Since most computer fonts do not contain the macron or caron accents, a common convention is to add a digit representing the tone to the end of individual syllables. For example, "tóng" (tong with the rising tone) is written "tong2". The number used for each tone is as the order listed above (except the "fifth tone", which, in addition to being numbered 5, is also sometimes not numbered or numbered zero, as in ma0 (吗/嗎, an interrogative marker).
Tone Tone Mark Number added to end of syllable
in place of tone mark Example using
tone mark Example using
number IPA
First macron ( ˉ ) 1 mā ma1 mɑ˥˥
Second acute accent ( ˊ ) 2 má ma2 mɑ˧˥
Third caron ( ˇ ) 3 mǎ ma3 mɑ˨˩˦
Fourth grave accent ( ˋ ) 4 mà ma4 mɑ˥˩
"Neutral" or "Fifth" No mark
or dot before syllable (·) no number
5
0 ma
·ma ma
ma5
ma0
