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Word Guide

Tier 1 Practice Page

How to pronounce 周末 (zhōu mò)

周末 means "weekend". Use this guide to lock in the tone pattern, articulation target, and the mistake most learners still make.

Pinyin

zhōu mò

Tone Pattern

Tone 1 + Tone 4

Pronunciation Focus

flat-sharps

How to say it

Start 周 with a retroflex zh so the word does not collapse into a flat z-sound.

Phonetic Breakdown

zh+ou_m+o

Most common error

Many learners pronounce zhōu too far forward and lose the retroflex contrast.

HSK Level

HSK1

Related pronunciation rules

z, c, s vs zh, ch, sh: how to hear and pronounce the difference

Learn the contrast between flat alveolar sounds and retroflex sounds so Chinese words stop collapsing into one pattern.

Practice similar examples

找到 (zhǎo dào)

The zhǎo syllable should start farther back than a plain z sound.

聪明 (cōng míng)

Keep c forward and aspirated, then preserve the -ng ending in both syllables.

出去 (chū qù)

Keep the retroflex initials in 出去 (chū qù) slightly curled back instead of letting them flatten forward.

Hear the same pattern in sentences

他吃了。 (tā chī le.)

Keep the retroflex initials in 他吃了。 (tā chī le.) slightly curled back instead of letting them flatten forward.

他出去。 (tā chū qù.)

Keep the retroflex initials in 他出去。 (tā chū qù.) slightly curled back instead of letting them flatten forward.

他说话。 (tā shuō huà.)

Keep the retroflex initials in 他说话。 (tā shuō huà.) slightly curled back instead of letting them flatten forward.

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