How to pronounce 雨伞 (yǔ sǎn)

How to pronounce ü in Chinese

Learn how Mandarin ü differs from plain u, with lip rounding cues and high-frequency example words.

Third tone sandhi: why 你好 sounds like ní hǎo

Understand the most common third-tone sandhi pattern, where the first of two third tones changes before the second.

去年 (qù nián)

Keep qù narrow and forward so the rounded vowel does not fall back into a plain u.

女儿 (nǚ ér)

Keep the tongue forward for nǚ while rounding the lips gently.

绿色 (lǜ sè)

The lǜ syllable should stay bright and rounded instead of falling back into lu.

我喝绿茶。 (wǒ hē lǜ chá.)

The target is lǜ, which needs rounded lips and a forward tongue at the same time.

你很好。 (nǐ hěn hǎo.)

The first two syllables both surface higher because each leads into another third-tone environment.

路很长。 (lù hěn cháng.)

Keep the vowel in 路很长。 (lù hěn cháng.) rounded and forward instead of letting it fall back to a plain u.