curriculum/challenges/english/blocks/zh-a1-learn-compound-finals/6216709db347445868fb6ecc.md
To pronounce iou, you begin with the tongue high and close to the hard palate for the i sound.
Then, in one fluid, continuous motion, you glide the tongue backward and downward into the more open, rounded position for o, immediately followed by a further backward movement and tighter lip rounding for the u sound.
The entire movement should be seamless, forming a single, unbroken syllable.
When it comes after an initial, iou is often written as iu. That's why you see syllables like liu, jiu, qiu, and xiu.
Let's practice pronouncing these syllables, and then use liu in different tones as an example.
| Pinyin | Character |
|---|---|
liū | 溜 |
liú | 流 |
liǔ | 柳 |
liù | 六 |
I've listened to the audio and practiced pronouncing the compound final and syllables.
{
"setup": {
"background": "company2-center.png",
"characters": [
{
"character": "Lin Yating",
"position": {
"x": 50,
"y": 15,
"z": 1.4
},
"opacity": 0
}
],
"audio": {
"filename": "ZH_A1_pinyin_compound_finals.mp3",
"startTime": 1,
"startTimestamp": 385.55,
"finishTimestamp": 405.93
}
},
"commands": [
{
"character": "Lin Yating",
"opacity": 1,
"startTime": 0
},
{
"character": "Lin Yating",
"startTime": 1,
"finishTime": 1.97,
"dialogue": {
"text": "iou",
"align": "center"
}
},
{
"character": "Lin Yating",
"startTime": 3.34,
"finishTime": 4.28,
"dialogue": {
"text": "liu",
"align": "center"
}
},
{
"character": "Lin Yating",
"startTime": 5.83,
"finishTime": 6.69,
"dialogue": {
"text": "jiu",
"align": "center"
}
},
{
"character": "Lin Yating",
"startTime": 7.98,
"finishTime": 9.08,
"dialogue": {
"text": "qiu",
"align": "center"
}
},
{
"character": "Lin Yating",
"startTime": 10.26,
"finishTime": 11.33,
"dialogue": {
"text": "xiu",
"align": "center"
}
},
{
"character": "Lin Yating",
"startTime": 13.48,
"finishTime": 14.29,
"dialogue": {
"text": "liū",
"align": "center"
}
},
{
"character": "Lin Yating",
"startTime": 15.53,
"finishTime": 16.31,
"dialogue": {
"text": "liú",
"align": "center"
}
},
{
"character": "Lin Yating",
"startTime": 17.76,
"finishTime": 18.85,
"dialogue": {
"text": "liǔ",
"align": "center"
}
},
{
"character": "Lin Yating",
"startTime": 20.22,
"finishTime": 20.88,
"dialogue": {
"text": "liù",
"align": "center"
}
},
{
"character": "Lin Yating",
"opacity": 0,
"startTime": 21.38
}
]
}