Pinyin chart · chao
How to say chao
chao in its 3 tones, said in a female or a male voice. Tap a tone to hear it.
chao
Tap a tone to hear it; tap it again to hear it slower.
How to say it
ch: Said like zh with a strong puff of air: like the ch in “church” with the tongue tip curled back.
ao: ao is close to the “ow” of “cow”.
Its tones
chāo 超 to exceed · cháo 潮 tide · chǎo 炒 to stir-fry. chào isn’t used in standard Mandarin. The pinyin trainer practices telling them apart in real words.
Sounds near it
Learners often mix chao up with these. Listen to them one after the other.
Words with chao
The voices are generated speech (ElevenLabs), the same two the app’s word cards use, each tone said as one real word. The words are from the official HSK list (the exam’s 2025 syllabus), easiest first. Every syllable is on the pinyin chart.