How to pronounce baozi
baozi (steamed buns) is 包子 in Chinese, written bāozi in pinyin and said bow-dzuh.
包子
bow-dzuh
Sound by sound
- 包bowFirst tone: high and level
- 子dzuhNeutral tone: light and short
Letters to watch
- Ao rhymes with “cow”: mao is “mow” as in “how now”, never “moe”.
- Z is said like the ds in “kids”, softer than an English z.
- After z, c, s, zh, ch, sh and r, the i is no “ee”: the first sound is held on, like a buzz.
Food and drink
- xiaolongbao 小笼包 shyow-loong-bow
- jiaozi 饺子 jyow-dzuh
- mapo tofu 麻婆豆腐 mah-paw-doh-foo
- Peking duck 北京烤鸭 bay-jeeng-kow-yah
- hot pot (huoguo) 火锅 hwaw-gwaw
- jianbing 煎饼 jyen-beeng
- zongzi 粽子 dzoong-dzuh
- baijiu 白酒 buy-jyoh
- oolong tea (wulong) 乌龙茶 woo-loong-chah
- pu-erh tea (pu’er) 普洱茶 poo-ar-chah
- tangyuan 汤圆 tahng-ywen
- mooncake (yuebing) 月饼 yweh-beeng
- boba tea (zhenzhu naicha) 珍珠奶茶 jun-joo-nigh-chah
- tofu (doufu) 豆腐 doh-foo
How do you pronounce baozi?
baozi (steamed buns) is 包子 in Chinese, written bāozi in pinyin and said bow-dzuh.
What are the tones in baozi?
bāo: first tone, high and level; zi: neutral tone, light and short.
What do English speakers get wrong in baozi?
Ao rhymes with “cow”: mao is “mow” as in “how now”, never “moe”. Z is said like the ds in “kids”, softer than an English z. After z, c, s, zh, ch, sh and r, the i is no “ee”: the first sound is held on, like a buzz.
More free tools
Voices recorded for our word cards. A spelling such as “shyow-mee” is the nearest English sound, not the sound itself: hear the voices.