How many tones are there in spoken Chinese?

This is a tricky question! It depends on what you mean by "tones." Here's a breakdown:

* Standard Mandarin Chinese has 4 tones:

* First Tone (高平): High and level (like the word "tea")

* Second Tone (升): Rising (like the word "car")

* Third Tone (降转平): Dipping and then leveling out (like the word "bird")

* Fourth Tone (降): Falling (like the word "book")

* The "Neutral Tone" (轻声): This isn't really a tone, but more like a lack of tone. It's a very short, quick sound, often used in words with certain syllables.

* Regional Variations: Depending on the dialect of Chinese, there can be more or fewer tones. For example, Cantonese has 6 tones, while some dialects have only 2.

* Tonal Complexity: Even within Mandarin, the tones can be quite complex. There are things like:

* Tone Sandhi: Tones change depending on the surrounding syllables.

* "Light" and "Heavy" Tones: The third tone can be pronounced in two ways depending on the surrounding syllables.

So, the answer to your question really depends on how you define "tones." But for Standard Mandarin, the most common answer is four tones with a neutral tone.