Pinyin chart · gao
How to say gao
gao in its 3 tones, said in a female or a male voice. Tap a tone to hear it.
gao
Tap a tone to hear it; tap it again to hear it slower.
Voice
How to say it
g: Like the k in “skin”: no puff of air. To an English ear it sounds close to the g in “go”.
ao: ao is close to the “ow” of “cow”.
Its tones
gāo 高 high · gǎo 搞 to do · gào 告 to tell. gáo isn’t used in standard Mandarin. The pinyin trainer practices telling them apart in real words.
Sounds near it
Learners often mix gao up with these. Listen to them one after the other.
Words with gao
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.