Can you hear the difference?
To a native Mandarin Chinese speaker, these are four different words. But to a native English speaker who has never heard them before, they may sound nearly identical.
ma4-aN.wav
ma2-aN.wav
ma1-aN.wav
ma3-aN.wav
罵, ma 4, “scold”, high-falling
麻, ma 2, “hemp”, low-rising
馬, ma 3, “horse”, dipping
媽, ma 1, “mother”, high-flat
ma4-aN.wav