Pinyin chart · tou
How to say tou
tou in its 3 tones, said in a female or a male voice. Tap a tone to hear it.
tou
Tap a tone to hear it; tap it again to hear it slower.
Voice
How to say it
t: Like the t in “top”, with a strong puff of air. The puff is what tells it from d.
ou: ou is close to the “oh” of “go”.
Its tones
tōu 偷 to steal · tóu 投 to throw · tòu 透 to penetrate. tǒu isn’t used in standard Mandarin. The pinyin trainer practices telling them apart in real words.
Sounds near it
Learners often mix tou up with these. Listen to them one after the other.
Words with tou
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.