Pinyin chart · shao
How to say shao
shao in all four tones, said in a female or a male voice. Tap a tone to hear it.
shao
Tap a tone to hear it; tap it again to hear it slower.
Voice
How to say it
sh: Like English sh, with the tongue tip curled back a little further.
ao: ao is close to the “ow” of “cow”.
Its tones
shāo 烧 to burn · sháo 勺 spoon · shǎo 少 few · shào 哨 whistle. The pinyin trainer practices telling them apart in real words.
Sounds near it
Learners often mix shao up with these. Listen to them one after the other.
Words with shao
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.