Pinyin

2008/9 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Linguistics

Hanyu Pinyin
Traditional Chinese:	漢語拼音
Simplified Chinese:	汉语拼音
Transliterations Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin: Hànyǔ pīnyīn
Scheme of the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet
Traditional Chinese:	漢語拼音方案
Simplified Chinese:	汉语拼音方案
Transliterations Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin: Hànyǔ pīnyīn fāng'àn

Pinyin, more formally Hanyu Pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. Hanyu means the Chinese language, and pinyin means "spell sound", or the spelling of the sound.

Pinyin is the most common standard for representing Standard Mandarin in the Latin alphabet. The correspondence between letter and sound does not follow any single other language, but does not depart any more from the norms of the Latin alphabet than many European languages. For example, the aspiration distinction between b, d, g and p, t, k is similar to that of English, but not to that of French. Z and c also have that distinction; however, they are pronounced as [ts], as in languages such as German, Italian, and Polish, which do not have that distinction. From s, z, c come the digraphs sh, zh, ch by analogy with English sh, ch; although this introduces the novel combination zh, it is internally consistent in how the two series are related, and represents the fact that many Chinese pronounce sh, zh, ch as s, z, c. In the x, j, q series, x rather resembles its pronunciation in Catalan, though q is more novel.

History

In 1954, the Ministry of Education of the PRC assigned a Committee (Committee for the Reform of the Chinese Written Language) to reform the written language. This committee developed Hanyu Pinyin based upon existing systems of that time ( Gwoyeu Romatzyh of 1928, Latinxua Sin Wenz of 1931, it uses the diacritic markings from Zhuyin). The main force behind pinyin was Zhou Youguang (born 1905, turning 103 in 2008 in good health). Zhou Youguang was working in a New York bank when he decided to return to China to help rebuild the country after the war. He became an economics professor in Shanghai. The government assigned him to help the development of a new romanisation system. The switch to language and writing largely saved him from the wrath of the Cultural Revolution of Mao Zedong.

A first draft was published on February 12, 1956. The first edition of Hanyu Pinyin was approved and adopted at the Fifth Session of the 1st National People's Congress on February 11, 1958. It was then introduced to primary schools as a way to teach Standard Mandarin pronunciation, and used to improve the literacy rate among adults. In 2001, the Chinese Government issued the National Common Language Law, providing a legal basis for applying pinyin.

Pinyin vowels are pronounced similarly to vowels in Romance languages, and most consonants are similar to English. A pitfall for English-speaking novices is, however, the unusual pronunciation of x, q, j, c, zh, ch, sh and z (and sometimes -i) and the unvoiced pronunciation of d, b, and g. More information on the pronunciation of all pinyin letters in terms of English approximations is given further below.

The pronunciation of Chinese is generally given in terms of initials and finals, which represent the segmental phonemic portion of the language. Initials are initial consonants, while finals are all possible combinations of medials ( semivowels coming before the vowel), the nucleus vowel, and coda (final vowel or consonant).

For a complete table of all pinyin syllables, see pinyin table.

Usage

Hanyu Pinyin superseded older romanization systems such as Wade-Giles (1859; modified 1892) and Chinese Postal Map Romanization, and replaced Zhuyin as the method of Chinese phonetic instruction in mainland China. Hanyu Pinyin was adopted in 1979 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as the standard romanization for modern Chinese (ISO-7098:1991). It has also been accepted by the Government of Singapore, the Library of Congress, the American Library Association, and many other international institutions. It has also become a useful tool for entering Chinese language text into computers.

The spelling of Chinese geographical or personal names in pinyin has become a standard or most common way to transcribe them in English.

Chinese speaking Standard Mandarin at home use pinyin to help children associate characters with spoken words which they already know; however, for the many Chinese who do not use Standard Mandarin at home, pinyin is used to teach them the Standard Mandarin pronunciation of words when they learn them in elementary school.

Pinyin has become a tool for many foreigners to learn the Mandarin pronunciation, it is used to explain the grammar and spoken Mandarin together with hanzi. Like zhuyin fuhao it is used as a phonetic guide in books for children but also dialect speakers and foreign learners. Books containing both Chinese characters and pinyin are popular with foreign learners of Chinese, pinyin's role in teaching pronunciation to foreigners and children is similar to furigana-based books (with hiragana letters written above or next to kanji) in Japanese or fully vocalised texts in Arabic ("vocalised Arabic") but as mentioned above, pinyin is also the main romanisation method.

Initials and Finals

Unlike in Indo-European languages, initials ( simplified Chinese: 声母; traditional Chinese: 聲母) and finals ( simplified Chinese: 韵母; traditional Chinese: 韻母, or rhyming sounds) - and not consonants and vowels - are the fundamental elements in Pinyin (and most other phonetic systems used to describe the Han language). Nearly each Chinese syllable can be spelled with exactly one initial followed by one final, except in the special syllable 'er' and when a trailing 'r' is considered part of a syllable (see below). The latter case, though a common practice in some sub-dialects, is rarely used in official publications.

Even though most initials contain a consonant, finals are not simple vowels, especially in compound finals ( simplified Chinese: 复韵母; traditional Chinese: 復韻母), i.e., when one "final" is placed in front of another one. For example, [i] and [u] are pronounced with such tight openings that some native Chinese speakers (especially when singing or on stage) pronounce yī (Chinese: 衣, clothes, officially pronounced as /i/) as /ji/, wéi ( simplified Chinese: 围; traditional Chinese: 圍, to enclose, officially as /uei/) as /wei/ or /wuei/. The concepts of consonants and vowels are not incorporated in Pinyin or its predecessors, despite the fact that the Roman alphabets are used in Pinyin. In the entire Pinyin system, there is not a list of consonants, nor a list of vowels.

Initials

In each cell below, the first line indicates the IPA, the second indicates pinyin.

	Bilabial		Labio- dental	Co- articulated	Alveolar		Retroflex		Alveolo- palatal		Palatal	Velar
Plosive	[p] b	[pʰ] p			[t] d	[tʰ] t						[k] g	[kʰ] k
Nasal	[m] m			[n] n
Lateral approximant					[l] l
Affricate					[ts] z	[tsʰ] c	[ʈʂ] zh	[ʈʂʰ] ch	[tɕ] j	[tɕʰ] q
Fricative			[f] f		[s] s		[ʂ] sh	[ʐ] 1 r	[ɕ] x			[x] h
Approximant				[w]2 w			[ɻ] 1 r				[j] 3 y

¹ /ɻ/ may phonetically be /ʐ/ (a voiced retroflex fricative). This pronunciation varies among different speakers, and is not two different phonemes.
² the letter "w" may be considered as an initial or a final, and may be pronounced as /w/ or /u/
³ the letter "y" may be considered as an initial or a final, and may be pronounced as /j/ or /i/

Note: Letters "y" and "w" are not included in table of initials in the official Pinyin system. They are used as spelling aids in place of "i", "u" and "ü" when there is no other initials, and carry the pronunciations of the corresponding finals. Consonants /j/ and /w/ are not officially used for these letters; they are absent from standard Chinese.

Conventional order (excluding w and y), derived from the Zhuyin system, is:

b p m f

d t n l

g k h

j q x

zh ch sh r

z c s

Finals

In each cell below, the first line indicates IPA, the second indicates pinyin for a standalone (no-initial) form, and the third indicates pinyin for a combination with an initial. Other than finals modified by an -r, which are omitted, the following is an exhaustive table of all possible finals. ¹

The only syllable-final consonants in standard Mandarin are -n and -ng, and -r which is attached as a grammatical suffix. Chinese syllables ending with any other consonant is either from a non-Mandarin language (southern Chinese languages such as Cantonese, or minority languages of China), or it indicates the use of a non-pinyin Romanization system (where final consonants may be used to indicate tones).

Nucleus	Coda	Medial
		Ø	i	u	y
a	Ø	[a] a -a	[ia] ya -ia	[ua] wa -ua
	i	[aɪ] ai -ai		[uaɪ] wai -uai
	u	[ɑʊ] ao -ao	[iɑʊ] yao -iao
	n	[an] an -an	[iɛn] yan -ian	[uan] wan -uan	[yɛn] yuan -üan 2
	ŋ	[ɑŋ] ang -ang	[iɑŋ] yang -iang	[uɑŋ] wang -uang
ə	Ø	[ɤ] e -e	[iɛ] ye -ie	[uɔ] wo -uo/-o 3	[yœ] yue -üe 2
	i	[eɪ] ei -ei		[ueɪ] wei -ui
	u	[oʊ] ou -ou	[ioʊ] you -iu
	n	[ən] en -en	[in] yin -in	[uən] wen -un	[yn] yun -ün 2
	ŋ	[əŋ] eng -eng	[iŋ] ying -ing	[uəŋ], [ʊŋ] 4 weng -ong	[yʊŋ] yong -iong
Ø		[z̩], [ʐ̩̩] -i	[i] yi -i	[u] wu -u	[y] yu -ü 2

¹ /ər/ (而, 二, etc.) is written as er. For other finals formed by the suffix -r, pinyin does not use special orthography; one simply appends -r to the final that it is added to, without regard for any sound changes that may take place along the way. For information on sound changes related to final -r, please see Standard Mandarin.
² "ü" is written as "u" after j, q, x, or y.
³ "uo" is written as "o" after b, p, m, or f.
⁴ It is pronounced [ʊŋ] when it follows an initial, and pinyin reflects this difference.

In addition, ê [ɛ] is used to represent certain interjections.

Rules given in terms of English pronunciation

All rules given here in terms of English pronunciation are approximate, as several of these sounds do not correspond directly to sounds in English.

Pronunciation of initials

Pinyin	IPA	Explanation
b	[p]	unaspirated p, as in spit
p	[pʰ]	aspirated p, as in pit
m	[m]	as in English mum
f	[f]	as in English fun
d	[t]	unaspirated t, as in stop
t	[tʰ]	aspirated t, as in top
n	[n]	as in English nit
l	[l]	as in English love
g	[k]	unaspirated k, as in skill
k	[kʰ]	aspirated k, as in kill
h	[x]	like the English h if followed by "a"; otherwise it is pronounced more roughly (not unlike the Scots ch or Russian х (Cyrillic "kha")).
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".
q	[tɕʰ]	like church; pass it backwards along the tongue until it is free of the tongue tip. In Mandarin pronunciation should not be confused with "ch" but in English both "ch" and "q" are often pronounced the same.
x	[ɕ]	like sh or palatalised s, but take the sound and pass it backwards along the tongue until it is clear of the tongue tip; very similar to the final sound in German ich, and to huge or Hugh in some English dialects. The combination "xi" is very similar both to the Russian си or the Japanese し.
zh	[ʈʂ]	ch with no aspiration (a sound between joke and church, tongue tip curled more upwards); very similar to merger in American English, but not voiced
ch	[ʈʂʰ]	as in chin, but with the tongue curled upwards; very similar to nurture or tree in American English, but strongly aspirated
sh	[ʂ]	as in shinbone, but with the tongue curled upwards; very similar to undershirt in American English
r	[ʐ] or [ɻ]	Similar to the English r in rank, but with the lips spread and with the tongue curled upwards. The initial "r" can also be described as French "j" [ʒ] or a cross between English "r" and French "j". In Cyrillised Chinese the same sound is always rendered with letter "ж" (French "j").
z	[ts]	unaspirated c (something between suds and cats)
c	[tsʰ]	like ts in bats, however more aspirated
s	[s]	as in sun
w	[u]	Note that "w" is not pronounced as a "w", rather it is pronounced as the "u" (pinyin-pronounced) that "w" replaced. i.e. "w" replaces "u" in words starting with "u" (no initial / final only). This use of "w" is a spelling convention, to disambiguate syllable breaks when such "u-" words follow other words. As a spelling convention, it does not actually alter the pre-replacement pronunciation.
y	[i]	case 1) Note that "y" is not pronounced as a "y", rather it is pronounced as the "i" (pinyin-pronounced) that it replaced. i.e. "y" replaces "i" in words starting with "i" (no initial / final only). This use of "y" is a spelling convention, to disambiguate syllable breaks when such "i-" words follow other words. As a spelling convention, it does not actually alter the original pronunciation. case 2) Similarly, note that "yu" is not pronounced as a "yu", rather it is pronounced as the (pinyin-pronounced) "ü" that it replaced. i.e. "yu" replaces "ü" in words starting with "ü" (no initial / final only). This use of "yu" is a spelling convention, to disambiguate syllable breaks when such "ü-" words follow other words and due to historical type and font set limitations. As a spelling convention, it does not actually alter the original pronunciation.

Pronunciation of finals

The following is an exhaustive list of all finals in Standard Mandarin. Those ending with a final -r are listed at the end.

To find a given final:

1. Remove the initial consonant. For zh-, ch-, sh-, both letters should be removed, they are single consonants spelt with two letters.
2. Although y- and w- are consonants nevertheless they may be considered as part of finals and do not remove those.
   1. Syllables beginning with y- and w- may be considered as standalone forms of finals "i, u, ü" and finals beginning with "i-, u-, ü-".
3. If a syllable begins with j-, q-, x-, or y-, and the final is -u or starts with -u-, then change -u or -u- to -ü or -ü-.

Pinyin	IPA	Final-only form	Explanation
-i	[z̩], [ʐ̩]	n/a	Displayed as an "i" after: "zh", "ch", "sh", "r", "z", "c" or "s". After "z", "c" or "s", sounds like a prolonged "zzz" sound. After "zh", "ch", "sh" or "r", sounds like a prolonged American "r" sound. In some dialects, pronounced slightly more open, allowing a clear-sounding vowel to pass through (a high, central, unrounded vowel, something like IPA /ɨ/; say 'zzz' and lower the tongue just enough for the buzzing to go away).
a	[ɑ]	a	as in "father"
o	[uɔ]	o	starts with English "oo" and ends with a plain continental "o".
e	[ɤ], [ə]	e	a back, unrounded vowel, which can be formed by first pronouncing a plain continental "o" ( AuE and NZE law) and then spreading the lips without changing the position of the tongue. That same sound is also similar to English "duh", but not as open. Many unstressed syllables in Chinese use the schwa (idea), and this is also written as e.
ê	[ɛ]	(n/a)	as in "bet". Only used in certain interjections.
ai	[aɪ]	ai	like English "eye", but a bit lighter
ei	[ei]	ei	as in "hey"
ao	[ɑʊ]	ao	approximately as in "cow"; the a is much more audible than the o
ou	[ou̯]	ou	as in "so"
an	[an]	an	starts with plain continental "a" ( AuE and NZE bud) and ends with "n"
en	[ən]	en	as in "taken"
ang	[ɑŋ]	ang	as in German Angst, including the English loan word angst (starts with the vowel sound in father and ends in the velar nasal; like song in American English)
eng	[ɤŋ]	eng	like e above but with ng added to it at the back
ong	[ʊŋ]	n/a	starts with the vowel sound in b'ook and ends with the velar nasal sound in sing
er	[ɑɻ]	er	like English "are" (exists only on its own, or as the last part of a final in combination with others - see bottom of this list)
Finals beginning with i- (y-)
i	[i]	yi	like English "ee", except when preceded by "c", "ch", "r", "s", "sh", "z" or "zh"
ia	[iɑ]	ya	as i + a; like English "yard"
io	[iɔ]	yo	as i + plain continental "o". Only used in certain interjections.
ie	[iɛ]	ye	as i + ê; but is very short; e (pronounced like ê) is pronounced longer and carries the main stress (similar to the initial sound ye in yet)
iao	[iɑʊ]	yao	as i + ao
iu	[iou̯]	you	as i + ou
ian	[iɛn]	yan	as i + ê + n; like English yen
in	[in]	yin	as i + n
iang	[iɑŋ]	yang	as i + ang
ing	[iŋ]	ying	as i but with ng added to it at the back
iong	[iʊŋ]	yong	as i + ong
Finals beginning with u- (w-)
u	[u]	wu	like English "oo"
ua	[ua]	wa	as u + a
uo	[uɔ]	wo	as u + o; the o is pronounced shorter and lighter than in the o final
uai	[uaɪ]	wai	as u + ai
ui	[ueɪ]	wei	as u + ei; here, the i is pronounced like ei
uan	[uan]	wan	as u + an
un	[uən]	wen	as u + en; like the on in the English won
uang	[uɑŋ]	wang	as u + ang; like the ang in English angst or anger
n/a	[uɤŋ]	weng	as u + eng
Finals beginning with ü- (yu-)
ü	[y]	yu	as in German "üben" or French "lune" (To get this sound, say "ee" with rounded lips)
ue	[yɛ]	yue	as ü + ê; the ü is short and light
üan	[yɛn]	yuan	as ü + ê+ n;
ün	[yn]	yun	as ü + n;
Finals that are a combination of finals above + r final
ar	[ɑɻ]		like ar in American English "art"
er	[ɤɻ]		as e + r; not to be confused with er final on its own- this form only exists with an initial character before it
or	[uɔɻ]		as o + r
air	[ɑɻ]		as ar
eir	[ɝ]		as schwa + r
aor	[ɑʊɻ]		as ao + r
our	[ou̯ɻ]		as ou + r
anr	[ɑɻ]		as ar
enr	[əɻ]		as schwa + r
angr	[ɑ̃ɻ]		as ang + r, with ng removed and the vowel nasalized
engr	[ɤ̃ɻ]		as eng + r, with ng removed and the vowel nasalized
ongr	[ʊ̃ɻ]		as ong + r, with ng removed and the vowel nasalized
ir	[iəɻ]		as i + schwa + r
ir	[əɻ]		after "c", "ch", "r", "s", "sh", "z", "zh": as schwa + r.
iar	[iɑɻ]		as i + ar
ier	[iɛɻ]		as ie + r
iaor	[iɑʊɻ]		as iao + r
iur	[iou̯ɻ]		as iou + r
ianr	[iɑɻ]		as i + ar
inr	[iəɻ]		as ir
iangr	[iɑ̃ɻ]		as i + angr
ingr	[iɤ̃ɻ]		as i + engr
iongr	[yʊ̃ɻ]		as i + ongr
ur	[uɻ]		as u + r
uar	[uɑɻ]		as u + ar