---
title: "How to Pronounce Laozi (老子) in Chinese, With Audio | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "Laozi (the philosopher of the Daodejing) is 老子 in Chinese, written Lǎozǐ in pinyin and said low-dzuh. Hear it from two native speakers, slow or normal, sound by sound with its tones, then say it and see if you got it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/laozi"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[How to pronounce](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce)

# How to pronounce Laozi

Laozi (the philosopher of the Daodejing) is 老子 in Chinese, written Lǎozǐ in pinyin and said low-dzuh.

老子 Lǎozǐ

low-dzuh

## Sound by sound

1. 老lǎolowThird tone, said rising here before another third tone
2. 子zǐdzuhThird tone: low, dipping down

### 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.

## People

- [Xi Jinping 习近平 shee-jeen-peeng](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/xi-jinping)
- [Mao Zedong 毛泽东 mow-dzuh-doong](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/mao-zedong)
- [Deng Xiaoping 邓小平 dung-shyow-peeng](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/deng-xiaoping)
- [Confucius (Kongzi) 孔子 koong-dzuh](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/confucius-kongzi)
- [Li Bai 李白 lee-buy](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/li-bai)
- [Yao Ming 姚明 yow-meeng](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/yao-ming)
- [Zhang Ziyi 章子怡 jahng-dzuh-yee](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/zhang-ziyi)
- [Gong Li 巩俐 goong-lee](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/gong-li)
- [Liu Cixin 刘慈欣 lyoh-tsuh-sheen](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/liu-cixin)
- [Qin Shi Huang 秦始皇 cheen-shr-hwahng](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/qin-shi-huang)
- [Sun Wukong 孙悟空 swun-woo-koong](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/sun-wukong)
- [Mulan 花木兰 hwah-moo-lahn](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/mulan)
- [Zhuge Liang 诸葛亮 joo-guh-lyahng](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/zhuge-liang)
- [Guan Yu 关羽 gwahn-yew](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/guan-yu)
- [Zheng He 郑和 jung-huh](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce/zheng-he)

[Every name, or type your own](https://mandarinthewild.com/how-to-pronounce)

## How do you pronounce Laozi?

Laozi (the philosopher of the Daodejing) is 老子 in Chinese, written Lǎozǐ in pinyin and said low-dzuh. The first syllable is said with a rising tone, since a third tone before another third tone rises.

## What are the tones in Laozi?

lǎo: second tone here, rising; zǐ: third tone, low, dipping down.

## What do English speakers get wrong in Laozi?

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

- [Chinese text to speech](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-text-to-speech)
- [Chinese name to pinyin](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-name-to-pinyin)
- [Tone practice](https://mandarinthewild.com/tone-practice)
- [Pronunciation checker](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-pronunciation-checker)
- [Pinyin chart](https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-chart)

Voices recorded for our word cards. A spelling such as “shyow-mee” is the nearest English sound, not the sound itself: hear the voices.