How to say yao

yao in all four tones, said in a female or a male voice. Tap a tone to hear it.

yao

Tap a tone to hear it; tap it again to hear it slower.

Voice

How to say it

No initial: No consonant: the syllable starts with its vowel. The y or w in front is spelling only and adds no sound of its own.

Its tones

yāo 腰 waist · yáo 摇 to shake · yǎo 咬 to bite · yào 要 to want. The pinyin trainer practices telling them apart in real words.

Spelling

Said alone, iao is written yao: a final that begins with i, u or ü takes y or w in front.

Words with yao

要yàoto want
不要búyàodon't
药yàomedicine
快要kuàiyàoabout to
药店yàodiànpharmacy
需要xūyàoto need
要求yāoqiúrequirement
只要zhǐyàoas long as
重要zhòngyàoimportant
主要zhǔyàomain
将要jiāngyàowill
邀请yāoqǐngto invite

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.