Which tones are hardest, why, and where to start.
German speakers' most striking deviation is not a single tone but a much NARROWER overall f0 range than native Mandarin speakers. Tone 1 and Tone 2 are hardest (identification accuracy around 57%). Confusions follow acoustic proximity: T1/T2 and T3/T4 share a similar end pitch, while T2/T3 share a similar starting pitch.
Source: Ding, Jokisch & Hoffmann (2012), Speech Prosody 2012, 378–381. DOI: 10.21437/speechprosody.2012-96 | Ding, Jokisch & Hoffmann (2011), Archives of Acoustics | Brengelmann & Grice (2011), Phonetik und Phonologie 7
Group averages tell you where to look, not what you actually do. Two speakers of the same first language can differ a lot. The only way to know is to record yourself and compare.
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