Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced yu
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced yu, including 于 yú, 与 yú / yǔ / yù, 语 yǔ / yù, 育 yù, 预 yù. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
yu is a whole syllable. The vowel is ü: say “ee” but round the lips as if for “oo” and hold that shape. The y is only a glide onto it.
Initial y
Start the syllable on the initial y, 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 (于 yú, 与 yú / yǔ / yù, 语 yǔ / yù, 育 yù, 预 yù) and lock in their tones. 33 common characters share the sound yu, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
yu 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: 於, 吁 (2 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
2nd tone
Taking the 2nd tone here: 于, 与, 余… (10 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
3rd tone
Taking the 3rd tone here: 语, 雨, 谷… (5 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 育, 预, 域… (16 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing yu inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
33 common characters in this group.