Learn Chinese Characters

Pinyin Syllable

Chinese characters pronounced lu

Learn common Chinese characters pronounced lu, including 路 lù, 律 lǜ / lǜ, 率 lǜ / shuài / lǜ, 陆 lù / liù, 露 lù / lòu. Compare tones, meanings…

How to Pronounce This Syllable

lu joins the initial l to the final u in one motion — say it as a single Mandarin beat with the tone over it, not as English letters in a row.

Initial l

Start the syllable on the initial l, then run straight into the final u — keep them joined instead of sounding out separate English letters.

Final u

Keep the lips rounded.

Study Tip

Start with the most common characters (路 lù, 律 lǜ / lǜ, 率 lǜ / shuài / lǜ, 陆 lù / liù, 露 lù / lòu) and lock in their tones. 19 common characters share the sound lu, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.

Learn by Tone

lu turns up here with 3 different tones; a change of tone usually means a different character, so the groups below are split by tone.

2nd tone

Taking the 2nd tone here: 卢, 炉, 芦 (3 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.

3rd tone

Taking the 3rd tone here: 鲁, 旅, 吕… (6 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.

4th tone

Taking the 4th tone here: 路, 律, 率… (10 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.

Common Words With This Sound

Seeing lu inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.

Characters

19 common characters in this group.