Bopomofo
Bopomofo Mandarin Phonetic Symbols Zhuyin 注音符號 注音符号 (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ) | |
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![]() ㄅㄞˇ ㄎㄜ ㄑㄩㄢˊ ㄕㄨ 百科全書 百科全书 (encyclopedia) in Bopomofo | |
Script type | (letters for onsets and rhymes; diacritics for tones) |
Creator | Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation Introduced by the Beiyang government of the Republic of China |
Time period | 1918[1] to 1958 in mainland China (used supplement Hanyu Pinyin in all editions of Xiandai Hanyu Cidian from 1960 to present 2016 edition); 1945 to the present in Taiwan |
Direction | left-to-right ![]() |
Related scripts | |
Parent systems | Oracle Bone Script
|
Child systems | Cantonese Bopomofo, Taiwanese Phonetic Symbols, Suzhou Phonetic Symbols, Hmu Phonetic Symbols, Matsu Fuchounese Bopomofo |
Sister systems | Simplified Chinese, Kanji, Hanja, Chữ Nôm, Khitan script |
ISO 15924 | |
ISO 15924 | Bopo (285), Bopomofo |
Unicode | |
Unicode alias | Bopomofo |
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Mandarin Phonetic Symbol | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 注音符號 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 注音符号 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Chinese romanization |
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Mandarin |
Wu |
Yue |
Min |
Gan |
Hakka |
Xiang |
See also |
Bopomofo (Chinese: 注音符號; pinyin: zhùyīnfúhào; Wade–Giles: chu⁴yin¹fu²hao⁴), or Mandarin Phonetic Symbols, also named Zhuyin (Chinese: 注音; pinyin: zhùyīn), is a Chinese transliteration system for Mandarin Chinese and other related languages and dialects. More commonly used in Taiwanese Mandarin, it may also be used to transcribe other varieties of Chinese, particularly other varieties of Mandarin Chinese dialects, as well as Taiwanese Hokkien. Consisting of 37 characters and five tone marks, it transcribes all possible sounds in Mandarin.
Bopomofo was first introduced in China by the Republican government in the 1910s and was used alongside the Wade–Giles system for romanization purposes, which used a modified Latin alphabet. Today, Bopomofo is now more common in Taiwan than on the Chinese mainland, and is after Hanyu Pinyin used as a secondary electronic input method for writing Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan as well as in dictionaries or other non-official documents.
Etymology[edit]
Bopomofo is the name used by the ISO and Unicode. Zhuyin (注音) literally means phonetic notation. The original formal name of the system was 國音字母; Guóyīn Zìmǔ; 'National Language Phonetic Alphabet' and 註音字母; Zhùyīn Zìmǔ; 'Phonetic Alphabet or Annotated Phonetic Letters'.[2] It was later renamed 注音符號; Zhùyīn Fúhào; 'phonetic symbols'. In official documents, Bopomofo is occasionally called "Mandarin Phonetic Symbols I" (國語注音符號第一式), abbreviated as "MPS I" (注音一式). The system is often also called either Chu-in or the Mandarin Phonetic Symbols.[2][3] A romanized phonetic system was released in 1984 as Mandarin Phonetic Symbols II (MPS II).
The name Bopomofo comes from the first four letters of the system: ㄅ, ㄆ, ㄇ and ㄈ.[4] Similar to the way that the word "alphabet" is ultimately derived from the names of the first two letters of the alphabet (alpha and beta), the name "Bopomofo" is derived from the first four syllables in the conventional ordering of available syllables in Mandarin Chinese. The four Bopomofo characters (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ) that correspond to these syllables are usually placed first in a list of these characters. The same sequence is sometimes used by other speakers of Chinese to refer to other phonetic systems.[citation needed]
History[edit]
Origins[edit]
The Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation, led by Wu Zhihui from 1912 to 1913, created a system called Zhuyin Zimu,[2] which was based on Zhang Binglin's shorthand. It was used as the official phonetic script to annotate the sounds of the characters in accordance with the pronunciation system called "Old National Pronunciation" (Laoguoyin).[5] A draft was released on July 11, 1913, by the Republic of China National Ministry of Education, but it was not officially proclaimed until November 23, 1928.[2] It was later renamed first Guoyin Zimu and then, in April 1930, Zhuyin Fuhao. The last renaming addressed fears that the alphabetic system might independently replace Chinese characters.[6]
Modern use[edit]
Bopomofo is the predominant phonetic system in teaching, reading and writing in elementary school in Taiwan. It is also the most popular way for Taiwanese to enter Chinese characters into computers and smartphones and to look up characters in a dictionary.
In elementary school, particularly in the lower years, Chinese characters in textbooks are often annotated with Bopomofo as ruby characters as an aid to learning. Additionally, one children's newspaper in Taiwan, the Mandarin Daily News, annotates all articles with Bopomofo ruby characters.
In teaching Mandarin, Taiwan institutions and some overseas communities such as Filipino Chinese use Bopomofo.
Bopomofo is shown in a secondary position to Hanyu Pinyin in all editions of Xiandai Hanyu Cidian from the 1960 edition to the current 2016 edition (7th edition).
Symbols[edit]
![](http://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20220907102715im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cd/Bopomofo.gif/200px-Bopomofo.gif)
The Bopomofo characters were created by Zhang Binglin, taken mainly from "regularized" forms of ancient Chinese characters, the modern readings of which contain the sound that each letter represents. The consonants are listed in order of place of articulation, from the front of the mouth to the back, /b/, /p/, /m/, /f/, /d/, /t/, /n/, /l/ etc.
Consonants | |||||
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Bopomofo | Origin[7] | IPA | Pinyin | WG | Example |
ㄅ | From 勹, the ancient form and current top portion of 包 bāo, "to wrap up; package" | p | b | p | 包 bāo ㄅㄠ |
ㄆ | From 攵, a variant form of 攴 pū, "to knock lightly". | pʰ | p | pʻ | 撲 pū ㄆㄨ |
ㄇ | From 冂, the archaic character and current "cover" radical 冖 mì. | m | m | m | 冞 mí ㄇㄧˊ |
ㄈ | From "right open box" radical 匚 fāng. | f | f | f | 匪 fěi ㄈㄟˇ |
ㄉ | From 𠚣, archaic form of 刀 dāo. Compare the Shuowen seal ![]() |
t | d | t | 地 dì ㄉㄧˋ |
ㄊ | From ㄊ tū, an upside-down form of 子 zǐ and an ancient form of 突 tū (![]() ![]() |
tʰ | t | tʻ | 提 tí ㄊㄧˊ |
ㄋ | From ![]() |
n | n | n | 你 nǐ ㄋㄧˇ |
ㄌ | From 𠠲, archaic form of 力 lì | l | l | l | 利 lì ㄌㄧˋ |
ㄍ | From the obsolete character 巜 guì/kuài "river" | k | g | k | 告 gào ㄍㄠˋ |
ㄎ | From the archaic character, now "breath" or "sigh" component 丂 kǎo | kʰ | k | kʻ | 考 kǎo ㄎㄠˇ |
ㄏ | From the archaic character and current radical 厂 hǎn | x | h | h | 好 hǎo ㄏㄠˇ |
ㄐ | From the archaic character 丩 jiū | tɕ | j | ch | 叫 jiào ㄐㄧㄠˋ |
ㄑ | From the archaic character 𡿨 quǎn, graphic root of the character 巛 chuān (modern 川) | tɕʰ | q | chʻ | 巧 qiǎo ㄑㄧㄠˇ |
ㄒ | From 丅, an ancient form of 下 xià. | ɕ | x | hs | 小 xiǎo ㄒㄧㄠˇ |
ㄓ | From ![]() |
ʈʂ | zhi, zh- | ch | 知 zhī ㄓ; 主 zhǔ ㄓㄨˇ |
ㄔ | From the character and radical 彳 chì | ʈʂʰ | chi, ch- | chʻ | 吃 chī ㄔ; 出 chū ㄔㄨ |
ㄕ | From 𡰣, an ancient form of 尸 shī | ʂ | shi, sh- | sh | 是 shì ㄕˋ; 束 shù ㄕㄨˋ |
ㄖ | Modified from the seal script ![]() |
ɻ~ʐ | ri, r- | j | 日 rì ㄖˋ; 入 rù ㄖㄨˋ |
ㄗ | From the archaic character and current radical 卩 jié, dialectically zié ([tsjě]; tsieh² in Wade–Giles) | ts | zi, z- | ts | 字 zì ㄗˋ; 在 zài ㄗㄞˋ |
ㄘ | From 𠀁, archaic form of 七 qī, dialectically ciī ([tsʰí]; tsʻi¹ in Wade–Giles). Compare semi-cursive form ![]() ![]() |
tsʰ | ci, c- | tsʻ | 詞 cí ㄘˊ; 才 cái ㄘㄞˊ |
ㄙ | From the archaic character 厶 sī, which was later replaced by its compound 私 sī. | s | si, s- | s | 四 sì ㄙˋ; 塞 sāi ㄙㄞ |
Rhymes and medials | |||||
Bopomofo | Origin | IPA | Pinyin | WG | Example |
ㄚ | From 丫 yā | a | a | a | 大 dà ㄉㄚˋ |
ㄛ | From the obsolete character 𠀀 hē, inhalation, the reverse of 丂 kǎo, which is preserved as a phonetic in the compound 可 kě.[10] | o | o | o | 多 duō ㄉㄨㄛ |
ㄜ | Derived from its allophone in Standard Chinese, ㄛ o | ɤ | e | o/ê | 得 dé ㄉㄜˊ |
ㄝ | From 也 yě (also). Compare the Warring States bamboo form ![]() |
e | -ie/ê | eh | 爹 diē ㄉㄧㄝ |
ㄞ | From 𠀅 hài, archaic form of 亥. | ai | ai | ai | 晒 shài ㄕㄞˋ |
ㄟ | From 乁 yí, an obsolete character meaning 移 yí "to move". | ei | ei | ei | 誰 shéi ㄕㄟˊ |
ㄠ | From 幺 yāo | au | ao | ao | 少 shǎo ㄕㄠˇ |
ㄡ | From 又 yòu | ou | ou | ou | 收 shōu ㄕㄡ |
ㄢ | From the archaic character 𢎘 hàn "to bloom", preserved as a phonetic in the compound 犯 fàn | an | an | an | 山 shān ㄕㄢ |
ㄣ | From 𠃉, archaic variant of 鳦 yǐ or 乚 yà[11] (乚 is yǐn according to other sources[12]) | ən | en | ên | 申 shēn ㄕㄣ |
ㄤ | From 尢 wāng | aŋ | ang | ang | 上 shàng ㄕㄤˋ |
ㄥ | From 𠃋, archaic form of 肱 gōng[13] | əŋ | eng | êng | 生 shēng ㄕㄥ |
ㄦ | From 儿, the bottom portion of 兒 ér used as a cursive and simplified form | aɚ | er | êrh | 而 ér ㄦˊ |
ㄧ | From 一 yī (one) | i | yi, -i | i | 以 yǐ ㄧˇ; 逆 nì ㄋㄧˋ |
ㄨ | From 㐅, ancient form of 五 wǔ (five). Compare the transitory form 𠄡. | u | w, wu, -u | u/w | 努 nǔ ㄋㄨˇ; 我 wǒ ㄨㄛˇ |
ㄩ | From the ancient character 凵 qū, which remains as a radical | y | yu, -ü | ü/yü | 雨 yǔ ㄩˇ; 女 nǚ ㄋㄩˇ |
ㄭ![]() |
From the character 帀. It represents the fricative vowel of ㄓ,ㄔ,ㄕ,ㄖ,ㄗ,ㄘ,ㄙ, though it is not used after them in transcription.[14] | ɻ̩~ʐ̩, ɹ̩~z̩ | -i | ih/ŭ | 資 zī ㄗ; 知 zhī ㄓ; 死 sǐ ㄙˇ |
Writing[edit]
Stroke order[edit]
Bopomofo is written in the same stroke order rule as Chinese characters. Note that ㄖ is written with three strokes, unlike the character from which it is derived (Chinese: 日; pinyin: rì), which has four strokes.
ㄧ can be written as a vertical line () or a horizontal line (
); both are accepted forms. Traditionally, it should be written as a horizontal line in vertical writing, and a vertical line in horizontal writing. The People's Republic of China almost exclusively uses horizontal writing, so the vertical form (in the rare occasion that Bopomofo is used) has become the standard form there. Language education in Taiwan generally uses vertical writing, so most people learn it as a horizontal line, and use a horizontal form even in horizontal writing. In 2008, the Taiwanese Ministry of Education decided that the primary form should always be the horizontal form, but that the vertical form is accepted alternative.[15] Unicode 8.0.0 published an errata in 2014 that updates the representative glyph to be the horizontal form.[16] Computer fonts may only display one form or the other, or may be able to display both if the font is aware of changes needed for vertical writing.
Tonal marks[edit]
As shown in the following table, tone marks for the second, third, and fourth tones are shared between bopomofo and pinyin. In bopomofo, the mark for first tone is usually omitted but can be included,[17][18] while a dot above indicates the fifth tone (also known as the neutral tone). In pinyin, a macron (overbar) indicates the first tone, and the lack of a marker usually indicates the fifth (light) tone.
Tone | Bopomofo | Pinyin | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Tone Marker | Unicode Name | Tone Marker | Unicode Name | |
1 | ˉ | Modifier Letter Macron (usually omitted)[17][18] |
◌̄ | Combining Macron |
2 | ˊ | Modifier Letter Acute Accent | ◌́ | Combining Acute Accent |
3 | ˇ | Caron | ◌̌ | Combining Caron |
4 | ˋ | Modifier Letter Grave Accent | ◌̀ | Combining Grave Accent |
5 | ˙ | Dot Above[19] | · | Middle Dot (usually omitted)[20] |
Unlike Hanyu Pinyin, Bopomofo aligns well with the Chinese characters in books whose texts are printed vertically, making Bopomofo better suited for annotating the pronunciation of vertically oriented Chinese text.
When used in conjunction with Chinese characters, Bopomofo is typically placed to the right of the Chinese character vertically in both vertical print[21][22] and horizontal print[23] or to the top of the Chinese character in a horizontal print (see Ruby characters).
Example[edit]
Below is an example for the word "bottle" (pinyin: píngzi):
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, |
|
or |
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Erhua transcription[edit]
Words rhotacized as a result of erhua are spelled with ㄦ attached to the syllable (like 歌兒 gēr). In case the syllable uses other tones than the 1st tone, the tone mark is attached to the penultimate letter standing for syllable nucleus, but not to ㄦ (e.g. 哪兒 nǎr; 一點兒 yīdiǎnr; 好玩兒 hǎowánr).[24]
Comparison[edit]
Pinyin[edit]
Bopomofo and pinyin are based on the same Mandarin pronunciations; hence there is a one-to-one correspondence between the two systems:
Rhyme | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ㄚ | ㄛ | ㄜ | ㄝ | ㄞ | ㄟ | ㄠ | ㄡ | ㄢ | ㄣ | ㄤ | ㄥ | ㄦ | |||
Medial | [ɨ] (ㄭ) 1 -i |
[a] ㄚ a -a |
[o] ㄛ 3 o -o 3 |
[ɤ] ㄜ e -e |
[ɛ] ㄝ ê |
[ai̯] ㄞ ai -ai |
[ei̯] ㄟ ei -ei |
[ɑu̯] ㄠ ao -ao |
[ou̯] ㄡ ou -ou |
[an] ㄢ an -an |
[ən] ㄣ en -en |
[ɑŋ] ㄤ ang -ang |
[ɤŋ] ㄥ eng -eng |
[aɚ] ㄦ er | |
ㄧ | [i] ㄧ yi -i |
[i̯a] ㄧㄚ ya -ia |
[i̯o] ㄧㄛ yo |
[i̯ɛ] ㄧㄝ ye -ie |
[i̯ai̯] ㄧㄞ yai |
[i̯ɑu̯] ㄧㄠ yao -iao |
[i̯ou̯] ㄧㄡ you -iu |
[i̯ɛn] ㄧㄢ yan -ian |
[in] ㄧㄣ yin -in |
[i̯ɑŋ] ㄧㄤ yang -iang |
[iŋ] ㄧㄥ ying -ing |
||||
ㄨ | [u] ㄨ wu -u |
[u̯a] ㄨㄚ wa -ua |
[u̯o] ㄨㄛ 3 wo -uo 3 |
[u̯ai̯] ㄨㄞ wai -uai |
[u̯ei̯] ㄨㄟ wei -ui |
[u̯an] ㄨㄢ wan -uan |
[u̯ən] ㄨㄣ wen -un |
[u̯ɑŋ] ㄨㄤ wang -uang |
[u̯ɤŋ], [ʊŋ] ㄨㄥ weng -ong 4 |
||||||
ㄩ | [y] ㄩ yu -ü 2 |
[y̯ɛ] ㄩㄝ yue -üe 2 |
[y̯ɛn] ㄩㄢ yuan -üan 2 |
[yn] ㄩㄣ yun -ün 2 |
[i̯ʊŋ] ㄩㄥ yong -iong |
1 Not written.
2 ⟨ü⟩ is written as ⟨u⟩ after ⟨j⟩, ⟨q⟩, ⟨x⟩, or ⟨y⟩.
3 ⟨ㄨㄛ⟩/⟨-uo⟩ is written as ⟨ㄛ⟩/⟨-o⟩ after ⟨ㄅ⟩/⟨b-⟩, ⟨ㄆ⟩/⟨p-⟩, ⟨ㄇ⟩/⟨m-⟩, ⟨ㄈ⟩/⟨f-⟩.
4 ⟨weng⟩ is pronounced [ʊŋ] (written as ⟨-ong⟩) when it follows an initial.
Chart[edit]
IPA | a | ɔ | ɛ | ɤ | ai | ei | au | ou | an | ən | aŋ | əŋ | ʊŋ | aɚ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pinyin | a | o | ê | e | ai | ei | ao | ou | an | en | ang | eng | ong | er |
Tongyong Pinyin | e | |||||||||||||
Wade–Giles | eh | ê/o | ên | êng | ung | êrh | ||||||||
Bopomofo | ㄚ | ㄛ | ㄝ | ㄜ | ㄞ | ㄟ | ㄠ | ㄡ | ㄢ | ㄣ | ㄤ | ㄥ | ㄨㄥ | ㄦ |
example | 阿 | 喔 | 誒 | 俄 | 艾 | 黑 | 凹 | 偶 | 安 | 恩 | 昂 | 冷 | 中 | 二 |
IPA | i | je | jou | jɛn | in | iŋ | jʊŋ | u | wo | wei | wən | wəŋ | y | ɥe | ɥɛn | yn |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pinyin | yi | ye | you | yan | yin | ying | yong | wu | wo/o | wei | wen | weng | yu | yue | yuan | yun |
Tongyong Pinyin | wun | wong | ||||||||||||||
Wade–Giles | i/yi | yeh | yu | yen | yung | wên | wêng | yü | yüeh | yüan | yün | |||||
Bopomofo | ㄧ | ㄧㄝ | ㄧㄡ | ㄧㄢ | ㄧㄣ | ㄧㄥ | ㄩㄥ | ㄨ | ㄨㄛ/ㄛ | ㄨㄟ | ㄨㄣ | ㄨㄥ | ㄩ | ㄩㄝ | ㄩㄢ | ㄩㄣ |
example | 一 | 也 | 又 | 言 | 音 | 英 | 用 | 五 | 我 | 位 | 文 | 翁 | 玉 | 月 | 元 | 雲 |
IPA | p | pʰ | m | fəŋ | tjou | twei | twən | tʰɤ | ny | ly | kɤɚ | kʰɤ | xɤ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pinyin | b | p | m | feng | diu | dui | dun | te | nü | lü | ge | ke | he |
Tongyong Pinyin | fong | diou | duei | nyu | lyu | ||||||||
Wade–Giles | p | pʻ | fêng | tiu | tui | tun | tʻê | nü | lü | ko | kʻo | ho | |
Bopomofo | ㄅ | ㄆ | ㄇ | ㄈㄥ | ㄉㄧㄡ | ㄉㄨㄟ | ㄉㄨㄣ | ㄊㄜ | ㄋㄩ | ㄌㄩ | ㄍㄜ | ㄎㄜ | ㄏㄜ |
example | 玻 | 婆 | 末 | 封 | 丟 | 兌 | 頓 | 特 | 女 | 旅 | 歌 | 可 | 何 |
IPA | tɕjɛn | tɕjʊŋ | tɕʰin | ɕɥɛn | ʈʂɤ | ʈʂɨ | ʈʂʰɤ | ʈʂʰɨ | ʂɤ | ʂɨ | ɻɤ | ɻɨ | tsɤ | tswo | tsɨ | tsʰɤ | tsʰɨ | sɤ | sɨ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pinyin | jian | jiong | qin | xuan | zhe | zhi | che | chi | she | shi | re | ri | ze | zuo | zi | ce | ci | se | si |
Tongyong Pinyin | jyong | cin | syuan | jhe | jhih | chih | shih | rih | zih | cih | sih | ||||||||
Wade–Giles | chien | chiung | chʻin | hsüan | chê | chih | chʻê | chʻih | shê | shih | jê | jih | tsê | tso | tzŭ | tsʻê | tzʻŭ | sê | ssŭ |
Bopomofo | ㄐㄧㄢ | ㄐㄩㄥ | ㄑㄧㄣ | ㄒㄩㄢ | ㄓㄜ | ㄓ | ㄔㄜ | ㄔ | ㄕㄜ | ㄕ | ㄖㄜ | ㄖ | ㄗㄜ | ㄗㄨㄛ | ㄗ | ㄘㄜ | ㄘ | ㄙㄜ | ㄙ |
example | 件 | 窘 | 秦 | 宣 | 哲 | 之 | 扯 | 赤 | 社 | 是 | 惹 | 日 | 仄 | 左 | 字 | 策 | 次 | 色 | 斯 |
IPA | ma˥˥ | ma˧˥ | ma˨˩˦ | ma˥˩ | ma |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pinyin | mā | má | mǎ | mà | ma |
Tongyong Pinyin | ma | må | |||
Wade–Giles | ma1 | ma2 | ma3 | ma4 | ma |
Bopomofo | ㄇㄚ | ㄇㄚˊ | ㄇㄚˇ | ㄇㄚˋ | ˙ㄇㄚ |
example (Chinese characters) | 媽 | 麻 | 馬 | 罵 | 嗎 |
Use outside Standard Mandarin[edit]
Bopomofo symbols for non-Mandarin Chinese varieties are added to Unicode in the Bopomofo Extended block.
Taiwanese Hokkien[edit]
In Taiwan, Bopomofo is used to teach Taiwanese Hokkien, and is also used to transcribe it phonetically in contexts such as on storefront signs, karaoke lyrics, and film subtitles.
Three letters no longer used for Mandarin are carried over from the 1913 standard:
Bopomofo | IPA | GR | Pinyin |
---|---|---|---|
ㄪ | v | v | v |
ㄫ | ŋ | ng | ng |
ㄬ | ɲ | gn | ny |
23 more letters were added specifically for Taiwanese Hokkien:
Bopomofo | IPA | BP | Derivation |
---|---|---|---|
ㆠ | b | bb | ㄅ with voicing circle |
ㆣ | g | gg | ㄍ with voicing circle |
ㆢ | d͡ʑ | zzi | ㄐ with voicing circle |
ㆡ | d͡z | zz | ㄗ with voicing circle |
ㆩ | a | na | ㄚ with nasal curl |
ㆦ | ɔ | oo | from ㄛ |
ㆧ | ɔ̃ | noo | ㆦ with nasal curl |
ㆤ | e | e | from ㄝ |
ㆥ | ẽ | ne | ㆤ with nasal curl |
ㆮ | ãĩ | nai | ㄞ with nasal curl |
ㆯ | ãũ | nao | ㄠ with nasal curl |
ㆰ | am | am | ㄚ and ㄇ combined |
ㆱ | ɔm | om | ㆦ and ㄇ combined |
ㆬ | m̩ | m | ㄇ with syllabic stroke |
ㆲ | ɔŋ | ong | |
ㆭ | ŋ̍ | ng | ㄫ with syllabic stroke |
ㆪ/ㆳ | ĩ | ni | ㄧ with nasal curl |
ㆨ | ɨ | ㄨ and ㄧ combined (?) | |
ㆫ | ũ | nu | ㄨ with nasal curl |
ㆴ | -p̚ | small ㄅ | |
ㆵ | -t̚ | small ㄉ | |
ㆻ/ㆶ | -k̚ | small ㄍ (and variant small ㄎ) | |
ㆷ | -ʔ | small ㄏ |
Two tone marks were added for the additional tones: ˪, ˫
Cantonese[edit]
The following letters are used in Cantonese.[25]
Bopomofo | IPA | Jyutping |
---|---|---|
ㆼ | kʷ | gw |
ㆽ | kʷʰ | kw |
ㆾ | ɵ | eo |
ㆿ | ɐ | a |
If a syllable ends with a consonant other than -an or -aan, the consonant's letter is added, followed by a final middle dot.
-ㄞ is used for [aːi] (aai) (e.g. 敗, ㄅㄞ baai6)
-ㄣ is used for [ɐn] (an) (e.g. 跟, ㄍㄣ gan1), and -ㄢ is used for [aːn] (aan) (e.g. 間, ㄍㄢ gaan1). Other vowels that end with -n use -ㄋ· for the final ㄋ. (e.g. 見, ㄍㄧㄋ· gin3)
-ㄡ is used for [ɐu] (au). (e.g. 牛, ㄫㄡ, ngau4) To transcribe [ou] (ou), it is written as ㄛㄨ (e.g. 路, ㄌㄛㄨ lou6)
ㄫ is used for both initial ng- (as in 牛, ㄫㄡ, ngau "cow") and final -ng (as in 用, ㄧㄛㄫ·, yong "use").
ㄐ is used for [t͡s] (z) (e.g. 煑, ㄐㄩ zyu2) and ㄑ is used for [t͡sʰ] (c) (e.g. 全, ㄑㄩㄋ· cyun4).
During the time when Bopomofo was proposed for Cantonese, tones were not marked.
Computer uses[edit]
Input method[edit]
Bopomofo can be used as an input method for Chinese characters. It is one of the few input methods that can be found on most modern personal computers without the user having to download or install any additional software. It is also one of the few input methods that can be used for inputting Chinese characters on certain cell phones.[citation needed]. On the QWERTY keyboard, the symbols are ordered columwise top-down (e.g. 1+Q+A+Z )
![](http://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20220907102715im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Keyboard_layout_Zhuyin.svg/300px-Keyboard_layout_Zhuyin.svg.png)
Unicode[edit]
Bopomofo was added to the Unicode Standard in October 1991 with the release of version 1.0.
The Unicode block for Bopomofo is U+3100–U+312F:
Bopomofo[1][2] Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF) | ||||||||||||||||
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | |
U+310x | ㄅ | ㄆ | ㄇ | ㄈ | ㄉ | ㄊ | ㄋ | ㄌ | ㄍ | ㄎ | ㄏ | |||||
U+311x | ㄐ | ㄑ | ㄒ | ㄓ | ㄔ | ㄕ | ㄖ | ㄗ | ㄘ | ㄙ | ㄚ | ㄛ | ㄜ | ㄝ | ㄞ | ㄟ |
U+312x | ㄠ | ㄡ | ㄢ | ㄣ | ㄤ | ㄥ | ㄦ | ㄧ | ㄨ | ㄩ | ㄪ | ㄫ | ㄬ | ㄭ | ㄮ | ㄯ |
Notes |
Additional characters were added in September 1999 with the release of version 3.0.
The Unicode block for these additional characters, called Bopomofo Extended, is U+31A0–U+31BF:
Bopomofo Extended[1] Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF) | ||||||||||||||||
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | |
U+31Ax | ㆠ | ㆡ | ㆢ | ㆣ | ㆤ | ㆥ | ㆦ | ㆧ | ㆨ | ㆩ | ㆪ | ㆫ | ㆬ | ㆭ | ㆮ | ㆯ |
U+31Bx | ㆰ | ㆱ | ㆲ | ㆳ | ㆴ | ㆵ | ㆶ | ㆷ | ㆸ | ㆹ | ㆺ | ㆻ | ㆼ | ㆽ | ㆾ | ㆿ |
Notes
|
Unicode 3.0 also added the characters U+02EA ˪ MODIFIER LETTER YIN DEPARTING TONE MARK and U+02EB ˫ MODIFIER LETTER YANG DEPARTING TONE MARK, in the Spacing Modifier Letters block. These two characters are now (since Unicode 6.0) classified as Bopomofo characters.[26]
Tonal marks for bopomofo Spacing Modifier Letters | |||
Tone | Tone Marker | Unicode | Note |
1 Yin Ping (Level) | ˉ | U+02C9 | Usually omitted |
2 Yang Ping (Level) | ˊ | U+02CA | |
3 Shang (Rising) | ˇ | U+02C7 | |
4 Qu (Departing) | ˋ | U+02CB | |
4a Yin Qu (Departing) | ˪ | U+02EA | For Minnan and Hakka languages |
4b Yang Qu (Departing) | ˫ | U+02EB | For Minnan and Hakka languages |
5 Qing (Neutral) | ˙ | U+02D9 |
See also[edit]
- Chinese input methods for computers
- Fanqie
- Furigana
- Hangul
- Kana
- Ruby character
- Taiwanese Phonetic Symbols
- Zhuyin table
References[edit]
- ^ 中國文字改革委員會 (Committee for the Reform of the Chinese Written Language). 漢語拼音方案(草案) (Scheme for the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet (Draft)). Beijing. Feb 1956. Page 15. "注音字母是1913年拟定,1918年公布的。"
- ^ a b c d The Republic of China government, Government Information Office. "Taiwan Yearbook 2006: The People & Languages". Archived from the original on 2007-05-09. |Also available at
- ^ Taiwan Headlines. "Taiwan Headlines: Society News: New Taiwanese dictionary unveiled". Government Information Office, Taiwan(ROC). Archived from the original on 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
- ^ "Zhuyin fuhao / Bopomofo (注音符號/ㄅㄆㄇㄈ)" Omniglot
- ^ Dong, Hongyuan. A History of the Chinese Language. Fisher. p. 133.
- ^ John DeFrancis. The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy. Honolulu, HI, USA: University of Hawaii Press, 1984. p. 242.
- ^ 國音學 (8th Edition). (2008). Pages 27-30. Taiwan: 國立臺灣師範大學. 國音敎材編輯委員會.
- ^ Wenlin dictionary, entry 𠫓.
- ^ KangXi: page 164, character 1http://www.kangxizidian.com/kangxi/0164.gif
- ^ "Unihan data for U+20000".
- ^ Wenlin dictionary, entry 𠃉.
- ^ "Unihan data for U+4E5A".
- ^ Wenlin dictionary, entry 𠃋.
- ^ Michael Everson, H. W. Ho, Andrew West, "Proposal to encode one Bopomofo character in the UCS", SC2 WG2 N3179.
- ^ Unicode document L2/14-189
- ^ Unicode Consortium, "Errata Fixed in Unicode 8.0.0"
- ^ a b Department of Lifelong Education, Ministry of Education 教育部終身教育司, ed. (January 2017). 國語注音手冊 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Ministry of Education; Digital version: Wanderer Digital Publishing Inc. 汪達數位出版股份有限公司. pp. 2, 7. ISBN 978-986-051-481-0.
韻符「ㄭ」,陰平調號「¯」,注音時省略不標{...}陰平 以一短橫代表高平之聲調,注音時可省略不標。標注在字音最後一個符號右上角。
- ^ a b Department of Lifelong Education, Ministry of Education 教育部終身教育司, ed. (January 2017). The Manual of the Phonetic Symbols of Mandarin Chinese (in English and Chinese (Taiwan)). Ministry of Education; Digital version: Wanderer Digital Publishing Inc. 汪達數位出版股份有限公司. pp. 2, 7. ISBN 978-986-051-869-6.
the rhyme symbol, "ㄭ", and the mark of Yin-ping tone, "¯", could be left out on Bopomofo notes.{...}This high and level tone is noted as a short dash mark and could be left out in Bopomofo note. If it is noted, it should be put on the upper right corner of the last Bopomofo note.
- ^ "A study of neutral-tone syllables in Taiwan Mandarin" (PDF). p. 3.
- ^ The middle dot may optionally precede light-tone syllables only in reference books (辞书), see section 7.3 Archived 2016-02-17 at the Wayback Machine of the PRC national standard GB/T 16159-2012 Basic rules of the Chinese phonetic alphabet orthography.
- ^ "Bopomofo Extended Name". 12 December 2011.
- ^ "Zhuyin and Hanzi location". 22 December 2009.
- ^ "Bopomofo on Taiwanese street - with English - Nov 2016 2". 3 August 2016.
- ^ "The Zhuyin Alphabet 注音字母 Transcription System (Bo-po-mo-fo) (www.chinaknowledge.de)". www.chinaknowledge.de.
- ^ Yang, Ben; Chan, Eiso. "Proposal to encode Cantonese Bopomofo Characters" (PDF).
- ^ "Scripts-6.0.0.txt". Unicode Consortium.
External links[edit]
![](http://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20220907102715im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/40px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png)
- The Manual of The Phonetic Symbols of Mandarin Chinese
- Unicode reference glyphs for "bopomofo" (PDF). (69.6 KB) and "extended bopomofo" (PDF). (61.6 KB)
- Bopomofo annotations – adds inline and pop-up annotations with bopomofo pronunciation and English definitions to Chinese text or web pages.
- Mandarin Dictionary – needs Chinese font for Big5 encoding
- Chinese Phonetic Conversion Tool – converts between Pinyin, Bopomofo and other phonetic systems
- Chinese Romanization Converter – converts between Hanyu Pinyin, Wade–Giles, Gwoyeu Romatzyh and other known or (un-)common Romanization systems
- Bopomofo -> Wade-Giles -> Pinyin -> Word List
- NPA->IPA National Phonetic Alphabet (bopomofo) spellings of words transliterated into the International Phonetic Alphabet. The vowel values have been verified against the official IPA site. See IPA help preview, SIL International website. See IPA help preview, SIL International website. (Accessed 23-12-2010).
- Bopomofo to Pinyin converter and reverse
- bopomofo syllable chart, with Hanyu Pinyin equivalents
- Pinyin Annotator – adds bopomofo (bopomofo) or pinyin on top of any Chinese text, prompts alternative pronunciations to homonyms, has the option of exporting into OpenOffice Writer for further editing
- 《請利用螢幕上的小鍵盤輸入注音符號》 – online keyboard for bopomofo which can turn it into Chinese characters
- Online Bopomofo Input Method Editor 免费在线中文输入法,使用注音