Pinyin chart · liu
How to say liu
liu in all four tones, said in a female or a male voice. Tap a tone to hear it.
liu
Tap a tone to hear it; tap it again to hear it slower.
How to say it
l: As in English “l”, at the start of a word.
iou: Written iu after a consonant (liu, jiu): a short o is said between the i and the u, most clearly in the third and fourth tones.
Its tones
liū 溜 to slide · liú 留 to stay · liǔ 柳 willow · liù 遛 to walk. The pinyin trainer practices telling them apart in real words.
Spelling
- iou is written iu after a consonant.
Sounds near it
Learners often mix liu up with these. Listen to them one after the other.
Words with liu
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.