Tough sounds -ou-uo

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The "ou" and "-uo" vowel sounds aren't difficult, but they're easy to mix up. Practice the following words and phrases to be sure that you've got a good handle on these tough sounds.

Pronunciation Tips for -ou-uo (A2)

Read about the "o" and "u" vowels if you need the review.

The pinyin "-ou" final is very similar to the "oh" sound in English. You can think of it as replacing the pinyin "u" with a "h" to get the English syllable "oh".

The "-uo" sound is actually the same as the Chinese syllable "wo." You're just replacing the "u" with a "w" for the syllable "wo."

Tough Sound Words: -ou-uo (A2)

The words in the following table are designed to give you a good pronunciation workout. Practice them on your own and practice them with your teacher.

Audio Chinese Pinyin English
duō many, much
zuò to do; to make
cuò mistake, fault
shuō to speak, to say
guò to pass, to spend
dōu all
zǒu to walk, to leave
zhōu week
gǒu dog
ròu meat, flesh

If these are too easy for you, don't forget that we also have these same sounds at a more challenging intermediate (B1) level.

Tough Sound Video Practice: -ou-uo (A2)

New video content coming soon...

Sources and further reading

More sources and other links coming soon...