Pinyin final: "ou4"

Mouth Mechanics (step-by-step)

1. Start with a relaxed “uh/aw” space inside the mouth. Your jaw is slightly open; tongue is relaxed and not bunched up.
2. Round your lips into a small “O.” Not extremely tight—more like you’re about to say “oh” in “go,” but steadier.
3. Let the sound move (glide) toward “oo.” As you continue the vowel, gently round the lips a bit more and raise the back of the tongue slightly.
   • The vowel is one smooth sound that moves from a more open “o” toward a tighter “u” feeling.
4. Keep it one syllable and one breath. Don’t break it into “o + oo” as two separate pieces.
5. For ou4 specifically (4th tone): “start high, then drop fast.” Begin with a firm, higher pitch and fall quickly and decisively—like giving a short command.

English Approximation (and how to adjust it)

These English examples are close, but you must “clean them up”:

• “go” — use the vowel in go.
  Adjustment: Many English speakers say go with a noticeable extra glide (it can sound like “gəw” or “gow”). In Mandarin ou, keep the vowel purer and more even, with a simple glide from o → u rather than a strong “w” sound.
• “dough” — use the vowel in dough.
  Adjustment: Avoid drawing it out; Mandarin ou can be shorter and more focused, especially in 4th tone.
• “so” — use the vowel in so.
  Adjustment: Keep the lips rounded and the sound steady; don’t let it turn into “seh-oo” or add an “r” color.

If your accent makes these words sound very different (for example, some regional accents), aim for:
a rounded “oh” that slightly tightens toward “oo,” without any “r,” and without a strong “w” consonant popping in.

Common Mistakes (English speakers)

• Adding an “r” sound: Don’t say something like “ohr” (as in some pronunciations of “more”). Mandarin ou has no r-coloring.
• Turning it into two syllables: Avoid “oh-oo.” It should be one smooth glide, not a break.
• Overdoing the “w” sound: Don’t let it become “ow” with a strong w consonant feeling in the middle. The glide exists, but it’s inside the vowel, not an added consonant.
• For 4th tone: Don’t make it rising or sing-song. It must fall sharply.

Practice Pairs (visual anchors)

Note: The English words are anchors—use them to find the mouth shape, then remove the extra English features (especially r-coloring, extra glides, or final consonants).

Comparisons & Caveats (similar Pinyin sounds)

• ou vs. o (as in “bo”, “po”, “mo”, “fo”):
  Mandarin ou has a clear glide toward “oo” (o → u). By contrast, the “o” in bo/po/mo/fo is often closer to a pure, more open “o” quality and does not behave like an “ou” diphthong. Don’t automatically turn every “o” spelling into “ou.”
• ou vs. ao:
  ao starts more open (more like “ah”) and moves toward “oo.” ou starts more rounded and “oh”-like. If you start ou too open, it will drift toward ao.
• ou vs. u (as in “du4”, “tu4”, “gu4”):
  u is a steadier “oo” vowel. ou is not a pure “oo”—it begins with a rounded “oh” and then glides.
• Tone interacts with clarity:
  In ou4, the sharp fall can tempt you to “crunch” the vowel too quickly. Keep the vowel quality intact while the pitch falls—clean vowel first, tone on top.

This final (ou) is the same vowel target across the syllables you listed (ou4, dou4, tou4, nou4, gou4, kou4, hou4, zhou4, chou4, shou4, cou4, sou4, you4, niu4, liu4, jiu4, xiu4, lou4, rou4, zou4, miu4); only the initial consonant changes, while the vowel is consistently the rounded “o → u” glide with a 4th-tone fall in these examples.