Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced zu
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced zu, including 组 zǔ, 足 zú, 族 zú, 祖 zǔ, 阻 zǔ. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
For zu, start with the flat z and let it flow into u, holding the tone over the joined syllable.
Initial z
Use a flat tongue. It is not English “z”.
Final u
Keep the lips rounded.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (组 zǔ, 足 zú, 族 zú, 祖 zǔ, 阻 zǔ) and lock in their tones. 6 common characters share the sound zu, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
zu 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: 租 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
2nd tone
Taking the 2nd tone here: 足, 族 (2 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
3rd tone
Taking the 3rd tone here: 组, 祖, 阻 (3 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing zu inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
6 common characters in this group.