ABSTRACTThis study investigated the contributions of subsegmental cues [i.e., vowel center, vowel onset, and consonant (C)-vowel (V) transition] to Mandarin tone identification. In Experiment 1, single vowels were edited to preserve different proportions of vowel centers or vowel onsets. In Experiment 2, isolated Mandarin words were processed to produce two conditions of consonant plus C-V transition, and C-V transition. The synthesized stimuli were presented to normal-hearing native-Mandarin listeners for tone identification. Experimental results showed that, at the same proportion, vowel centers carried more information than vowel onsets for tone identification. The effect of vowel onsets on tone identification depended on the context of testing materials, with increased identification accuracy from single vowels to C-V transitions in isolated words. The duration of subsegmental cues could potentially predict the accuracy of subsegment-based tone identification.