- Perception and production tone activities
- Vocabulary reinforcement
- Tone sandhi rule learning
- Support for traditional/simplified characters
- Multiple transcription systems
- Customizable user interface

## Recent user reviews (8 of 8)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cantone/id1602297692/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Amazing App - A Few Suggestions

*2026-03-16, version 2.1.7*

I’m currently learning Cantonese, and tones are the most challenging part of the language, so I really appreciate apps like this that focus on tone recognition. It’s a fantastic resource, especially for learners from non-tonal language backgrounds.

One suggestion would be to structure exercises so they progress from easy to difficult. For example, early lessons could focus on distinguishing tones using the same Jyutping syllable, such as 問 man6, 文 man4, 蚊 man1 or 時 si4, 試 si5, 事 si6, before introducing different sounds.

Some exercises (like matching a character to its meaning) seem to focus more on character recognition than tone training. It might be more helpful if the app played audio of a character and asked users to identify the tone.

Lastly, some audio sounds slightly muffled—clearer recordings could make tone distinctions easier to hear.

Overall, this is an excellent app and a very valuable tool for Cantonese learners. Thank you for creating it!

### 5/5 — Simple design for learning

*2024-10-08*

Simple, elegant design streamlined for learning tones.

### 5/5 — Extremely helpful!!

*2024-09-19, version 2.1.7*

This app is extremely helpful, I wish more people knew about it!

It supports Cantonese and mandarin. Simplified and traditional!

### 5/5 — Helpful with a simple UI

*2024-02-26*

Nothing needs to be fancy when learning the basics. The app has a nice simple design making it easy to use. The listening and speaking practice is fantastic and seems to have great examples.

### 5/5 — Great for practice!

*2023-07-09*

There's not a wealth of cantonese learning apps on iOS. This app fills a much needed void.

### 5/5 — Excellent.

*2022-05-12, version 1.1.1*

Very intuitive.

### 5/5 — Cantoneasy

*2022-03-30, version 1.0.8*

Gone are the days of embarrassing tone confusion. Can’t one see? This app gives excellent visual feedback for your tones.

### 5/5 — Kv_yyz

*2022-02-11, version 1.0.5*

Finally! Cantonese makes sense!

## Frequently asked questions about Cantone

### What languages does Cantone support?

Cantone supports learning tones in Cantonese and Mandarin. It offers multiple transcription systems like Jyutping and Yale for Cantonese, and Pinyin and bopomofo for Mandarin.

### How does Cantone help with tone perception?

Perception activities include hearing sounds and guessing tones, and matching sounds to corresponding tones or words. This helps users develop their ability to distinguish tones accurately.

### Can Cantone help me speak tones correctly?

Yes, production activities personalize the system to your voice, allowing you to listen to exemplars adjusted for your vocal range and receive pitch feedback.

### Does Cantone teach vocabulary related to tones?

Vocabulary activities reinforce your knowledge by teaching words that differ only in tone, and allowing you to match words by tone, definition, character, and pronunciation.

### What are tone sandhi rules, and does Cantone teach them?

Cantone teaches tone sandhi rules, which are changes in tones when characters are put together. You can learn these rules and predict tone changes.

### Is Cantone available on multiple devices?

Cantone is available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod. It also supports both light and dark modes for a personalized user experience.

### How often is Cantone updated?

The latest version of Cantone is 2.1.7, last updated on February 5, 2023. Updates typically occur to improve functionality and address bugs.

### Does Cantone have ads?

Cantone is completely ad-free, allowing for an uninterrupted learning experience. There are also no in-app purchases required.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.1.7 — 2023-02-05

New in 2.1.7:
- Use common syllables.
- Display common characters.
- Display current streak.
- Bug fixes

### 2.1.6 — 2022-12-31

New in 2.1.6:
- Reset progress bug fix.

### 2.1.5 — 2022-12-20

New in 2.1.5:
- Improved speech feedback contour graphs.
- More standardized Cantonese characters.
- More adjustable practice settings.

### 2.1.4 — 2022-12-06

New in 2.1.4:
- New audio files for Cantonese (thanks words.hk!).
- Introduction to Creaky Voice.
- New speaking UI.

### 2.1.3 — 2022-11-22

Fixed iOS audio volume bug.

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## Related topics

[cantone](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/cantone)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-07-21.*