(NB: Bopomofo is a transliteration system used to phonetically produce the sounds of the Chinese language, first created in the 1920’s in the Republic of China, and used in China until replaced by the modern Roman-character based Pinyin system introduced in the PRC in 1958 and now used world-wide. Bopomofo is still used in Taiwan. CNPA stands for “Chinese National Phonetic Alphabet”.)
CNPA/Bopomofo Symbols with Pinyin Transliterations | |||
Initials | Finals | ||
ㄅ – be | ㄐ – ji | ㄚ – a | ㄥ – eng |
ㄆ – pe | ㄑ – qi | ㄛ – o | ㄦ – er |
ㄇ – me | ㄒ – xi | ㄜ – e | 一 – yi |
ㄈ – fe | ㄓ – zhi | ㄝ – eh | ㄨ – wu |
ㄉ – de | ㄔ – chi | ㄞ – ai | ㄩ – yü |
ㄊ – te | ㄕ – shi | ㄟ – ei | |
ㄋ – ne | ㄖ – ri | ㄠ – ao | |
ㄌ – le | ㄗ – zi | ㄡ – ou | |
ㄍ – ge | ㄘ – ci | ㄢ – an | |
ㄎ – ke | ㄙ – si | ㄣ – en | |
ㄏ – he | ㄤ – ang | ||
Pronunciation Guide for Bopomofo Element Tokens | |||
CNPA Symbol | Pinyin | Pronunciation | Comment |
ㄐ | ji | ‘gee’ | |
ㄑ | qi | ‘chee’ | |
ㄒ | xi | ‘shee’ | |
ㄓ | zhi | the ‘g’-sound in the name ‘George’ | NB: transliterated as ‘jh’ for pronunciation purposes at the bottom of this pronunciation chart to caution the new student to avoid the tendency to use an English ‘zh’ sound. Note that there is no phonetically English ‘zh’-sound in Chinese. |
ㄖ | ri | a ‘rrr’ sound with overtones of a ‘j’-like sibilance | Note that this is NOT a simple English ‘r’-sound. This Chinese sound does not exist in English. |
ㄔ | chi | has the sound ‘che’ | The ‘e’ here is neither the English soft ‘e’ [ĕ] or hard ‘e’ [ē], but rather the ‘u’ sound in ‘cushion’. |
ㄗ | zi | pronounced ‘dz’, like the ‘dz’ sound in the English word ‘adze’ | Note: there is no phonetically English ‘z’-sound in Chinese. |
ㄘ | c | ‘ts’ | There is no comparable sound in English. |
ㄚ | a | ‘ah’ | |
ㄛ | o | ‘awe’ | |
ㄜ | e | the ‘u’ in ‘cushion’ | |
ㄟ | ei | ‘ayyy’ or ‘aei’ | The same sound that Canadians use to end a sentence: like the English hard-‘a’ [ā] sound |
ㄡ | ou | ‘oh’ | Essentially, a ‘hard’ English ‘o’ [ō] sound |
ㄢ | an | ‘ah’ + ‘n’ | |
ㄣ | en | ‘un’ | |
ㄤ | ang | ‘ah’ + ‘ng’ | |
ㄥ | eng | ‘ung’ | |
一 | yi | ‘ee’ | …the ‘y’ is silent |
ㄨ | wu | ‘oo’ | …the ‘w’ is silent |
ㄩ | yü | This sound is like ‘oo’ added to a ‘u’ sound. It is the same sound as the German ümlaut-U (ü). | …the ‘y’ is silent. There is no comparable sound in English. |
The 402 Chinese Word-Sounds
Pronunciation key:
Pinyin Word Sound |
CNPA Symbol | English Pronunciation Guide | |
a | ㄚ | ah | |
ai | ㄞ | ah + y (rh w/) why? | |
an | ㄢ | ah + n | |
ang | ㄤ | ah + ng (rh w/) ‘pong’ -as in ping-pong | |
ao | ㄠ | ow (rh w/) ‘pow’ | |
ba | ㄅㄚ | ||
bai | ㄅㄞ | buy | |
ban | ㄅㄢ | ||
bang | ㄅㄤ | bong (rh w/) ‘pong’ -as in ping-pong | |
bao | ㄅㄠ | bow (as a movement of the body, and not the weapon) | |
bei | ㄅㄟ | bay | |
ben | ㄅㄣ | bun | |
beng | ㄅㄥ | (rh w/) ‘hung’ or ‘sung’ | |
bi | ㄅ一 | bee | |
bian | ㄅ一ㄢ | bee + en (note that in this word and those below, the ‘bee’ sound is very short) | |
biao | ㄅ一ㄠ | bee + ow | |
bie | ㄅ一ㄝ | bee + eh | |
bin | ㄅ一ㄣ | been | |
bing | ㄅ一ㄥ | ||
bo | ㄅㄛ | (rh w/) ‘law’ or ‘saw’ | |
bu | ㄅㄨ | boo | |
ca | ㄘㄚ | ts + ah | |
cai | ㄘㄞ | ts + ‘ai’ – sounds like ‘i’ in ‘trial’ | |
can | ㄘㄢ | ts + an | |
cang | ㄘㄤ | ts + ahng | |
cao | ㄘㄠ | ts + ow | |
ce | ㄘㄜ | ts + ‘e’ (the ‘e’ sounds like the ‘u’ in ‘cut’ or the ‘a’ sound in ‘ago’) | |
cen | ㄘㄣ | ts + un | |
ceng | ㄘㄥ | ts + ung | |
cha | ㄔㄚ | cha | |
chai | ㄔㄞ | chai – the ‘ai’ sounds like the ‘y’ in ‘try’ | |
chan | ㄔㄢ | ||
chang | ㄔㄤ | ||
chao | ㄔㄠ | chow | |
che | ㄔㄜ | ch + e (the ‘e’ sounds like the ‘u’ in ‘cut’ or the ‘a’ sound in ‘ago’) | |
chen | ㄔㄣ | chun | |
cheng | ㄔㄥ | chung | |
chi | ㄔ | ch | |
chong | ㄔㄨㄥ | ||
chou | ㄔㄡ | (rh w/) ‘row’ or ‘sew’ | |
chu | ㄔㄨ | choo (like a train) | |
chua | ㄔㄨㄚ | ch + wa | |
chuai | ㄔㄨㄞ | ch + why | |
chuan | ㄔㄨㄢ | ch + wan | |
chuang | ㄔㄨㄤ | ch + wahng | |
chui | ㄔㄨㄟ | ch + way | |
chun | ㄔㄨㄣ | ch + un (rh w/) ‘bun’ | |
chuo | ㄔㄨㄛ | ch + awe (rh w/) ‘jaw’ | |
ci | ㄘ | tss | |
cong | ㄘㄨㄥ | ts + ong (‘ong’ has the sound of ‘ong’ in song) | |
cou | ㄘㄡ | ts + o (the ‘o’ has the sound of ‘o’ in ‘go’) | |
cu | ㄘㄨ | ts + oo | |
cuan | ㄘㄨㄢ | ts + wan | |
cui | ㄘㄨㄟ | ts + way | |
cun | ㄘㄨㄣ | ts + wun | |
cuo | ㄘㄨㄛ | ts + aw | |
da | ㄉㄚ | ||
dai | ㄉㄞ | ||
dan | ㄉㄢ | ||
dang | ㄉㄤ | dahng | |
dao | ㄉㄠ | dow | |
de | ㄉㄜ | de (same sound as the French ‘de’) | |
dei | ㄉㄟ | day | |
deng | ㄉㄥ | dung | |
di | ㄉ一 | dee | |
dian | ㄉ一ㄢ | dee +en (note that in this word and those below, the ‘dee’ sound is very short) | |
diao | ㄉ一ㄠ | dee + ow | |
die | ㄉ一ㄝ | dee + eh | |
ding | ㄉ一ㄥ | ||
diu | ㄉ一ㄡ | dee + oh- (the ‘oh’ has the sound of ‘o’ in ‘go’) | |
dong | ㄉㄨㄥ | (rh w/) ‘tong’ | |
dou | ㄉㄡ | (rh w/) ‘o’ in ‘go’ | |
du | ㄉㄨ | dew | |
duan | ㄉㄨㄢ | dew + ahn | |
dui | ㄉㄨㄟ | dew + way | |
dun | ㄉㄨㄣ | like ‘dew’ + ‘en’ (together) | |
duo | ㄉㄨㄛ | (rh w/) ‘caw’ or ‘paw’ | |
e | ㄜ | ‘e’ here has the sound of ‘u’ in ‘cushion’ | |
eh | ㄝ | eh | |
ei | ㄟ | ay (what Canadians say at the end of sentences) | |
en | ㄣ | un | |
er | ㄦ | ‘are’ (sounds exactly like the letter ‘r’) | |
fa | ㄈㄚ | faa | |
fan | ㄈㄢ | ||
fang | ㄈㄤ | (rh w/) ‘pong’ -as in ping-pong | |
fei | ㄈㄟ | fay | |
fen | ㄈㄣ | sounds like the English word ‘fun’ | |
feng | ㄈㄥ | fung | |
fo | ㄈㄛ | faw | |
fou | ㄈㄡ | foe | |
fu | ㄈㄨ | foo | |
ga | ㄍㄚ | ||
gai | ㄍㄞ | guy | |
gan | ㄍㄢ | ||
gang | ㄍㄤ | gong (rh w/) ‘pong’ -as in ping-pong | |
gao | ㄍㄠ | gow | |
ge | ㄍㄜ | ge (rh w/) the French ‘de’ or ‘le’ | |
gei | ㄍㄟ | gay | |
gen | ㄍㄣ | gun | |
geng | ㄍㄥ | gung | |
gong | ㄍㄨㄥ | ||
gou | ㄍㄡ | go | |
gu | ㄍㄨ | goo | |
gua | ㄍㄨㄚ | gwah | |
guai | ㄍㄨㄞ | g + why | |
guan | ㄍㄨㄢ | g + wan | |
guang | ㄍㄨㄤ | g + wang | |
gui | ㄍㄨㄟ | g + way | |
gun | ㄍㄨㄣ | gwun (very soft ‘w’-sound) | |
guo | ㄍㄨㄛ | (rh w/) ‘paw’ | |
ha | ㄏㄚ | ||
hai | ㄏㄞ | high | |
han | ㄏㄢ | hahn | |
hang | ㄏㄤ | (rh w/) ‘pong’ -as in ping-pong | |
hao | ㄏㄠ | how | |
he | ㄏㄜ | he (rh w/) the French ‘de’ or ‘le’ | |
hei | ㄏㄟ | hay | |
hen | ㄏㄣ | hun (as in ‘honey’) | |
heng | ㄏㄥ | hung | |
hong | ㄏㄨㄥ | (rh w/) ‘strong’ | |
hou | ㄏㄡ | hoe | |
hu | ㄏㄨ | who | |
hua | ㄏㄨㄚ | h + wa | |
huai | ㄏㄨㄞ | h + why | |
huan | ㄏㄨㄢ | h + wahn | |
huang | ㄏㄨㄤ | h + wang | |
hui | ㄏㄨㄟ | h + way | |
hun | ㄏㄨㄣ | h + wun | |
huo | ㄏㄨㄛ | haw | |
“J” sounds in Chinese: | Note that there are two different ‘j’-sounds in the Chinese language. The ‘j’-sound immediately below (and transliterated in Pinyin as a ‘j’) is articulated the same as the English ‘j’-sound. The other ‘j’-sound is transliterated in Pinyin as ‘zh’ and is articulated differently: for more information on its pronunciation, see the listing for >ZH< below. | ||
ji | ㄐ一 | gee (just like the sound of the letter ‘g’) | |
jia | ㄐ一ㄚ | gee + ah (note that the ‘gee’ sound of this word and those below is very short) | |
jian | ㄐ一ㄢ | gee + en | |
jiang | ㄐ一ㄤ | gee + ah + ng | |
jiao | ㄐ一ㄠ | gee + ao | |
jie | ㄐ一ㄝ | gee + eh | |
jin | ㄐ一ㄣ | gin | |
jing | ㄐ一ㄥ | ||
jiong | ㄐㄩㄥ | gee + ung | |
jiu | ㄐ一ㄡ | gee + oh | |
ju | ㄐㄩ | jyü | |
juan | ㄐㄩㄢ | jyü + en | |
jue | ㄐㄩㄝ | jyü + eh | |
jun | ㄐㄩㄣ | jyü + n | |
ka | ㄎㄚ | ||
kai | ㄎㄞ | (rh w/) ‘guy’ | |
kan | ㄎㄢ | can | |
kang | ㄎㄤ | (rh w/) ‘pong’ -as in ping-pong | |
kao | ㄎㄠ | cow | |
ke | ㄎㄜ | ke (rh w/) the French ‘de’ or ‘le’ | |
ken | ㄎㄣ | kun (rh w/) ‘bun’ | |
keng | ㄎㄥ | (rh w/) ‘lung’ | |
kong | ㄎㄨㄥ | (rh w/) English word ‘strong’ | |
kou | ㄎㄡ | ko (rh w/) ‘go’ | |
ku | ㄎㄨ | koo | |
kua | ㄎㄨㄚ | k + wa | |
kuai | ㄎㄨㄞ | k + wai (rh w/) ‘buy’ | |
kuan | ㄎㄨㄢ | k + wahn | |
kuang | ㄎㄨㄤ | k + wang | |
kui | ㄎㄨㄟ | k + way | |
kun | ㄎㄨㄣ | k + wun | |
kuo | ㄎㄨㄛ | k + awe | |
la | ㄌㄚ | ||
lai | ㄌㄞ | lie | |
lan | ㄌㄢ | ||
lang | ㄌㄤ | ||
lao | ㄌㄠ | ||
le | ㄌㄜ | le (the same as the French ‘le’) | |
lei | ㄌㄟ | lay | |
leng | ㄌㄥ | lung | |
li | ㄌ一 | lee | |
lia | ㄌ一ㄚ | lee + ah (note that in this word and those below, the ‘lee’ sound is very short) | |
lian | ㄌ一ㄢ | lee + en | |
liang | ㄌ一ㄤ | lee + ahng | |
liao | ㄌ一ㄠ | lee + aow | |
lie | ㄌ一ㄝ | lee + eh | |
lin | ㄌ一ㄣ | ||
ling | ㄌ一ㄥ | (rh w/) ‘ring’ | |
liu | ㄌ一ㄡ | lee + oh | |
lo | ㄌㄛ | law | |
long | ㄌㄨㄥ | ||
lou | ㄌㄡ | low | |
lu | ㄌㄨ | loo | |
luan | ㄌㄨㄢ | lu + ahn | |
lun | ㄌㄨㄣ | lu + un (1 syllable) | |
luo | ㄌㄨㄛ | law | |
lü | ㄌㄩ | lyü (Note that the ‘ü’-sound is not the same sound as the sound of ‘lu’ [ㄌㄨ] above.) | |
lüe | ㄌㄩㄝ | lyü + eh | |
ma | ㄇㄚ | ||
mai | ㄇㄞ | my | |
man | ㄇㄢ | ||
mang | ㄇㄤ | mah + ng | |
mao | ㄇㄠ | ||
me | ㄇㄜ | (rh w/) the French ‘de’ or ‘le’ | |
mei | ㄇㄟ | may | |
men | ㄇㄣ | mun | |
meng | ㄇㄥ | mung | |
mi | ㄇ一 | mee | |
mian | ㄇ一ㄢ | mee + en (note that in this word and those below, the ‘mee’ sound is very short) | |
miao | ㄇ一ㄠ | mee + ao | |
mie | ㄇ一ㄝ | mee + eh | |
min | ㄇ一ㄣ | mee + n | |
ming | ㄇ一ㄥ | mee + ng | |
miu | ㄇ一ㄡ | mee + oh | |
mo | ㄇㄛ | maw | |
mou | ㄇㄡ | mow | |
mu | ㄇㄨ | moo | |
na | ㄋㄚ | nah | |
nai | ㄋㄞ | ||
nan | ㄋㄢ | ||
nang | ㄋㄤ | n + ah + ng | |
nao | ㄋㄠ | now | |
ne | ㄋㄜ | ne (rh w/) the French ‘de’ or ‘le’ | |
nei | ㄋㄟ | nay | |
nen | ㄋㄣ | nun | |
neng | ㄋㄥ | nung | |
ni | ㄋ一 | knee | |
nian | ㄋ一ㄢ | nee + en (note that in this word and those below, the ‘nee’ sound is very short) | |
niang | ㄋ一ㄤ | nee + ahng | |
niao | ㄋ一ㄠ | nee + ow | |
nie | ㄋ一ㄝ | nee + eh | |
nin | ㄋ一ㄣ | neen | |
ning | ㄋ一ㄥ | ||
niu | ㄋ一ㄡ | nee + oh | |
nong | ㄋㄨㄥ | ||
nou | ㄋㄡ | noh | |
nu | ㄋㄨ | new | |
nuan | ㄋㄨㄢ | new + ahn | |
nuo | ㄋㄨㄛ | n + awe | |
nü | ㄋㄩ | nyü (Note the ‘ü’-sound is not the same sound as in ‘nu’ [ㄋㄨ] above) | |
nüe | ㄋㄩㄝ | nyü + eh | |
o | ㄛ | awe | |
ou | ㄡ | oh(!) | |
pa | ㄆㄚ | p + ah | |
pai | ㄆㄞ | pie | |
pan | ㄆㄢ | ||
pang | ㄆㄤ | p + ah + ng | |
pao | ㄆㄠ | ||
pei | ㄆㄟ | pay | |
pen | ㄆㄣ | pun | |
peng | ㄆㄥ | pung | |
pi | ㄆ一 | pee | |
pian | ㄆ一ㄢ | pee + en (note that in this word and those below, the ‘pee’ sound is very short) | |
piao | ㄆ一ㄠ | pee + ao | |
pie | ㄆ一ㄝ | pee + eh | |
pin | ㄆ一ㄣ | peen | |
ping | ㄆ一ㄥ | ||
po | ㄆㄛ | paw | |
pou | ㄆㄡ | poe | |
pu | ㄆㄨ | poo | |
qi | ㄑ一 | chee | |
qia | ㄑ一ㄚ | chee + ah (note that in this word and those below, the ‘chee’ sound is very short) | |
qian | ㄑ一ㄢ | chee + en | |
qiang | ㄑ一ㄤ | chee + ahng | |
qiao | ㄑ一ㄠ | chee + ao | |
qie | ㄑ一ㄝ | chee + eh | |
qin | ㄑ一ㄣ | chin | |
qing | ㄑ一ㄥ | ching | |
qiong | ㄑㄩㄥ | chee + yong | |
qiu | ㄑ一ㄡ | chee + oh | |
qu | ㄑㄩ | chyü | |
quan | ㄑㄩㄢ | ch + wen | |
que | ㄑㄩㄝ | ch + weh | |
qun | ㄑㄩㄣ | ch + wün | |
ran | ㄖㄢ | ||
rang | ㄖㄤ | rahng | |
rao | ㄖㄠ | (rh w/) ‘prow’ | |
re | ㄖㄜ | (rh w/) the French ‘de’ or ‘le’ | |
ren | ㄖㄣ | ||
reng | ㄖㄥ | rung | |
ri | ㄖ | rrreh | |
rong | ㄖㄨㄥ | rong | |
rou | ㄖㄡ | row | |
ru | ㄖㄨ | roo | |
ruan | ㄖㄨㄢ | ru + ahn | |
rui | ㄖㄨㄟ | ru + ay | |
run | ㄖㄨㄣ | ru + n | |
ruo | ㄖㄨㄛ | raw | |
sa | ㄙㄚ | s + ‘ah’ | |
sai | ㄙㄞ | ||
san | ㄙㄢ | ||
sang | ㄙㄤ | s + ‘ah’ + ng | |
sao | ㄙㄠ | ||
se | ㄙㄜ | (rh w/) the French ‘de’ or ‘le’ | |
sen | ㄙㄣ | ||
seng | ㄙㄥ | sung | |
sha | ㄕㄚ | sh + ‘ah’ | |
shai | ㄕㄞ | ||
shan | ㄕㄢ | ||
shang | ㄕㄤ | sh + ‘ah’ + ng | |
shao | ㄕㄠ | ||
she | ㄕㄜ | sh + (‘a’ in ‘ago’) | |
shei | ㄕㄟ | (rh w/) ‘sleigh’ | |
shen | ㄕㄣ | shun | |
sheng | ㄕㄥ | sh + eng | |
shi | ㄕ | sounds like the sound ‘shhhhh’ (sometimes pron. ‘shir’, which is typically Běijīng-style pronunciation.) | |
shou | ㄕㄡ | show | |
shu | ㄕㄨ | shu (same sound as in ‘the shoe on the foot’) | |
shua | ㄕㄨㄚ | shwa | |
shuai | ㄕㄨㄞ | ||
shuan | ㄕㄨㄢ | shu + wen | |
shuang | ㄕㄨㄤ | shwang | |
shui | ㄕㄨㄟ | shway | |
shun | ㄕㄨㄣ | shwun | |
shuo | ㄕㄨㄛ | shaw | |
si | ㄙ | se | |
song | ㄙㄨㄥ | soong | |
sou | ㄙㄡ | so | |
su | ㄙㄨ | soo | |
suan | ㄙㄨㄢ | swahn | |
sui | ㄙㄨㄟ | s + way | |
sun | ㄙㄨㄣ | soo + un | |
suo | ㄙㄨㄛ | saw | |
ta | ㄊㄚ | ||
tai | ㄊㄞ | tie | |
tan | ㄊㄢ | ||
tang | ㄊㄤ | tah + ng | |
tao | ㄊㄠ | ||
te | ㄊㄜ | (rh w/) the French ‘de’ or ‘le’ | |
teng | ㄊㄥ | t + ung | |
ti | ㄊ一 | tee | |
tian | ㄊ一ㄢ | tee + en | |
tiao | ㄊ一ㄠ | tee + ao | |
tie | ㄊ一ㄝ | tee + eh (note that in this word and those below, the ‘tee’ sound is very short) | |
ting | ㄊ一ㄥ | ||
tong | ㄊㄨㄥ | ||
tou | ㄊㄡ | tow | |
tu | ㄊㄨ | too | |
tuan | ㄊㄨㄢ | too + an (together, 1 syllable) | |
tui | ㄊㄨㄟ | too + way (together, 1 syllable) | |
tun | ㄊㄨㄣ | t + wun (together, 1 syllable) | |
tuo | ㄊㄨㄛ | taw | |
wa | ㄨㄚ | ||
wai | ㄨㄞ | why | |
wan | ㄨㄢ | ||
wang | ㄨㄤ | w +ahng | |
wei | ㄨㄟ | way | |
wen | ㄨㄣ | wun | |
weng | ㄨㄥ | w + ung | |
wo | ㄨㄛ | w + awe | |
wu | ㄨ | oo (the ‘w’ is not pronounced) | |
xi | ㄒ一 | shee | |
xia | ㄒ一ㄚ | shee* + ah | |
xian | ㄒ一ㄢ | shee* + en | |
xiang | ㄒ一ㄤ | shee* + ang | |
xiao | ㄒ一ㄠ | shee* + ao | |
xie | ㄒ一ㄝ | shee* + eh | |
xin | ㄒ一ㄣ | sheen | |
ㄒ一ㄥ | shing | ||
xiong | ㄒㄩㄥ | shee* + yong | |
xiu | ㄒ一ㄡ | shee* + oh | |
xu | ㄒㄩ | shyü (Note that this, and the next 3 word-sounds contain the special ‘ü’-sound.) | |
xuan | ㄒㄩㄢ | shyü + wen (together, one syllable) | |
xue | ㄒㄩㄝ | shyü + weh | |
xun | ㄒㄩㄣ | shwün | |
*Note that for all the words above that start with ‘xi’ (ㄒ一) and/or whose pronunciations are noted as ‘shee’ + another sound, the ‘shee’ sound is very short. | |||
ya | 一ㄚ | yah | |
yai | 一ㄞ | y + ai | |
yan | 一ㄢ | y + en | |
yang | 一ㄤ | y + ang | |
yao | 一ㄠ | y + ao | |
ye | 一ㄝ | y + ‘eh’ | |
yi | 一 | ‘ee’ (the ‘y’ is silent) | |
yin | 一ㄣ | een | |
ying | 一ㄥ | ing | |
yong | ㄩㄥ | young | |
you | 一ㄡ | y + ‘oh’ (as in Stallone’s famous, “Yo, Adrian.”) | |
yu | ㄩ | yü (Note that this, and the next 3 word-sounds contain the special ‘ü’-sound. Also note that the ‘y’ is not usually pronounced.) | |
yuan | ㄩㄢ | yü + en | |
yue | ㄩㄝ | yü + eh | |
yun | ㄩㄣ | yü + un | |
The Pinyin “Z” transliteration | (Note: the Pinyin ‘z’ transliteration is not the ‘z’-sound of English: it is a token for a Chinese sound like the ‘dz‘ sound in the English word ‘adze’. Chinese does not have an English-style ‘z’-sound and native Chinese speakers have a difficult time learning to pronounce the English ‘z’-sound.) | ||
za | ㄗㄚ | dz + ah | |
zai | ㄗㄞ | dz + ai | |
zan | ㄗㄢ | dz + an | |
zang | ㄗㄤ | dz + ahng | |
zao | ㄗㄠ | dz + ao | |
ze | ㄗㄜ | dz + (a sound in ‘ago’) | |
zei | ㄗㄟ | dz + ay | |
zen | ㄗㄣ | dz + un | |
zeng | ㄗㄥ | dz + ung | |
zi | ㄗ | dz | |
zong | ㄗㄨㄥ | dz + ong | |
zou | ㄗㄡ | dz + oh | |
zu | ㄗㄨ | dz + oo | |
zuan | ㄗㄨㄢ | dz + wahn | |
zui | ㄗㄨㄟ | dz + way | |
zun | ㄗㄨㄣ | dz + wun | |
zuo | ㄗㄨㄛ | dz + awe | |
The Pinyin ‘ZH’ transliteration | Note: the Pinyin ‘zh’ transliteration, below, is a token for a Chinese sound like the ‘g’-sounds in the name ‘George’. Cues to pronunciation below are noted with a non-standard ‘jh’ instead of the standard ‘zh’ token of Pinyin for descriptive clarity here, so that neophytes understand the ‘j’-like nature of the sound. The ‘h’ is silent (in the ‘jh’ as well as in the ‘zh’ Pinyinization,) and is there to differentiate this sound from the other Chinese ‘j’-sound which is articulated like a normal English ‘j’-sound. This Pinyin ‘zh’-type j-sound is articulated with the tip of the tongue rolled back in the mouth, almost touching the soft palate. See the extended articulation description and explanation in Articulation of Chinese Sounds. | ||
zha | ㄓㄚ | jha (as the rasta say it) | |
zhai | ㄓㄞ | jhai | |
zhan | ㄓㄢ | jhan | |
zhang | ㄓㄤ | jh+ ang | |
zhao | ㄓㄠ | jh + ao | |
zhe | ㄓㄜ | jh + the ‘a’ sound in the word ‘ago’ | |
zhen | ㄓㄣ | jh + the ‘un’ sound in the word ‘under’ | |
zheng | ㄓㄥ | jheng | |
zhei | ㄓㄟ | jhay | |
zhi | ㄓ | like the ‘g’-sounds in the name ‘George’ (note: not “gee” but just the ‘g’-sound without “ee”.) | |
zhong | ㄓㄨㄥ | jhong | |
zhou | ㄓㄡ | jhoe (as in ‘joe’) | |
zhu | ㄓㄨ | jhoo | |
zhua | ㄓㄨㄚ | jh + wah | |
zhuai | ㄓㄨㄞ | jh + why | |
zhuan | ㄓㄨㄢ | jh + wahn | |
zhuang | ㄓㄨㄤ | jhu + ang | |
zhui | ㄓㄨㄟ | jh + way | |
zhun | ㄓㄨㄣ | jh + wun | |
zhuo | ㄓㄨㄛ | jhaw | |
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(!) | Simplified character is completely different from the Traditional character |
A.C. | ancient Chinese |
ab. | abbreviation |
acctg. | accounting |
adj. | adjective or adjectival phrase (in Chinese an adj. is often simply a v. or n. to which de5 [的] is added: the 的 is usually omitted in this dictionary) |
adv. | adverb or adverbial phrase |
aka | also known as |
alt. pron. | alternate or non-standard pronunciation |
Am. | American; American usage |
anat. | anatomy |
anc. | ancient |
arch. | archaic character, use or meaning |
Arch. | Architecture; referring to Architecture or having to do with Architecture |
ast. | astronomy |
aux. | auxiliary verb |
b. | born |
bce. | Before the Common Era (=BC: Before Christ) |
Bei.pron. | Beijing-style pronunciation |
bf. | bound form |
bib. | biblical |
bot. | botany |
Br. | British; British usage |
Cant. | Cantonese |
CCP | Chinese Communist Party |
CE | Church of England |
ce. | Common Era (=AD: Anno Domini) |
cf. | compare |
Ch.id. | Chinese idiom |
char. | Chinese character |
Chin. | China; Chinese |
Chr. | Christianity (including both Protestantism and Catholicism) |
coll. | colloquial expression or usage |
conj. | conjunction |
contemp. | contempuous |
court. | courteous |
d. | died |
derog. | used as a derogatory term |
dial. | dialect |
dipl. | diplomacy; diplomatic |
dist. | distinguished from; as distinguished from |
econ. | economics |
Eng.id. | English idiom |
Eng.ph. | English phrase |
env. | environment; environmental |
ex. | exclamation |
expr. | expression |
fam. | familiar usage |
fig. | figurative usage |
fmr. | former or formerly |
fr. | from |
Fr. | France; French |
fv. | functive verb |
geol. | geology |
geom. | geometry |
gr. | grammar |
gr.str. | grammatical structure or construction |
gya | billion years ago |
hist. | history; historical |
id. | idiom |
imp. | impolite |
interch. | interchangeable with |
intj. | interjection |
Isl. | Islam |
Jp. | Japan; Japanese; Japanese variant (of a character) |
KXR | Kangxi Radical |
L. | Latin, from Latin or having a Latin root |
L.ph. | translation of Latin phrase (as used in English) |
leg. | legal terminology |
lg. | language |
lit. | literal (ie. word-for-word) translation |
M. | measure word (used as a numerary adjunct for nouns) |
mach. | machines; machinery |
math. | mathematics |
ME | Middle East; Middle Eastern |
mech. | mechanics |
med. | medicine; medical terminology; as used in the practice of, etc. |
met. | metaphorical usage |
mil. | military terminology |
mod. | modern usage |
mus. | music or musical notation |
mya | million years ago |
n. | noun |
na. | name or title |
naut. | nautical, marine or maritime |
NGOs | Non-Governmental Organizations |
nph. | noun phrase; compound noun |
nu. | number |
obs. | obsolete |
oft. | often |
on. | onomatopoeia (as, a sound's written representation of how it sounds) |
opp. | opposite or as opposed to |
part. | particle |
pat. | pattern |
ph. | phrase |
phil. | philosophy |
phy. | physics |
pl. | plural |
pn. | place name, geographic location or geographic feature |
pol. | polite form of address |
pol.sl. | political slogan |
pop. | popular speech; popularly used; common speech |
pop.wr. | popularly written |
pp. | past participle |
pr. | pronoun |
PRC | People's Republic of China; as used in the PRC |
pre. | prefix |
pref. | preferred |
prep. | preposition |
pron. | pronounced; pronunciation |
pw. | place word |
qs. | question sentence |
qw. | question word |
r. | reigned |
rad. | radical- used as a part of Chinese characters |
RC | Roman Catholic |
regl.var. | regional variant |
rve. | resultative verb ending |
sa. | saying |
sb. | somebody |
se. | sentence |
sf. | sentence fragment |
sh. | short form or shortened form |
sl. | slang |
so. | someone |
so.s | someone's |
soc. | sociology |
sp. | specialized language used in technical situations or by specialists (eg.: medical, legal, etc.) |
Sp. | Spanish |
sp.pron. | special or unusual pronunciation |
sport. | as used in sports; sports terminology |
ss. | sample sentence |
st. | sometimes |
st.pron. | sometimes pronounced |
st.wr. | sometimes written |
stat. | statistics |
sth. | something |
suf. | suffix |
sv. | stative verb (an adj. which includes 'be' as in 'be (x)', often simply labeled as 'adj.') |
sw. | somewhat |
Switz. | Switzerland |
T.S. | Tone Sandhi |
tax. | taxonomy (as, scientific naming system); taxonomic name |
TCM | Traditional Chinese Medicine; Chinese herbal medicine |
tm. | trademark |
topo. | topolect (some part of the word has been phonically transliterated from English into Chinese) (aka loanword) |
tr.na. | trade name, business name or product name |
trans. | translation |
tslt. | transliteration |
TW | Taiwan; as used in Taiwan |
u.f. | used for |
undef. | undefined |
usu. | usually |
v. | verb |
var. | various; variety; variant |
vern. | vernacular |
vo. | separable verb-object combination |
vph. | verb phrase; compound verb |
vul. | vulgar |
wr. | written or literary use |
A01 | Agriculture: Soil, Crops and Tools |
A02 | Livestock and Animal Husbandry |
A03 | Nomadism and Pastoralism |
A04 | Sericulture and Silk |
A05 | Trees and Forestry |
A06 | Wood Products, Carpentry and Woodworking |
A07 | Other Misc. Wooden Articles and Furniture |
A08 | Plants and Botany |
A09 | Flowers |
A10 | Fruits and Melons |
A11 | Beans, Nuts, Seeds, Oils and Tubers |
A12 | Molds, Mushrooms and Other Fungi |
A13 | Smells, Aromas and Fragrances |
A14 | Fibers, Textiles and Dyeing |
B01 | Rarity, Precision, Value and Excellence |
B02 | Beauty, Aesthetics, Art and the Fine Arts |
B03 | Colors |
B04 | Pattern, Design, Appearance and Decoration |
B05 | Architecture, Structures and Construction |
B06 | Handicrafts |
B07 | Porcelain and Pottery |
B08 | Clarity, Darkness and Gloom |
C01 | Books, Poetry, Literature and Publishing |
C02 | Myths, Legends, Stories and Reading |
C03 | Documents, Correspondence, Paper and Printing |
C04 | Journalism, News, Newspapers and Media |
C05 | Acting, Theater, Video and Cinematography |
C06 | Voice, Sound, Music and Dance |
C07 | The Eye, Vision and Photography |
C08 | Radio, Television, and Broadcasting |
D01 | Science and Scientific Ideas |
D02 | Biology, Microbiology, Taxonomy and Genetics |
D03 | Anatomy, Physiology, Kinesiology and Bioelectronics |
D04 | Land Animals |
D05 | Insects and Spiders |
D06 | Rivers, the Littoral, the Ocean, Fish, Amphibians, Aquatic Animals and Oceanography |
D07 | Birds and Flying Mammals |
D08 | The Environment, Conservation, Ecology, Pollution and Garbage |
E01 | Chemistry |
E02 | Communication and Humor |
E03 | Technology, Computers, Electronics and the Internet |
E04 | Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry |
E05 | Batteries, Electricity and Light |
E06 | Geology and the Earth Sciences |
E07 | Petroleum, Minerals, Mining and Metallurgy |
E08 | Jade, Gemstones and Jewelry |
F01 | Individual Character Definitions |
F02 | Chinese Culture, Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture |
F03 | Chinese Dynasties and the Dynastic Period |
F04 | Ancient Chinese Warfare and Weapons |
F05 | Chinese Language: Measure Words, Negatives and RVEs |
F06 | Nature and Natural Resources |
F07 | Names, Proper Names and Trade Names |
F08 | Chinese Books, Writing and Characters |
G01 | Diplomacy and International Relations |
G02 | Nationality, Ethnicity, Nations and Peoples |
G03 | Bureaucracy, Government and NGOs |
G04 | Geography and Maps |
G05 | Places and Place Names |
G06 | Topography and Geographic Features |
G07 | Politics |
G08 | Cities |
H01 | Economics and Markets |
H02 | Business, Enterprise, Commerce and Ownership |
H03 | Accounting |
H04 | Sales, Marketing and Service |
H05 | Negotiation, Labor and Management |
H06 | Money and Banking, Finance, Insurance and Investing |
H07 | Products, Companies, Manufacturing and Manufactured Goods |
H08 | Skill, Standards and Quality |
I01 | Education |
I02 | Mathematics, Statistics, Quantities, Series, Progression and Size |
I03 | Prehistory, Protohistory and World History |
I04 | Chinese History and Historical Mythology |
I05 | Japan and Japanese History |
I06 | Sanitation and Hygiene |
I07 | Materials |
I08 | Actions |
I09 | Shapes, Forms and Models |
I10 | Textures, Rough and Smooth Surfaces, and Flexibility |
J01 | The Kitchen, Cooking Techniques, Utensils and Nutrition |
J02 | Foods and Ingredients, Tea and Other Beverages, Spices, Sauces and Seasonings |
J03 | Alcohol, Wines and Spirits |
J04 | Restaurants and Entertaining, Menu Items, Chinese (and Other) Food and Recipe Names |
J05 | Absorb, Inhale, Assimilate and Include |
J06 | Easy, Difficult, Similarities and Differences |
J07 | New, Old, More, Less |
J08 | Instructions, Directions, Opportunity, Problems and Mistakes |
K01 | Language |
K02 | Grammar and Grammatical Constructions |
K03 | Phonetics |
K04 | Exclamations, Expressions, Phrases, Proverbs, Sayings, Slang and Idioms |
K05 | Descriptions |
K06 | Order and Disorder, Methods and Meetings |
K07 | Sources, Results, Solutions, Beginnings, Endings and Waste |
K08 | Comparisons, Combinations, Connections, Distribution and Containers |
L01 | Rules, Law, Courts, Justice and Criminology |
L02 | Threats, Safety and Security |
L03 | Winning, Losing, Success, Failure, Luck, Fame and Fortune |
L04 | Hide, Conceal, Secrets, Questions and Answers |
L05 | Seek, Barriers, Limits and Restrictions |
L06 | Help, Strong and Weak |
L07 | Change, Plan, Functioning and Usefulness |
L08 | Groups, Unity, Decision, Agreement and Harmony |
M01 | Logic, Intellect, Talent and Ability |
M02 | Philosophy, Ideas, Knowledge and Inventions |
M03 | Medicine, Health and Pharmacology |
M04 | Memory, the Mind, Psychology and Emotion |
M05 | Human Characteristics and Responsibilities |
M06 | Corruption in Society, Sex and Pornography |
M07 | Public and Private, Manners and Civility, Respect and Honor |
M08 | Real, Counterfeit, Substitutes and Copies; Cheap and Expensive |
N01 | Military Affairs and Intelligence, Weapons, Strategy, War and Peace |
N02 | Protest, Violence, Rebellion, Civil War, Terrorism and Guerilla Warfare |
N03 | Engineering |
N04 | Time and Tides |
N05 | Organization, Competence, Aspiration and Obligation |
N06 | Childhood, Maturation, Adulthood and Old Age |
N07 | Sleep |
N08 | Life, Death, Living and Dying |
O01 | General Physics |
O02 | Space, Optics, Astronomy and Astrophysics |
O03 | Atoms, Atomic Energy and Particle Physics |
O04 | Aeronautics, Aviation, Air Power and Spaceflight |
O05 | Weights, Measures, Flow, Positioning and Distance |
O06 | Fire, Water and Ice |
O07 | Weather, Meteorology and Conditions |
O08 | Float, Wave, Rise in the Air, Spin, Revolve and Other Motions |
P01 | Faith, Religion, Morals and Ethics |
P02 | Great Religious Writings |
P03 | The Zodiac, Astrology and Other Symbols |
P04 | Hope, Fate, Belief and Superstition |
P05 | Women and Women's Things |
P06 | Permission, Acceptance and Rejection |
P07 | Opposites, Categories and Kinds |
P08 | Collect, Assemble, Give and Receive |
Q01 | Sociology, Society and Culture |
Q02 | Relationships |
Q03 | Clothing, Fashion and Style |
Q04 | Behavior, Habits and Addictions |
Q05 | Home, Furniture, Household Appliances, Housewares and Household Activities |
Q06 | Work, Jobs and Careers |
Q07 | Sports, Athletics and Exercise |
Q08 | Toys, Games, Gambling, Entertainment and Leisure Activities |
R01 | Gifts, Prizes, Ceremonies, Achievements and Philanthropy |
R02 | Ships, Shipping, Sailing, Naval Forces and Maritime Affairs |
R03 | Rope, Bind, Tie, Packaging and Packages |
R04 | Travel, Transportation, Air Travel and Tourism |
R05 | the Science of Mechanics, Mechanisms, Instruments, Devices, Machines and Engines |
R06 | Vehicles, Driving and Speed |
R07 | Breakage, Accidents and Disasters |
R08 | Machine Parts, Tools and Their Use |