How to pronounce Tsingtao (青岛) in Chinese
Tsingtao is the old spelling of 青岛, Qīngdǎo: "ching-dow", a high level tone and then a low one. Hear 青岛 (qīng dǎo) spoken, see what it means, then record yourself for instant AI feedback on your pronunciation.
青岛
qīng dǎo
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Characters & meanings
green; blue-green
island
Common mistake
Ts is an old spelling: in Mandarin the word starts with q, a "ch" made with the tongue tip down and a puff of air. dǎo is low.
Tsingtao in Mandarin: what to get right
Qingdao is a port city in Shandong province; 青岛 means "green island". The brewery, founded there in 1903, kept the city’s name as it was spelled in the Chinese postal romanization of the time, before pinyin became standard in 1958. The beer is still Tsingtao; the city is written Qingdao.
How English speakers usually say it
Reading the brand name literally gives "TSING-tow", with a ts that Mandarin doesn’t have here. "Ching-dow" is much closer. The remaining errors are the vowel of dao, which rhymes with "how", not "doe", and the tones.
How to say 青岛 tone by tone
Qīng: tongue tip behind the lower teeth, a "ch" with a strong puff of air, then "ing", all held high and level. Dǎo: d is unaspirated (no puff), and the tone is a low third tone; at the end of the word it may dip and rise slightly, but keep it low. High, then low: that contrast is the word.
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Syllables in this word
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青岛qīng dǎo
Tsingtao
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