The following video demonstrates each syllable of the pinyin structure
and the exercise of pinyin/zhuyin with basic Chinese 4-tune pronunciation

Mandarin pinyin tunes
Click the framed calligraphic Chinese symbol icons
to link more related multi-character Chinese words!

lāo, láo, lǎo, lào

first tune

lāo

gain improperly fish up; scoop up 撈 lāo

dredge for money get on the gravy train 撈錢 lāo qián
gain improperly 撈 lāo	money 錢 qián

fish for a needle in the ocean look for a needle in a haystack (Chinese idiom) 大海撈針 dà hǎi lāo zhēn
ocean 大海 dà hǎi	fish up 撈 lāo	needle 針 zhēn

second tune

láo

labor; worker toil; fatigued bother; trouble 勞 láo

worker; labor 勞工 láo gōng
labor; worker 勞 láo	worker 工 gōng

tired; tiredness weary; fatigue 疲勞 pí láo
tired 疲 pí	toil; fatigued 勞 láo

offer one's service render one's service 效勞 xiào láo
serve 效 xiào	toil; trouble 勞 láo

firm; durable sturdy; secure jail; prison 牢 láo

firm and solid strong and secure 牢固 láo gù
firm; durable 牢 láo	firm; solid 固 gù

imprisoned; behind bars 坐牢 zuò láo
sit 坐 zuò	jail; prison 牢 láo

Chinese characters also pronunced láo

third tune

lǎo

old; aged experienced; tough 老 lǎo

old people senior citizen 老人 lǎo rén
old 老 lǎo	people 人 rén

old hand past master experienced doer 老手 lǎo shǒu
old; experienced 老 lǎo	hand 手 shǒu

Chinese characters also pronunced lǎo

fourth tune

lào

bake iron; brand; sear 烙 lào

naan bread; baked pancake 烙餅 lào bǐng
bake 烙 lào	biscuits 餅 bǐng

brand mark with a branding iron 烙印 lào yìn
iron; brand 烙 lào	print 印 yìn

Chinese characters also pronunced lào