Learn Chinese Characters

Pinyin Syllable

Chinese characters pronounced nao

Learn common Chinese characters pronounced nao, including 脑 nǎo, 闹 nào, 恼 nǎo. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words, and example sentences.

How to Pronounce This Syllable

Build nao by sliding from n straight into ao; the tone rides over the joined sound, so treat it as one unit.

Initial n

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

Final ao

Settle the final ao into a steady mouth shape first, then lay the tone on top.

Study Tip

Start with the most common characters (脑 nǎo, 闹 nào, 恼 nǎo) and lock in their tones. 3 common characters share the sound nao, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.

Learn by Tone

nao turns up here with 2 different tones; a change of tone usually means a different character, so the groups below are split by tone.

3rd tone

Taking the 3rd tone here: 脑, 恼 (2 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.

4th tone

Taking the 4th tone here: 闹 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.

Common Words With This Sound

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

Characters

3 common characters in this group.