Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced zao
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced zao, including 造 zào, 早 zǎo, 遭 zāo, 糟 zāo, 躁 zào. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
zao keeps the tongue flat behind the teeth for z (not curled), then glides into ao; say it in one beat and ride the tone through.
Initial z
Use a flat tongue. It is not English “z”.
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 (造 zào, 早 zǎo, 遭 zāo, 糟 zāo, 躁 zào) and lock in their tones. 5 common characters share the sound zao, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
zao turns up here with 3 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: 遭, 糟 (2 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
3rd tone
Taking the 3rd tone here: 早 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 造, 躁 (2 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing zao inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
5 common characters in this group.