Pinyin

"Double Happiness" Ink and color on silk by the Chinese artist Cui Bo, active during the reign of Shenzong.

The reading materials of this book are written in bite size for learning easier, can be used for learning Pinyin Chinese* as well as English. (*For learning Hanzi Chinese, please click here.)

• You can search related topics of this book from the following box, or browse the resources.

The formulation of Pinyin

Historic background

Pinyin was officially declared by the government of the People's Republic of China in 1958.

The explanation of Pinyin

What is Pinyin?

Pinyin (also called Hanyu Pinyin, Romanized Chinese or Pinyin Chinese) is a type of transliteration for Putonghua - the Standard Chinese language (a tonal language) where tone marks are used to show tones. It is the official form of the Latin alphabet transliteration used for the People's Republic of China and most of the world. And it is the standard form of Chinese Romanization for the United Nations.

Pronunciation

Vowels

Pinyin	IPA
a	[a]
e	[ə]
ê	[ɛ]
i	[i]
-i (after zh,ch,sh,r)	[ʅ]
-i (after z,c,s)	[ɿ]
o	[o]
u	[u]
ü	[y]

• "u" after "j, q, x, y" is pronounced as "ü" (the two dots is omitted in spelling)
• "e" after "i, u, ü, y" is pronounced as "ê" (the hat "^" is omitted in spelling)
• "e" before "i" is pronounced as "ê" (the hat "^" is omitted in spelling)
• "o" before "ng" is pronounced as "u" ("u" is written as "o" in spelling)

Consonants

b	p	m	f	w
d	t	n		l
g	k	ng	h
j	q		x	y
zh	ch		sh	r
z	c		s

Basic combinations of vowels and consonants

ai	ei	ao	ou
an	en	ang	eng	ong

• "ei" is pronounced as "êi" ("êi" is written as "ei" in spelling)
• "ong" is pronounced as "ung" ("ung" is written as "ong" in spelling)

Pronunciation of vowels

Pinyin	IPA	Explanation	Examples
a	[a]	as the vowel in father	bàba (papa)
e	[ə]	as the vowel in "stir"	gēge (elder brother)
ê	[ɛ]	as the vowel in "their"	xièxie (thank)
i	[i]	as the vowel in "bit"	dìdi (younger brother)
-i (after zh,ch,sh,r)	[ʅ]	similar to the consonant "r" in "rank", but with the lips spread and with the tongue curled upwards	zhīchí (support)
-i (after z,c,s)	[ɿ]	similar to the consonant in "zoo"	zìsī (selfish)
o	[o]	as the vowel in "law"	lǎopo (wife)
u	[u]	as the vowel in "food"	mǔqin (mother)
ü	[y]	as in German "üben" or French "lune" (To get this sound, say "ee" with rounded lips)	lǚyóu (travel), yǔyán* (language)

• The two dots of ü is omitted after "j, q, x, y".

Pronunciation of consonants

Pinyin	IPA	Explanation	Examples
b	[p]	p unaspirated, as in sport	Běijīng (capital of China)
p	[pʰ]	p aspirated, as in port	piányi (cheap), piàoliang (beautiful)
m	[m]	as in English	miàntiáo (noodles)
f	[f]	as in English	fācái (get rich)
w	[w]	as in English	wàiguórén (foreigner)
d	[t]	t unaspirated, as in stand	dà (big)
t	[tʰ]	t aspirated, as in tent	tàipíng (peace)
n	[n]	as in English	nánrén (man)
l	[l]	as in English	lǎorén (old man)
g	[k]	k unaspirated, as in sky	guójiā (country)
k	[kʰ]	k aspirated, as in kit	kèrén (guest)
ng	[ŋ]	as in English	fēngzi (lunatic), ńg (huh?)
h	[x]	like the English h if followed by "a"; otherwise it is pronounced more roughly (not unlike the Scots ch)	hāhā (sound of laughter), hēshuǐ (drink water)
j	[tɕ]	like q, but unaspirated. (To get this sound, first take the sound halfway between joke and check, and then slowly pass it backwards along the tongue until it is entirely clear of the tongue tip.) While this exact sound is not used in English, the closest match is the j in ajar, not the s in Asia; this means that "Beijing" is pronounced like "bay-jing", not like "beige-ing". You may simply pronounce it as zh and a Chinese may understand it.	jiàotáng (church), jiā (home or family)
q	[tɕʰ]	like church, but with less of the "ch"/"h" sound; pass it backwards along the tongue until it is free of the tongue tip	shēngqì (get angry)
x	[ɕ]	like sh, but with less of the "s" sound. Take the sound and pass it backwards along the tongue until it is clear of the tongue tip; similar to the final sound in German ich, Portuguese enxada, luxo, xícara, puxa, and to huge or Hugh in some English dialects	xiǎohái (child), Xīzàng (Xizang/Tibet)
y	[j]	as in English	yuèliang (moon)
zh	[tʂ]	ch with no aspiration (take the sound halfway between joke and church and curl it upwards); very similar to merger in American English, but not voiced	Zhōngguó (China), zháohuǒ (catch fire)
ch	[tʂʰ]	as in chin, but with the tongue curled upwards; very similar to nature in American English, but strongly aspirated	chīfàn (have a meal), chǎojià (quarrel)
sh	[ʂ]	as in shinbone, but with the tongue curled upwards; very similar to undershirt in American English	shāmò (desert), Shànghǎi (city in China)
r	[ɻ]	similar to the English r in rank, but with the lips spread and with the tongue curled upwards	rè (hot), rèqíng (passion)
z	[ts]	unaspirated c (halfway between beds and bets), (more common example is suds)	zǎoshànghǎo (good morning!), qīzi (wife), Zhāng Zǐyí (name of a Chinese actress)
c	[tsʰ]	like ts, aspirated (more common example is cats)	cǎo (grass), cì, time
s	[s]	as in sun	Lāsà (Lhasa, capital of Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region), Sūzhōu (capital of the province of Jiangsu, near Shanghai)

• Nearly all consonants in Chinese are voiceless.

Pinyin syllable table

	a	e	i	o	u/ü*		ai	ei	ao	ou		an	en	ang	eng	ong	n	ng
	a	e		o			ai	ei	ao	ou		an	en	ang			n	ng
b	ba		bi	bo	bu		bai	bei	bao			ban	ben	bang	beng
p	pa		pi	po	pu		pai	pei	pao	pou		pan	pen	pang	peng
m	ma	me	mi	mo	mu		mai	mei	mao	mou		man	men	mang	meng
f	fa			fo	fu			fei		fou		fan	fen	fang	feng
w	wa			wo	wu		wai	wei				wan	wen	wang	weng
d	da	de	di		du		dai	dei	dao	dou		dan	den	dang	deng	dong
t	ta	te	ti		tu		tai		tao	tou		tan		tang	teng	tong
n	na	ne	ni		nu/nü*		nai	nei	nao	nou		nan	nen	nang	neng	nong
l	la	le	li	lo	lu/lü*		lai	lei	lao	lou		lan		lang	leng	long
g	ga	ge			gu		gai	gei	gao	gou		gan	gen	gang	geng	gong
k	ka	ke			ku		kai	kei	kao	kou		kan	ken	kang	keng	kong
h	ha	he			hu		hai	hei	hao	hou		han	hen	hang	heng	hong		hng
j			ji		ju*
q			qi		qu*
x			xi		xu*
y	ya	ye	yi	yo	yu*				yao	you		yan		yang		yong
zh	zha	zhe	zhi		zhu		zhai	zhei	zhao	zhou		zhan	zhen	zhang	zheng	zhong
ch	cha	che	chi		chu		chai		chao	chou		chan	chen	chang	cheng	chong
sh	sha	she	shi		shu		shai	shei	shao	shou		shan	shen	shang	sheng
r		re	ri		ru				rao	rou		ran	ren	rang	reng	rong
z	za	ze	zi		zu		zai	zei	zao	zou		zan	zen	zang	zeng	zong
c	ca	ce	ci		cu		cai	cei	cao	cou		can	cen	cang	ceng	cong
s	sa	se	si		su		sai		sao	sou		san	sen	sang	seng	song
bi		bie							biao			bian					bin	bing
pi		pie							piao			pian					pin	ping
mi		mie			miu				miao			mian					min	ming
di		die			diu				diao			dian						ding
ti		tie							tiao			tian						ting
ni		nie			niu				niao			nian		niang			nin	ning
li	lia	lie			liu				liao			lian		liang			lin	ling
ji	jia	jie			jiu				jiao			jian		jiang		jiong	jin	jing
qi	qia	qie			qiu				qiao			qian		qiang		qiong	qin	qing
xi	xia	xie			xiu				xiao			xian		xiang		xiong	xin	xing
yi																	yin	ying
du			dui	duo								duan					dun
tu			tui	tuo								tuan					tun
nu		nue		nuo								nuan
lu		lue		luo								luan					lun
gu	gua		gui	guo			guai					guan		guang			gun
ku	kua		kui	kuo			kuai					kuan		kuang			kun
hu	hua		hui	huo			huai					huan		huang			hun
ju*		jue										juan					jun
qu*		que										quan					qun
xu*		xue										xuan					xun
yu*		yue										yuan					yun
zhu	zhua		zhui	zhuo			zhuai					zhuan		zhuang			zhun
chu	chua		zhui	chuo			chuai					chuan		chuang			chun
shu	shua		shui	shuo			shuai					shuan		shuang			shun
ru			rui	ruo								ruan					run
zu			zui	zuo								zuan					zun
cu			cui	cuo								cuan					cun
su			sui	suo								suan					sun

• "u" after "j, q, x, y" is pronounced as "ü" (the two dots is omitted in spelling), but the two dots of "nü" and "lü" cannot be omitted.

Tones

There are four tone marks in Pinyin and they are essential to correct pronunciation, written above the main vowel of the syllables of words (See also the Chinese wikibook page on using tones).

Unstressed syllable also called neutral tone which is unmarked, for example yuèliang (moon).

Alternative methods are used when diacritics are not convenient.

Orthography

We should divide Pinyin text by words and write syllables connectedly, such as "I am a foreigner" should be written as "Wǒ shì wàiguórén" in Pinyin.

Syllable-dividing mark

Syllable-dividing mark is the mark for dividing syllables, used before the syllables starting with vowels "a", "o", or "e", such as "pí'ǎo".

The application of Pinyin

To spell Chinese language

For spelling Putonghua

Chinese is normally written by ideographics. But for non-Chinese-speaking people, it is hard to recognize them. Pinyin can help Chinese learners recognize them more easily. This is a useful way to learn Chinese. Pinyin can also be used in place of Hanzi when Hanzi is not convenient.

Application technology

Indexing

Indexing problems

There is no particular order to Hanzi as it does not use the Roman alphabet (also called the Latin alphabet, i.e. ABC), so ordering by alphabetical order is inconvenient. There are currently many indexing methods to Hanzi, including character stroke, character radical, Four-Corner System, Zhuyin, Pinyin and etc. The structural problems of Hanzi cause indexing difficulty.

Solutions to indexing problems

Related governments together stipulate a unified Hanzi strokes and radicals standard.

There have been suggestions to use Pinyin as the indexing method. Pinyin adopts internationally used Roman alphabet, makes convenient file order. Pinyin uses phonetic values, avoiding the problem created by the lack of unity between traditional and simplified character strokes.

Technical terms translation

Technical terms translation problems

Majority of written language uses Roman alphabet (also called Latin alphabet). Hanzi (also called Chinese character) is not an alphabetic written language and is not convenient for translation, causing a lot of confusion. Technological terms such as Internet can be translated as 互联网 (Hùliánwǎng), 国际互联网 (Guójì Hùliánwǎng), 因特网 (Yīntèwǎng); laser translated as 雷射 (léishè), 镭射 (léishè), 莱塞 (láisài), 激光 (jīguāng). Brand names such as National, Panasonic, Technics are translated as 乐声牌 (Lèshēng-pái), 松下 (Sōng-xià); Sharp is translated as 声宝 (Shēngbǎo), 夏普 (Xiàpǔ); Sony is translated as 新力 (Xīnlì), 索尼 (Suǒní). Place names such as 北京 (Běijīng) is translated as Peking, Beijing; 广州 (Guǎngzhōu) is translated as Canton, Kwangchow, Guangzhou. People names such as the surname 罗 (Luó) is translated as Luo, Lo, Law; 李 (Lǐ) is translated as Lee, Li; Nixon is translated as 尼克逊 (Níkèxùn), 尼克松 (Níkèsōng). The same person can be translated into different names.

Technical terms translation problem solutions

When translating foreign languages, directly transliterating foreign languages can solve problems. For example, Internet directly translates to the Internet; laser directly translates to the laser; National, Panasonic and Technics directly translate to National, Panasonic and Technics, or as kanji of Japan: 松下 (Sōng-xià). Names of Chinese people, places and technical terms all use Pinyin to transliterate to foreign languages. For example, 北京 (Běijīng) 邓小平 (Dèng Xiǎopíng) and 普通话 (Pǔtōnghuà) use Pinyin to transliterate to Beijing, Deng Xiaoping and Putonghua.

Romanization of technical terms and code names

Romanization

Romanization, also called Latinization, is the process using Roman alphabet to write a language which is not written originally using Roman alphabet. Such as the Romanized Chinese, that is Hanyu Pinyin.

Romahuà, yě jiàozuò Latinhuà, jiùshì yòng Roma Zìmǔ shūxiě yuánběn bùshì yòng Roma Zìmǔ shūxiě de wénzì. Lìrú Romahuà Zhōngwén, yějiùshì Hànyǔ Pīnyīn.

Learn Chinese

Pinyin is a tool for learning Mandarin, and is used to explain both the grammar and spoken Mandarin. Books containing both Hanzi and Pinyin are used by learners of Chinese; Pinyin's role in teaching pronunciation is similar to Furigana-based books (with Hiragana letters written above or next to Kanji, directly analogous to Zhuyin) in Japanese or fully vocalised texts in Arabic ("vocalized Arabic").

Pinyin reading materials

Pinyin/Pinyin Reading Material

Pinyin reading materials are commonly used for learning Chinese.

Hanzi input

Pinyin input method

Pinyin input method is a popularly used phonetic input method. To key in Putonghua's pinyin which will automatically convert into Hanzi. For example: "BABA" is for inputting "爸爸".

Resources

• Category:Book:Pinyin
• See also

Appendix

Pinyin Orthography

• Basic Rules of Pinyin Orthography (Summary)

Dictionaries

• Pinyin vocabulary
• Wenlin Pinyin dictionary

Pinyin reading matters

The reading materials of this book can be used for learning Chinese as well as English.

• Please see Category:Book:Pinyin for Pinyin reading matters

• Pinyin reading matters from Wikimedia

Pinyin tone marking

ā á ǎ à a = a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 = a ar aa ah 'a *

āi ái ǎi ài = ai air aai aih

ān án ǎn àn = an arn aan ahn

āng áng ǎng àng = ang arng aang ahng

ē é ě è = e er ee eh

- ér ěr èr = - err eer erh

nǖ nǘ nǚ nǜ = nv nvr nvv nvh

lǖ lǘ lǚ lǜ = lv lvr lvv lvh

---

de = d, dy, or de, can be written distinguishably as follows:

d indicating subordination; suffix indicating an adjective

dy -ly, suffix indicating an adverb

de indicating a verb followed by an adverb or adverb clause; infix indicating be able to

---

le indicating a past tense; indicating a new situation

bu not, no; non-, un-; be unable to

'g non-specific measure word

'r non-syllabic diminutive suffix; retroflex final

• * Syllable-dividing mark can be replaced by grave mark (`) when apostrophe (') is used for indicating neutral tone.

• Alternative methods can be used when diacritics are not convenient.

I	This is a Category I Language.