Listen and write sounds formed by vowels only

Listening and Writing Vowel Sounds (Irabu)

What Are Vowel Sounds?

In Chinese, vowel sounds (called irabu in Swahili, or yùnǔ 韵母 in Chinese) are the parts of a syllable that come after the initial consonant. Some syllables have only vowels — no consonant at the beginning. These are the sounds we practice listening to and writing today.

Vowels Only (Irabu Tu)

Here are the vowel sounds made only with letters a, e, i, o, u, and ü. These do not have a consonant in front of them:

Vowel (Irabu)	How to Say It	Example
a	open "ah" like in "father"	a — as in ba (eight)
o	round "oh" like in "go"	o — as in bo (thin)
e	soft "uh"	e — as in de (of)
i	short "ee" like in "see"	i — as in bi (pen)
u	"oo" like in "moon"	u — as in bu (not)
ü	round "ee" (like "u" with lips rounded)	ü — as in nü (female)
ai	"ai" like in "buy"	ai — as in ai (love)
ei	"ay" like in "hey"	ei — as in bei (north)
ao	"ow" like in "cow"	ao — as in ao (big)
ou	"oh" like in "go"	ou — as in ou (Europe)
iu	"yo" sound	iu — as in liu (six)
ui	"way" sound	ui — as in ui (good)

How to Practice

1. Listen carefully to the vowel sound from your teacher or from a digital device.
2. Repeat the sound aloud after you hear it.
3. Write the vowel using pinyin letters. For example, if you hear the sound "ah," you write a.

Worked Example

Listen: You hear the sound ou.

Write: You write the letters ou.

Read aloud: You say ou (the sound for "Europe" in Chinese).

Practice Exercise

Listen to each sound and write the correct vowel:

You Hear	You Write
"ah"	a
"ee"	i
"oo"	u
"ai" (like "buy")	ai
"oh" (like "go")	ou

Key Points to Remember

• Vowel sounds (irabu) are the final part of a Chinese syllable.
• Some syllables have only vowels — no initial consonant.
• Practice writing them by listening first, then writing the pinyin letters.
• Use digital tools to hear the sounds many times.

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Real-life application

In Tanzania, when a student learns to listen and write Chinese vowel sounds, they can use this skill when traveling to China or talking with Chinese friends. For example, if you are buying goods at a market in Dar es Salaam and a Chinese trader says the price, you can recognize the vowel sounds in words like bai (hundred) and understand the amount in Tanzanian shillings — like 300 RMB (about 75,000 TZS) — and respond correctly using the vowel sounds you have learned.