Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced dou
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced dou, including 都 dōu / dū, 斗 dǒu / dòu, 读 dú / dòu, 抖 dǒu, 豆 dòu. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
To say dou, lead with the initial d, then flow without a break into the final ou, holding the tone across the whole syllable.
Initial d
Start the syllable on the initial d, then run straight into the final ou — keep them joined instead of sounding out separate English letters.
Final ou
Settle the final ou into a steady mouth shape first, then lay the tone on top.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (都 dōu / dū, 斗 dǒu / dòu, 读 dú / dòu, 抖 dǒu, 豆 dòu) and lock in their tones. 6 common characters share the sound dou, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
dou turns up here with 4 different tones; a change of tone usually means a different character, so the groups below are split by tone.
1st tone
Taking the 1st tone here: 都 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
2nd tone
Taking the 2nd tone here: 读 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
3rd tone
Taking the 3rd tone here: 斗, 抖, 陡 (3 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 豆 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing dou inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
6 common characters in this group.