pronouncekit

FINAL

ao: open-to-back diphthong

Pinyin ao is spelled with o but glides toward u, as in hǎo. Learn the mouth movement and avoid an English oh.

ao
Broad IPA
[au̯]

Mouth & tongue

Enable JavaScript to view the 3D panda. Pronunciation steps remain available below.

Vocal folds: vibrating

TongueTeethUvula

Simplified human pronunciation. The small uvula hangs from the palate; it is not the vocal folds. The wave indicates voicing.

Sound to demonstrate
Tone

High and level, around 55 on the five-level pitch scale.

Voice settings

The mouth starts slightly open. Movement is slowed for observation; the synthetic sound plays once at its original speed. Pause holds the current mouth shape; reset returns to the relaxed position. The panda is a symbolic teaching aid for human pronunciation, not animal anatomy. A simplified teaching model, not a measured or anatomically validated simulation. It shows the soft palate lowering for nasal sounds, but not airflow. Single syllables use eSpeak NG, a synthetic voice on your device. Its pitch range is narrower than natural speech, so use the tone diagrams and word buttons as well. Words and sentences use a voice from your browser or device when one is available. No native recordings are bundled.

Words to practice

Sentence to practice

Listen and compare

Open start for the first word, mid rounded start for the second.

Pinyin here shows dictionary tones. Spoken tones change in some contexts, such as nǐ hǎo; see the lessons on tone changes.

What you are learning

Despite the spelling, ao does not end on an English o. It ends near u.

What your mouth is doing

The jaw opens with the tongue low and back, then the jaw rises and the lips round toward the end.

Compared with English

English ow in now is a good match. Beginners often read hǎo as “hoe”, which is really closer to ou.

Build the sound, step by step

  1. Say now and drop the n.
  2. Keep the first part open and the ending rounded.
  3. Say hǎo, māo and gāo.

What to watch for

  • Reading hǎo as “hoe” turns it toward hǒu. Start with an open jaw.
  • Ending with spread lips loses the glide.

Related lessons

Keep practicing

References & editorial notes

PronounceKit wrote this lesson as practical guidance for English speakers, based on the references below. The comparisons are editorial teaching suggestions. It describes common Mainland Standard Mandarin patterns, not every accent or regional variety, and it has not been independently reviewed by a pronunciation specialist or Mandarin teacher.

Published 5 November 2026