Myth check
Adults can’t learn Mandarin tones.
Adults can learn useful tone contrasts with focused listening and speaking drills.
Verdict
mostly_false
Why
Tone accuracy improves with minimal-pair practice and feedback, not with “having a musical ear” alone.
Many adult learners communicate clearly long before tones are perfect in every syllable.
Neutral tone and sandhi matter as much as the four citation tones.
Test the better framing with a short practice drill the same day you read this myth.
Better framing
Train tones daily in short sessions, then reuse the same syllables in real words.
Practice tip
Practice tip: after reading “Adults can’t learn Mandarin tones.”, do one concrete drill from the better framing—speak aloud for five minutes using related words or tones.