pronouncekit

FINAL

o: rounded back vowel

Pinyin o is rounded and usually has a small u-like onset after b, p, m and f. Learn bō and wǒ without an English glide.

o
Broad IPA
[ɔ], [uɔ]

Mouth & tongue

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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

Round lips for the first word; unrounded 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

Pinyin o is rare on its own. It mostly appears in bo, po, mo and fo, where many speakers start with a small [u]-like onset.

What your mouth is doing

The lips round and the back of the tongue rises to mid height. After a lip consonant the lips may begin tighter and open slightly.

Compared with English

The vowel in English law is a better cue than the one in go. English go glides up to [ʊ], and Mandarin o should not.

Build the sound, step by step

  1. Round your lips loosely and hold a steady vowel.
  2. Start bō with closed lips and open into the round shape.
  3. Say wǒ and duō, which use the related final uo.

What to watch for

  • An English oh glide makes bō sound like “bow”. Hold it still.
  • Unrounding the lips turns o toward pinyin e.

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