View source for Pinyin

{{Short description|Romanization scheme for Standard Chinese}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
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{{Use American English|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox writing system
| type = [[Alphabet]] | typedesc = romanization
| name = Hanyu Pinyin
| languages = [[Standard Chinese]]
| creator = Pinyin Committee
* [[Zhou Youguang]]
| published = {{ubli|11 February 1958|1982 {{nwr|(ISO 7098)}}}}
| official script = {{ubli
 | [[China]] {{nwr|(from 1958)}}
 | [[Singapore]] {{nwr|(from 1980)}}
 | [[United Nations]] {{nwr|(from 1986)}}
 | [[Taiwan]] {{nwr|(from 2009)}}
}}
<!-- The "reversed" <div> tags are for avoiding lint errors from how the child infobox mixes with the footnotes wrapping -->
| footnotes = </div>{{Infobox Chinese|order=st|child=yes|headercolor=lightblue
| c = {{linktext|lang=zh|拼音}}
| p = pīnyīn
| tp = pin-yin
| w = {{tonesup|pʻin1-yin1}}
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|p|in|1|.|yin|1}}
| poj = pheng-im
| tl = phing-im
| bpmf = {{bpmfsp|ㄆㄧㄣ|ㄧㄣ}}<!-- Do not remove bopomofo for political reasons. Many readers from Taiwan are less able to read pinyin. See WP:ACCESSIBILITY. -->
| h = pin<sup>24</sup> im<sup>24</sup>
| y = pingyām
| ci = {{IPAc-yue|p|ing|3|-|j|am|1}}
| j = ping3 jam1
| sl = ping<sup>3</sup>yam<sup>1°</sup>
| gd = ping<sup>3</sup>yem<sup>1</sup>
| wuu = phin<sup>平</sup> in<sup>平</sup>
| l = spelled sounds
| altname = Scheme for the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet
| s2 = {{linktext|汉语|拼音|方案}}
| t2 = {{linktext|漢語|拼音|方案}}
| p2 = Hànyǔ Pīnyīn Fāng'àn
| mi2 = {{IPAc-cmn|h|an|4|.|yu|3|-|p|in|1|.|yin|1|-|f|ang|1|.|an|4}}
| w2 = {{tonesup|Han4-yü3 Pʻin1-yin1 Fang1-an4}}
| bpmf2 = {{bpmfsp|ㄏㄢˋ|ㄩˇ|ㄆㄧㄣ|ㄧㄣ|ㄈㄤ|ㄢˋ}}
| h2 = Hon<sup>55</sup> ngi<sup>24</sup> pin<sup>24</sup> im<sup>24</sup> fong<sup>24</sup> on<sup>55</sup>
| poj2 = Hàn-gú pheng-im hong-àn
| tl2 = Hàn-gú phing-im hong-àn
| y2 = Honyúh Pingyām Fōng'on
| ci2 = {{IPA|yue|hɔ̄ːn.y̬ː pʰēŋ.jɐ́m fɔ́ːŋ.ɔ̄ːn|}}
| j2 = Hon3 jyu5 ping3 jam1 fong1 on3
| sl2 = Hon<sup>3</sup>yue<sup>5</sup> Ping<sup>3</sup>yam<sup>1°</sup> Fong<sup>1°</sup>on<sup>3</sup>
| gd2 = Hon<sup>3</sup>yu<sup>5</sup> Ping<sup>3</sup>yem<sup>1</sup> Fong<sup>1</sup>on<sup>3</sup>
| wuu2 = Hoe<sup>去</sup> nyiu<sup>上</sup> phin<sup>平</sup> in<sup>平</sup> faon<sup>平</sup> oe<sup>去</sup>
| gr2 = Hannyeu Pinin Fangann
| tp2 = Hàn-yǔ Pin-yin Fang-àn
| l2 = scheme of spelled Han language sounds
}}<div>
}}
{{RCL}}

'''Hanyu Pinyin''', or simply '''pinyin''' ('''pīnyīn'''), officially the '''Chinese Phonetic Alphabet''', is the most common [[romanization]] system for [[Standard Chinese]]. ''Hanyu'' ({{lang-zh|s=汉语|t=漢語}}) literally means '[[Han Chinese|Han]] language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin'' literally means 'spelled sounds'. Pinyin is the official romanization system used in China, Singapore, and Taiwan, and by the [[United Nations]]. Its use has become common when transliterating Standard Chinese mostly regardless of region, though it is less ubiquitous in Taiwan. It is used to teach Standard Chinese, normally written with [[Chinese characters]], to students in mainland China and Singapore. Pinyin is also used by various [[Chinese input method|input methods]] on computers and to [[lexicographic ordering|categorize entries]] in some [[Chinese dictionaries]].

In pinyin, each Chinese syllable is spelled in terms of an optional [[initial (linguistics)|initial]] and a [[final (linguistics)|final]], each of which is represented by one or more letters. Initials are initial consonants, whereas finals are all possible combinations of medials ([[semivowels]] coming before the vowel), a [[syllable nucleus|nucleus]] vowel, and [[syllable coda|coda]] (final vowel or consonant). [[Diacritic]]s are used to indicate the four [[tone (linguistics)|tones]] found in Standard Chinese, though these are often omitted in various contexts, such as when spelling [[Chinese name]]s in non-Chinese texts.

Hanyu Pinyin was developed in the 1950s by a group of Chinese linguists including [[Wang Li (linguist)|Wang Li]], [[Lu Zhiwei]], [[Li Jinxi]], [[Luo Changpei]] and, particularly,  [[Zhou Youguang]], who has been called the "father of pinyin". They based their work in part on earlier [[Romanization of Chinese|romanization systems]]. The system was originally promulgated at the Fifth Session of the [[1st National People's Congress]] in 1958, and has seen several rounds of revisions since. The [[International Organization for Standardization]] propagated Hanyu Pinyin as '''ISO 7098''' in 1982, and the United Nations began using it in 1986. Taiwan adopted Hanyu Pinyin as its official romanization system in 2009, replacing [[Tongyong Pinyin]].

== History ==
{{expand section|with=The history of the use of Pinyin in Singapore and Taiwan|date=November 2025}}
[[File:20220912 The No.6 Kindergarten of Jinshui District.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|A facade of a kindergarten in [[Zhengzhou]], Henan, with writing using simplified characters and pinyin]]
[[File:Taichung Port Station - station sign.png|thumb|upright=1.3|A sign for [[Taichung Port railway station]] in Taiwan with writing using traditional characters, English, Wade–Giles ({{zhi|w=Taichung}}), and pinyin]]

=== Background ===
[[Matteo Ricci]], a [[Jesuit]] missionary in China, wrote the first book that used the Latin alphabet to write Chinese, entitled ''Xizi Qiji'' (Hsi-tzŭ Ch'i-chi; {{zhi|t=西字奇蹟|l=Miracle of Western Letters}}) and published in Beijing in 1605.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sin |first=Kiong Wong |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nMapiPYFvc8C&q=Matteo+Ricci+Xizi+Qiji&pg=PA72 |title=Confucianism, Chinese History and Society |publisher=World Scientific |year=2012 |isbn=978-981-4374-47-7 |page=72 |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref> Twenty years later, fellow Jesuit [[Nicolas Trigault]] published {{zhl|p=Xīrú ěrmù zī|t=西儒耳目資|l=Aid to the Eyes and Ears of Western Literati|w=Hsi ju erh mu tzŭ}}) in Hangzhou.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brockey |first=Liam Matthew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sOGSvo4VMPkC&q=Matteo+Ricci+Xizi+Qiji&pg=PA261 |title=Journey to the East: The Jesuit Mission to China, 1579–1724 |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-674-02881-4 |page=261 |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref> Neither book had any influence among the contemporary Chinese literati, and the romanizations they introduced primarily were useful for Westerners.<ref name="Joseph">{{Cite book |last1=Chan |first1=Wing-tsit |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mXEWsXaMJZYC&q=Matteo+Ricci+Xizi+Qiji&pg=PA302 |title=Sources of Chinese Tradition |last2=Adler |first2=Joseph |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-231-51799-7 |pages=303–304 |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref>

During the late Qing, the reformer Song Shu (1862–1910) proposed that China adopt a phonetic writing system. A student of the scholars [[Yu Yue]] and [[Zhang Taiyan]], Song had observed the effect of the ''[[kana]]'' syllabaries and [[Western learning]] during his visits to Japan.{{which|date=October 2020}} While Song did not himself propose a transliteration system for Chinese, his discussion ultimately led to a proliferation of proposed schemes.<ref name="Joseph" /> The [[Wade–Giles]] system was produced by [[Thomas Francis Wade|Thomas Wade]] in 1859, and further improved by [[Herbert Giles]], presented in ''[[A Chinese–English Dictionary|Chinese–English Dictionary]]'' (1892). It was popular, and was used in English-language publications outside China until 1979.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ao |first=Benjamin |year=1997 |title=History and Prospect of Chinese Romanization |url=http://www.white-clouds.com/iclc/cliej/cl4ao.htm |journal=Chinese Librarianship: An International Electronic Journal |volume=4}}</ref> In 1943, the US military tapped [[Yale University]] to develop [[Yale romanization of Mandarin|another romanization system for Mandarin Chinese]] intended for pilots flying over China—much more than previous systems, the result appears very similar to modern Hanyu Pinyin.

=== Development ===
Hanyu Pinyin was designed by a group of mostly Chinese linguists, including [[Wang Li (linguist)|Wang Li]], [[Lu Zhiwei]], [[Li Jinxi]], [[Luo Changpei]], as well as [[Zhou Youguang]] (1906–2017), an economist by trade, as part of a Chinese government project in the 1950s. Zhou, often called "the father of pinyin",{{sfnp|Fox|2017}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 March 2009 |title=Father of pinyin |url=http://www.china.org.cn/books&magazines/2009-03/26/content_17504026.htm |access-date=12 July 2009 |website=[[China Daily]]}} Reprinted in part as {{Cite news |title=Father of Pinyin |first=Alan |last=Simon |agency=Xinhua |newspaper=[[China Daily#Asia Weekly|China Daily Asia Weekly]] |location=Hong Kong |date=21–27 Jan 2011 |page=20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Dwyer |first=Colin |date=14 January 2017 |title=Obituary: Zhou Youguang, Architect of a Bridge Between Languages, Dies at 111 |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/14/509820277/zhou-youguang-architect-of-a-bridge-between-languages-dies-at-111 |access-date=2018-12-20 |work=NPR |publisher=[[National Public Radio]]}}</ref>{{sfnp|Branigan|2008}} worked as a banker in New York when he decided to return to China to help rebuild the country after the People's Republic was established. Earlier attempts to [[Romanization of Chinese|romanize Chinese writing]] were mostly abandoned in 1944. Zhou became an economics professor in Shanghai, and when the [[Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China|Ministry of Education]] created the Committee for the Reform of the Chinese Written Language in 1955, Premier [[Zhou Enlai]] assigned him the task of developing a new romanization system, despite the fact that he was not a linguist by trade.{{sfnp|Fox|2017}}

Hanyu Pinyin incorporated different aspects from existing systems, including [[Gwoyeu Romatzyh]] (1928) [[Latinxua Sin Wenz]] (1931) and the [[diacritic]]s from [[bopomofo]] (1918).{{sfnp|Rohsenow|2004|p=23}} "I'm not the father of pinyin", Zhou said years later; "I'm the son of pinyin. It's [the result of] a long tradition from the later years of the Qing dynasty down to today. But we restudied the problem and revisited it and made it more perfect."{{sfnp|Branigan|2008}}

An initial draft was authored in January 1956 by [[Ye Laishi]], Lu Zhiwei and Zhou Youguang. A revised Pinyin scheme was proposed by Wang Li, Lu Zhiwei and Li Jinxi, and became the main focus of discussion among the group of Chinese linguists in June 1956, forming the basis of Pinyin standard later after incorporating a wide range of feedback and further revisions.{{sfnp|Wang|1995}} The first edition of Hanyu Pinyin was approved and officially adopted at the Fifth Session of the [[1st National People's Congress]] on 11 February 1958. It was then introduced to primary schools as a way to teach Standard Chinese pronunciation and used to improve the literacy rate among adults.<ref name="Asiaone">{{Cite news |date=2008-02-11 |title=Hanyu Pinyin system turns 50 |url=http://www.asiaone.com/News/The%2BStraits%2BTimes/Story/A1Story20080211-48960.html |access-date=2008-09-20 |work=[[Straits Times]]}}</ref>

Despite its formal promulgation, pinyin did not become widely used until after the tumult of the [[Cultural Revolution]].<ref name=":Mullaney">{{Cite book |last=Mullaney |first=Thomas S. |title=The Chinese Computer: a Global History of the Information Age |date=2024 |publisher=[[The MIT Press]] |isbn=9780262047517 |location=Cambridge, MA}}</ref>{{Rp|page=189}} In the 1980s, students were trained in pinyin from an early age, learning it in tandem with characters or even before.<ref name=":Mullaney" />{{Rp|page=200}}

During the height of the Cold War the use of pinyin system over Wade–Giles and [[Yale romanization of Mandarin|Yale romanizations]] outside of China was regarded as a political statement or identification with the mainland Chinese government.<ref>{{Cite conference |last=Wiedenhof |first=Jeroen |year=2004 |title=Purpose and effect in the transcription of Mandarin |url=http://www.wiedenhof.nl/ul/tk/pbl/articles/purp&eff.pdf |conference=Proceedings of the International Conference on Chinese Studies 2004 漢學研究國際學術研討會論文集 |publisher=[[National Yunlin University of Science and Technology]] |pages=387–402 |isbn=986-00-4011-7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602161106/http://www.wiedenhof.nl/ul/tk/pbl/articles/purp&eff.pdf |archive-date=2 June 2013 |access-date=2009-07-18 |quote=In the Cold War era, the use of this system outside China was typically regarded as a political statement, or a deliberate identification with the Chinese communist regime. (p390) |url-status=live}}</ref> Beginning in the early 1980s, Western publications addressing mainland China began using the Hanyu Pinyin romanization system instead of earlier romanization systems; this change followed the [[Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations]] between the United States and China in 1979.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Terry |first=Edith |title=[[How Asia got rich: Japan, China and the Asian miracle]] |publisher=M. E. Sharpe |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-7656-0355-5 |series=A Pacific Basin Institute book |location=Armonk, NY |pages=632–633}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=4 February 1979 |title=Times Due To Revise Its Chinese Spelling |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/02/04/archives/times-due-to-revise-its-chinese-spelling-adoption-of-new-system.html |access-date=2024-07-09 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |page=10}}</ref> In 2001, the Chinese government issued the ''National Common Language Law'', providing a legal basis for applying pinyin.<ref name="Asiaone" /> The current specification of the orthography is GB/T 16159–2012.{{sfnp|GB/T 16159|2012}}

== Syllables ==
Chinese phonology is generally described in terms of initials ({{zhi|s=声母|t=聲母|p=shēngmǔ}}) and finals ({{zhi|s=韵母|t=韻母|p=yùnmǔ}}). This is distinct from the concept of consonant and vowel sounds as basic units in traditional (and most other phonetic systems used to describe the Chinese language). Every syllable in Standard Chinese can be described as a pair of one initial and one final, except for the special syllable ''er'' or when a trailing ''-r'' is considered part of a syllable (a phenomenon known as ''[[erhua]]''). The latter case, though a common practice in some sub-dialects, is rarely used in official publications.

While initials are usually a single consonant, finals are not always simple vowels, especially in compound finals ({{zhi|s=复韵母|t=複韻母|p=fùyùnmǔ}}), i.e. when a "medial" is placed in front of the final. For example, the medials {{IPAblink|i}} and {{IPAblink|u}} are pronounced with such tight openings at the beginning of a final that some native Chinese speakers (especially when singing) pronounce {{zhp|p=yī|c=衣|l=clothes}}, officially pronounced {{IPA|/í/}}, as {{IPA|/jí/}} and {{zhp|p=wéi|s=围|t=圍|l=to enclose}}, officially pronounced {{IPA|/uěi/}}, as {{IPA|/wěi/}} or {{IPA|/wuěi/}}. Often these medials are treated as separate from the finals rather than as part of them; this convention is followed in the chart of finals below.

=== Initials ===
The conventional [[lexicographical order]] derived from [[bopomofo]] is:
{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3"
| style="background:#cfc" | &nbsp;b&nbsp;&nbsp;p&nbsp;&nbsp;m&nbsp;&nbsp;f&nbsp;
| style="background:#ccf" | &nbsp;d&nbsp;&nbsp;t&nbsp;&nbsp;n&nbsp;&nbsp;l&nbsp;
| style="background:#fcc" | &nbsp;g&nbsp;&nbsp;k&nbsp;&nbsp;h&nbsp;
| style="background:#fcf" | &nbsp;j&nbsp;&nbsp;q&nbsp;&nbsp;x&nbsp;
| style="background:#ffc" | &nbsp;zh&nbsp;&nbsp;ch&nbsp;&nbsp;sh&nbsp;&nbsp;r&nbsp;
| style="background:#cff" | &nbsp;z&nbsp;&nbsp;c&nbsp;&nbsp;s&nbsp;
|}

In each cell below, the pinyin letters assigned to each initial are accompanied by their phonetic realizations in brackets, notated according to the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]].

{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;border:none"
|-
! colspan="2" {{diagonal split header|[[Manner of articulation|Manner]]|[[Place of articulation|Place]]}}
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Retroflex]]
! [[Alveolo-palatal consonant|Alveolo-palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
! rowspan="2"| [[Plosive]]
! [[Tenuis consonant|unaspirated]]
| style="background:#cfc" | [[Voiceless bilabial plosive|b {{IPA|[p]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#ccf" | [[Voiceless alveolar plosive|d {{IPA|[t]|cat=no}}]]
|
|
| style="background:#fcc" | [[Voiceless velar plosive|g {{IPA|[k]|cat=no}}]]
|-
![[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]]
| style="background:#cfc" | [[Voiceless bilabial plosive|p {{IPA|[pʰ]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#ccf" | [[Voiceless alveolar plosive|t {{IPA|[tʰ]|cat=no}}]]
|
|
| style="background:#fcc" | [[Voiceless velar plosive|k {{IPA|[kʰ]|cat=no}}]]
|-
! colspan="2"| [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| style="background:#cfc" | [[Bilabial nasal|m {{IPA|[m]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#ccf" | [[Alveolar nasal|n {{IPA|[n]|cat=no}}]]
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Affricate]]
! [[Tenuis consonant|unaspirated]]
|
| style="background:#cff" | [[Voiceless alveolar affricate|z {{IPA|[ts]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#ffc" | [[Voiceless retroflex affricate|zh {{IPA|[ʈʂ]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#fcf" | [[Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate|j {{IPA|[tɕ]|cat=no}}]]
|
|-
! [[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]]
|
| style="background:#cff" | [[Voiceless alveolar affricate|c {{IPA|[tsʰ]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#ffc" | [[Voiceless retroflex affricate|ch {{IPA|[ʈʂʰ]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#fcf" | [[Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate|q {{IPA|[tɕʰ]|cat=no}}]]
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Fricative]]
| style="background:#cfc" | [[Voiceless labiodental fricative|f {{IPA|[f]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#cff" | [[Voiceless alveolar sibilant|s {{IPA|[s]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#ffc" | [[Voiceless retroflex sibilant|sh {{IPA|[ʂ]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#fcf" | [[Voiceless alveolo-palatal sibilant|x {{IPA|[ɕ]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#fcc" | [[Voiceless velar fricative|h {{IPA|[x]|cat=no}}]]
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Liquid consonant|Liquid]]
|
| style="background:#ccf" | [[Alveolar lateral approximant|l {{IPA|[l]|cat=no}}]]
| style="background:#ffc" | r [[Voiced retroflex approximant| {{IPA|[ɻ]|cat=no}}]]~[[Voiced retroflex fricative|{{IPA|[ʐ]|cat=no}}]]
|
|
|- style="border-top:dashed"
! colspan="2" | [[Semivowel]]
| colspan="5" | y [[Palatal approximant|{{IPA|[j]|cat=no}}]], yu [[Labialized palatal approximant|{{IPA|[ɥ]|cat=no}}]] and w [[Labio-velar approximant|{{IPA|[w]|cat=no}}]]
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Pinyin || [[help:IPA|IPA]] || Description<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shea |first=Marilyn |title=Pinyin / Ting - The Chinese Experience |url=http://hua.umf.maine.edu/Chinese/topics/pinyin/pinyin.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612080715/http://hua.umf.maine.edu/Chinese/topics/pinyin/pinyin.html |archive-date=12 June 2010 |access-date=21 December 2010 |website=hua.umf.maine.edu}}</ref>
|- style="background:#cfc"
|| ''b'' || {{IPAblink|p}} || Unaspirated ''p'', like in English s<u>p</u>ark.
|- style="background:#cfc"
|| ''p'' || {{IPAblink|pʰ}} || Strongly aspirated ''p'', like in English <u>p</u>ay.
|- style="background:#cfc"
|| ''m'' || {{IPAblink|m}} || Like the ''m'' in English <u>m</u>ay.
|- style="background:#cfc"
|| ''f'' || {{IPAblink|f}} || Like the ''f'' in English <u>f</u>air.
|- style="background:#ccf"
|| ''d'' || {{IPAblink|t}} || Unaspirated ''t'', like in English s<u>t</u>op.
|- style="background:#ccf"
|| ''t'' || {{IPAblink|tʰ}} || Strongly aspirated ''t'', like in English <u>t</u>ake.
|- style="background:#ccf"
|| ''n'' || {{IPAblink|n}} || Like the ''n'' in English <u>n</u>ay.
|- style="background:#ccf"
|| ''l'' || {{IPAblink|l}}~{{IPAblink|ɾ}}{{efn|name=taiwan|for Taiwanese Mandarin}} || Varies between the ''l'' in English <u>l</u>ay and ''tt'' in American English be<u>tt</u>er.
|- style="background:#fcc"
|| ''g'' || {{IPAblink|k}} || Unaspirated ''k'', like in English s<u>k</u>ill.
|- style="background:#fcc"
|| ''k'' || {{IPAblink|kʰ}} || Strongly aspirated ''k'', like in English <u>k</u>iss.
|- style="background:#fcc"
|| ''h'' || {{IPAblink|x}}~{{IPA blink|h}}{{efn|name=taiwan}} || Varies between the ''h'' in English <u>h</u>at, and the ''ch'' in Scottish English lo<u>ch</u>.
|- style="background:#fcf"
|| ''j'' || {{IPAblink|tɕ}} || Alveolo-palatal, unaspirated. No direct equivalent in English, but similar to the ''ch'' in English chur<u>ch</u>yard.
|- style="background:#fcf"
|| ''q'' || {{IPAblink|tɕʰ}} || Alveolo-palatal, aspirated. No direct equivalent in English, but similar to the ''ch'' in English pun<u>ch</u>y.
|- style="background:#fcf"
|| ''x'' || {{IPAblink|ɕ}} || Alveolo-palatal, unaspirated. No direct equivalent in English, but similar to the ''sh'' in English pu<u>sh</u>.
|- style="background:#ffc"
|| ''zh'' || {{IPAblink|ʈʂ}}~{{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}}{{efn|name=taiwan}} || Retroflex, unaspirated. Like ''j'' in English <u>j</u>ack.
|- style="background:#ffc"
|| ''ch'' || {{IPAblink|ʈʂʰ}}~{{IPAblink|ʃ}}{{efn|name=taiwan}} || Retroflex, aspirated. Varies between the ''ch'' in English chur<u>ch</u> and sh in English bu<u>sh</u>y.
|- style="background:#ffc"
|| ''sh'' || {{IPAblink|ʂ}}~{{IPAblink|ɹ̠̊˔}}{{efn|name=taiwan}} || Retroflex, unaspirated. Like ''sh'' in <u>sh</u>irt.
|- style="background:#ffc"
|| ''r'' || [{{IPA link|ɻ}}~{{IPA link|ʐ}}]~{{IPAblink|ɹ}}{{efn|name=taiwan}} || Retroflex. No direct equivalent in English, but varies between the ''r'' in English <u>r</u>educe and the ''s'' in English mea<u>s</u>ure.
|- style="background:#cff"
|| ''z'' || {{IPAblink|ts}} || Unaspirated. Like the ''zz'' in English pi<u>zz</u>a.
|- style="background:#cff"
|| ''c'' || {{IPAblink|tsʰ}} || Aspirated. Like the ''ts'' in English ba<u>ts</u>.
|- style="background:#cff"
|| ''s'' || {{IPAblink|s}} || Like the ''s'' in English <u>s</u>ay.
|-
|| ''w''{{efn|name=semivowel}} || {{IPAblink|w}} ||Like the ''w'' in English <u>w</u>ater.
|-
|| ''y''{{efn|name=semivowel|''Y'', ''w'', and ''yu'' are equivalent to the [[semivowel]] medials ''i, u'', and ''ü'' (see below). They are spelled differently when there is no initial consonant in order to mark a new syllable: ''fanguan'' is ''fan-guan'', while ''fangwan'' is ''fang-wan'' (and equivalent to ''*fang-uan)''. With this convention, an apostrophe only needs to be used to mark an initial ''a'' or ''e'', e.g. ''Xi'an'' (two syllables: {{IPA|[ɕi.an]}}) vs. ''xian'' (one syllable: {{IPA|[ɕi̯ɛn]}}). In addition, ''y'' and ''w'' are added to fully vocalic ''i, u'', and ''ü'' when these occur without an initial consonant, so that they are written ''yi, wu'', and ''yu''. Some Mandarin speakers do pronounce a {{IPA|[j]}} or {{IPA|[w]}} sound at the beginning of such words—that is, ''yi'' {{IPA|[i]}} or {{IPA|[ji]}}, ''wu'' {{IPA|[u]}} or {{IPA|[wu]}}, ''yu'' {{IPA|[y]}} or {{IPA|[ɥy]}},—so this is an intuitive convention. See below for a few finals which are abbreviated after a consonant plus ''w/u'' or ''y/i'' medial: ''wen'' → C+''un'', ''wei'' → C+''ui'', ''weng'' → C+''ong'', and ''you'' → Q+''iu''.}} || {{IPAblink|j}} || Like the ''y'' in English <u>y</u>es.
|-
|''yu''{{efn|name=semivowel}}
|{{IPAblink|ɥ}}
|Like the ''hu'' in French <u>hu</u>it, see below.
|}
{{Notelist}}

=== Finals ===
{{mandarin vowels}}
In each cell below, the first line indicates the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] (IPA) transcription, 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.

The only syllable-final consonants in Standard Chinese are ''-n'', ''-ng'', and ''-r'', the last of which is attached as a grammatical [[suffix]]. A Chinese syllable ending with any other consonant either is from a non-Mandarin language (a southern Chinese language such as [[Cantonese]], reflecting [[Old Chinese phonology#Tones and final consonants|final consonants in Old Chinese]]), or indicates the use of a non-pinyin romanization system, such as one that uses final consonants to indicate tones. <!-- /əɻ/ 而爾耳 is missing -->
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! {{diagonal split header|Medial|Rime}}
! scope="col" style="min-width:2em" | ∅ !! scope="col" colspan="2" style="min-width:2em" | -⁠e{{\}}-⁠o{{\}}-⁠ê
! scope="col" style="min-width:2em" | -⁠a !! scope="col" style="min-width:2em" | -⁠ei !! scope="col" style="min-width:2em" | -⁠ai
! scope="col" style="min-width:2em" | -⁠ou !! scope="col" | -⁠ao !! scope="col" style="min-width:2em" | -⁠en !! scope="col" | -⁠an
! scope="col" style="min-width:2em" | -⁠eng !! scope="col" | -⁠ang !! scope="col" style="min-width:2em" | er
|- style="vertical-align:top" 
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:middle" | ∅
| {{IPA|[ɨ]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|-⁠i}} || {{IPA|[ɤ]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|e|-⁠e}} || {{IPA|[ɛ]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|ê|-⁠ê}} || {{IPA|[a]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|a|-⁠a}}
| {{IPA|[ei̯]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|ei|-⁠ei}} || {{IPA|[ai̯]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|ai|-⁠ai}}
| {{IPA|[ou̯]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|ou|-⁠ou}} || {{IPA|[au̯]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|ao|-⁠ao}}
| {{IPA|[ən]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|en|-⁠en}} || {{IPA|[an]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|an|-⁠an}}
| {{IPA|[əŋ]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|eng|-⁠eng}} || {{IPA|[aŋ]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|ang|-⁠ang}}
| {{IPA|[ɚ]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|er}}
|- style="vertical-align:top" 
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:middle" | {{ubl|y⁠-|-⁠i⁠-}}
| {{IPA|[i]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|yi|-⁠i}} || colspan="2" | {{IPA|[je]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|ye|-⁠ie}} || {{IPA|[ja]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|ya|-⁠ia}}
| colspan="2" class="table-na" style="background-color:#ececec;border-style:none" | 
| {{IPA|[jou̯]}} ({{IPA|[iu̯]}}){{hr}}{{ubc|you|-⁠iu}} || {{IPA|[jau̯]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|yao|-⁠iao}}
| {{IPA|[in]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|yin|-⁠in}} || {{IPA|[jɛn]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|yan|-⁠ian}}
| {{IPA|[iŋ]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|ying|-⁠ing}} || {{IPA|[jaŋ]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|yang|-⁠iang}}
| rowspan="3" class="table-na" style="background-color:#ececec;border-style:none" | 
|- style="vertical-align:top"
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:middle" | {{ubl|w⁠-|-⁠u⁠-}}
| {{IPA|[u]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|wu|-⁠u}} || colspan="2" | {{IPA|[wo]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|wo|-⁠uo}} || {{IPA|[wa]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|wa|-⁠ua}}
| {{IPA|[wei̯]}} ({{IPA|[ui̯]}}){{hr}}{{ubc|wei|-⁠ui}} || {{IPA|[wai̯]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|wai|-⁠uai}}
| colspan="2" class="table-na" style="background-color:#ececec;border-style:none" | 
| {{IPA|[wən]}} ({{IPA|[un]}}){{hr}}{{ubc|wen|-⁠un}} || {{IPA|[wan]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|wan|-⁠uan}}
| {{IPA|[wəŋ~ʊŋ]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|weng|-⁠ong}} || {{IPA|[waŋ]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|wang|-⁠uang}}
|- style="vertical-align:top"
! scope="row" style="vertical-align:middle" | {{ubl|yu⁠-|-⁠ü⁠-}}
| {{IPA|[y]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|yu|-⁠ü}} || colspan="2" | {{IPA|[ɥe]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|yue|-⁠üe}}
| colspan="5"  class="table-na" style="background-color:#ececec;border-style:none" | 
| {{IPA|[yn]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|yun|-⁠ün}} || {{IPA|[ɥɛn]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|yuan|-⁠üan}}
| {{IPA|[jʊŋ]}}{{hr}}{{ubc|yong|-⁠iong}}
| colspan="2"  class="table-na" style="background-color:#ececec;border-style:none" | 
|}
Technically, ''i, u, ü'' without a following vowel are finals, not medials, and therefore take the tone marks, but they are more concisely displayed as above. In addition, ''ê'' {{IPA|[ɛ]}} ({{zhi|s=欸|t=誒}}) and syllabic nasals ''m'' ({{zhi|c=呒}}, {{zhi|c=呣}}), ''n'' ({{zhi|c=嗯}}, {{zhi|c=唔}}), ''ng'' ({{zhi|c=嗯}}, {{zhi|c=𠮾}}) are used as [[interjection]]s or in [[neologism]]s; for example, pinyin defines the names of several pinyin letters using ''-ê'' finals.

According to the ''Scheme for the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet'', ''ng'' can be abbreviated with the shorthand ''[[ŋ]]''. However, this shorthand is rarely used due to difficulty of entering it on computers.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Pinyin || IPA || Form with [[zero initial]] || Explanation
|-
| ''-i'' || [{{IPA link|ɹ|ɹ̩}}~{{IPA link|z|z̩}}], [{{IPA link|ɻ|ɻ̩}}~{{IPA link|ʐ|ʐ̩}}] || (''N/A'') || ''-i'' is a buzzed continuation of the consonant following ''z-'', ''c-'', ''s-'', ''zh-'', ''ch-'', ''sh-'' or ''r-''. In all other cases, -i has the sound of ''b'''ee'''''.
|-
| ''a'' || {{IPAblink|ä|a}} || '''a''' || like English ''f'''a'''ther'', but a bit more fronted
|-
| ''e'' || {{IPA|cmn|ɤ||Close-mid back unrounded vowel.ogg}}, {{IPA|[ə]}}{{efn|name=taiwan|for Taiwanese Mandarin}} || '''e''' || a back, unrounded vowel (similar to English ''d'''uh''''', but not as open). Pronounced as a sequence {{IPA|[ɰɤ]}}.
|-
| ''ai'' || {{IPA|[ai̯]}} || '''ai''' || like English '''eye''', but a bit lighter
|-
| ''ei'' || {{IPA|[ei̯]}} || '''ei''' || as in ''h'''ey'''''
|-
| ''ao'' || {{IPA|[au̯]}} || '''ao''' || approximately as in ''c'''ow'''''; the ''a'' is much more audible than the ''o''
|-
| ''ou'' || {{IPA|[ou̯]}} || '''ou''' || as in North American English ''s'''o'''''
|-
| ''an'' || {{IPA|[an]}} || '''an''' || like British English ''b'''an''''', but more central
|-
| ''en'' || {{IPA|[ən]}} || '''en''' || as in ''tak'''en'''''
|-
| ''ang'' || {{IPA|[aŋ]}} || '''ang''' || as in German '''Ang'''st.<br>
(Starts with the vowel sound in ''f'''a'''ther'' and ends in the [[velar nasal]]; like ''s'''ong''''' in some dialects of American English)
|-
| ''eng'' || {{IPA|[əŋ]}} || '''eng''' || like ''e'' in ''en'' above but with ''ng'' appended
|-
| ''ong'' || {{IPA|[ʊŋ]}}~{{IPA|[o̞ʊŋ]}}{{efn|name=taiwan}} || ''(weng)'' || starts with the vowel sound in ''b'''oo'''k'' and ends with the velar nasal sound in ''si'''ng'''''. Varies between {{IPA|[oŋ]}} and {{IPA|[uŋ]}} depending on the speaker.
|-
| ''er'' || {{IPA|[aɚ̯]}}~{{IPA|[əɹ]}}{{efn|name=taiwan}} || '''er''' || Similar to the sound in ''b'''ar''''' in English. Can also be pronounced {{IPA|[ɚ]}} depending on the speaker.
|-
! colspan="4" | Finals beginning with ''i-'' (''y-'')
|-
| ''i'' || {{IPAblink|i}} || '''yi''' || like English ''b'''ee'''''
|-
| ''ia'' || {{IPA|[ja]}} || '''ya''' || as '''''i''''' + '''''a'''''; like English '''''ya'''rd''
|-
| ''ie'' || {{IPA|[je]}} || '''ye''' || as '''''i''''' + '''''ê''''' where the ''e'' (compare with the ''ê'' interjection) is pronounced shorter and lighter
|-
| ''iao'' || {{IPA|[jau̯]}} || '''yao''' || as '''''i''''' + '''''ao'''''
|-
| ''iu'' || {{IPA|[jou̯]}} || '''you''' || as '''''i''''' + '''''ou'''''
|-
| ''ian'' || {{IPA|[jɛn]}} || '''yan''' || as '''i''' + '''an'''; like English '''''yen'''''. Varies between {{IPA|[jen]}} and {{IPA|[jan]}} depending on the speaker.
|-
| ''in'' || {{IPA|[in]}} || '''yin''' || as '''''i''''' + '''''n'''''
|-
| ''iang'' || {{IPA|[jaŋ]}} || '''yang''' || as '''''i''''' + '''''ang'''''
|-
| ''ing'' || {{IPA|[iŋ]}} || '''ying''' || as '''''i''''' + '''''ng'''''
|-
| ''iong'' || {{IPA|[jʊŋ]}} || '''yong''' || as '''''i''''' + '''''ong'''''. Varies between {{IPA|[joŋ]}} and {{IPA|[juŋ]}} depending on the speaker.
|-
! colspan="4" | Finals beginning with ''u-'' (''w-'')
|-
| ''u'' || {{IPAblink|u}} || '''wu''' || like English '''''oo'''''
|-
| ''ua'' || {{IPA|[wa]}} || '''wa''' || as '''''u''''' + '''''a'''''
|-
| ''uo''/''o'' || {{IPA|[wo]}} || '''wo''' || as '''''u''''' + '''''o''''' where the ''o'' (compare with the ''o'' interjection) is pronounced shorter and lighter (spelled as '''''o''''' after ''b'', ''p'', ''m'' or ''f'')
|-
| ''uai'' || {{IPA|[wai̯]}} || '''wai''' || as '''''u''''' + '''''ai''''', as in English '''''why'''''
|-
| ''ui'' || {{IPA|[wei̯]}} || '''wei''' || as '''''u''''' + '''''ei''''', as in English '''''way'''''
|-
| ''uan'' || {{IPA|[wan]}} || '''wan''' || as '''''u''''' + '''''an'''''
|-
| ''un'' || {{IPA|[wən]}} || '''wen''' || as '''''u''''' + '''''en'''''; as in English '''''won'''''
|-
| ''uang'' || {{IPA|[waŋ]}} || '''wang''' || as '''''u''''' + '''''ang'''''
|-
|''(ong)'' || {{IPA|[wəŋ]}} || '''weng''' || as '''''u''''' + '''''eng'''''
|-
! colspan=4 | Finals beginning with ''ü-'' (''yu-'')
|-
| ''ü'' || {{IPA|cmn|y ||Close front rounded vowel.ogg}} || '''yu''' || as in German '''''ü'''ber'' or French ''l'''u'''ne'' (pronounced as English '''ee''' with rounded lips; spelled as '''''u''''' after ''j'', ''q'' or ''x'')
|-
| ''üe'' || {{IPA|[ɥe]}} || '''yue''' || as '''''ü''''' + '''''ê''''' where the e (compare with the ''ê'' interjection) is pronounced shorter and lighter (spelled as '''''ue''''' after ''j'', ''q'' or ''x'')
|-
| ''üan'' || {{IPA|[ɥɛn]}} || '''yuan''' || as '''''ü''''' + '''''an'''''. Varies between {{IPA|[ɥen]}} and {{IPA|[ɥan]}} depending on the speaker (spelled as '''''uan''''' after ''j'', ''q'' or ''x'')
|-
| ''ün'' || {{IPA|[yn]}} || '''yun''' || as '''''ü''''' + '''''n''''' (spelled as '''''un''''' after ''j'', ''q'' or ''x'')
|-
! colspan="4" | Interjections
|-
| ''ê'' || {{IPAblink|ɛ}} || '''ê''' || as in ''b'''e'''t''
|-
| ''o'' || {{IPAblink|ɔ}} || '''o''' || approximately as in British English '''''o'''ffice''; the lips are much more rounded
|-
| ''io'' || {{IPA|[jɔ]}} || '''yo''' || as '''''i''''' + '''''o'''''
|}
{{Notelist}}

==== The {{nwr|⟨ü⟩}} sound ====
An [[Umlaut (diacritic)|umlaut]] is added to {{angbr IPA|u}} when it occurs after the initials {{angbr IPA|l}} and {{angbr IPA|n}} when necessary in order to represent the sound {{IPA|[y]}}. This is necessary in order to distinguish the front high rounded vowel in {{tlit|zh|lü}} (e.g. {{zhi|s=驴|t=驢|l=donkey}}) from the back high rounded vowel in {{tlit|zh|lu}} (e.g. {{zhi|s=炉|t=爐|l=oven}}). Tonal markers are placed above the umlaut, as in {{tlit|zh|lǘ}}.

However, the ''ü'' is ''not'' used in the other contexts where it could represent a front high rounded vowel, namely after the letters ''j'', ''q'', ''x'', and ''y''. For example, the sound of the word for {{zhl|s=鱼|t=魚|l=fish}} is transcribed in pinyin simply as {{tlit|zh|yú}}, not as *{{tlit|zh|yǘ}}. This practice is opposed to Wade–Giles, which always uses ''ü'', and [[Tongyong Pinyin]], which always uses ''yu''. Whereas Wade–Giles needs the umlaut to distinguish between ''chü'' (pinyin {{tlit|zh|ju}}) and ''chu'' (pinyin {{tlit|zh|zhu}}), this ambiguity does not arise with pinyin, so the more convenient form ''ju'' is used instead of ''jü''. Genuine ambiguities only happen with ''nu''/''nü'' and ''lu''/''lü'', which are then distinguished by an umlaut.

Many fonts or output methods do not support an umlaut for ''ü'' or cannot place tone marks on top of ''ü''. Likewise, using ''ü'' in input methods is difficult because it is not present as a simple key on many keyboard layouts. For these reasons ''v'' is sometimes used instead by convention. For example, it is common for cellphones to use ''v'' instead of ''ü''. Additionally, some stores in China use ''v'' instead of ''ü'' in the transliteration of their names. The drawback is a lack of [[precomposed character]]s and limited font support for [[combining accent]]s on the letter ''v'', ({{IPA|v̄ v́ v̌ v̀}}).

This also presents a problem in transcribing names for use on passports, affecting people with names that consist of the sound {{tlit|zh|lü}} or {{tlit|zh|nü}}, particularly people with the surname {{zhc|c=吕|p=[[Lü (surname)|Lǚ]]}}, a fairly common surname, particularly compared to the surnames {{zhc|c=陆|p=[[Lu (surname 陆)|Lù]]}}, {{zhc|c=鲁|p=[[Lu (surname 鲁)|Lǔ]]}}, {{zhc|c=卢|p=[[Lu (surname 卢)|Lú]]}} and {{zhc|c=路|p=[[Lu (surname 路)|Lù]]}}. Previously, the practice varied among different passport issuing offices, with some transcribing as "LV" and "NV" while others used "LU" and "NU". On 10 July 2012, the [[Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China|Ministry of Public Security]] standardized the practice to use "LYU" and "NYU" in passports.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Huang|first=Rong|script-title=zh:公安部最新规定 护照上的"ü"规范成"YU"|url=http://wx.xinhuanet.com/2012-08/23/c_112822099.htm|access-date=29 August 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714182037/http://wx.xinhuanet.com/2012-08/23/c_112822099.htm|archive-date=14 July 2014|language=zh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Li|first=Zhiyan|script-title=zh:"吕"拼音到怎么写？ 公安部称应拼写成"LYU"|url=http://news.cnwest.com/content/2012-08/22/content_7093021.htm|access-date=23 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528015235/http://news.cnwest.com/content/2012-08/22/content_7093021.htm|archive-date=28 May 2013|url-status=dead|language=zh}}</ref>

Although ''nüe'' written as ''nue'', and ''lüe'' written as ''lue'' are not ambiguous, ''nue'' or ''lue'' are not correct according to the rules; ''nüe'' and ''lüe'' should be used instead. However, some Chinese input methods support both ''nve''/''lve'' (typing ''v'' for ''ü'') and ''nue''/''lue''.

==Tones==
[[File:Pinyin Tone Chart.svg|right|thumb|upright=0.6|Relative pitch changes of the four tones]]
The pinyin system also uses four [[diacritic]]s to mark the [[tones of Mandarin]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Qiuying |last2=Andrews |first2=Jean F. |year=2021 |title=Chinese Pinyin: Overview, History and Use in Language Learning for Young Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in China |journal=American Annals of the Deaf |volume=166 |issue=4 |pages=446–461 |doi=10.1353/aad.2021.0038 |issn=1543-0375 |pmid=35185033 |s2cid=247010548}}</ref> In the pinyin system, four main tones of Mandarin are shown by diacritics: ā, á, ǎ, and à.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chang |first=Yufen |date=2018-10-09 |title=How pinyin tone formats and character orthography influence Chinese learners' tone acquisition |journal=Chinese as a Second Language Research |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=195–219 |doi=10.1515/caslar-2018-0008 |issn=2193-2263 |s2cid=57998920}}</ref> There is no symbol or diacritic for the neutral tone: a. The diacritic is placed over the letter that represents the [[syllable nucleus]], unless that letter is missing. Tones are used in Hanyu Pinyin symbols, and they do not appear in Chinese characters.

Tones are written on the finals of Chinese pinyin. If the tone mark is written over an ''i'', then it replaces the tittle, as in {{tlit|zh|yī}}.
# The first tone (flat or high-level tone) is represented by a [[Macron (diacritic)|macron]] {{angbr|ˉ}} added to the pinyin vowel:
#: ā ē ê̄ ī ō ū ǖ Ā Ē Ê̄ Ī Ō Ū Ǖ
# The second tone (rising or high-rising tone) is denoted by an [[acute accent]] {{angbr|ˊ}}:
#: á é ế í ó ú ǘ Á É Ế Í Ó Ú Ǘ
# The third tone (falling-rising or low tone) is marked by a [[caron]] {{angbr|ˇ}}:
#: ǎ ě ê̌ ǐ ǒ ǔ ǚ Ǎ Ě Ê̌ Ǐ Ǒ Ǔ Ǚ
# The fourth tone (falling or high-falling tone) is represented by a [[grave accent]] {{angbr|ˋ}}:
#: à è ề ì ò ù ǜ À È Ề Ì Ò Ù Ǜ
# The fifth tone (neutral tone) is represented by a normal vowel without any accent mark:
#: a e ê i o u ü A E Ê I O U Ü
In dictionaries, neutral tone may be indicated by a dot preceding the syllable—e.g. {{tlit|zh|·ma}}. When a neutral tone syllable has an alternative pronunciation in another tone, a combination of tone marks may be used: {{zhp|p=zhī·dào|c=知道}} may be pronounced either {{zhp|p=zhīdào}} or {{zhp|p=zhīdao}}.{{sfnp|GB/T 16159|2012|at=§7.3}}

=== Numbers ===
{{Further|Tone number}}
Before the advent of computers, many typewriter fonts did not contain vowels with [[Macron (diacritic)|macron]] or [[caron]] diacritics. Tones were thus represented by placing a [[tone number]] at the end of individual syllables. For example, {{tlit|zh|tóng}} is written {{tlit|zh|tong<sup>2</sup>}}. Each tone can be denoted with its numeral the order listed above. The neutral tone can either be denoted with no numeral, with 0, or with 5.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col" | Tone !! scope="col" | Examples !! scope="col" | [[Help:IPA|IPA]]
|-
! scope="row" | 1
| {{blist|list_style=list-style-type:circle|{{tlit|zh|i=n|mā}}{{pad|0.18em}}{{small|([[Macron (diacritic)|macron]])}} | {{tlit|zh|i=n|ma<sup>1</sup>}} }} || {{IPA|ma˥}}
|-
! scope="row" | 2
| {{blist|list_style=list-style-type:circle|{{tlit|zh|i=n|má}}{{pad|0.18em}}{{small|([[acute accent]])}} | ma<sup>2</sup>}} || {{IPA|ma˧˥}}
|-
! scope="row" | 3
| {{blist|list_style=list-style-type:circle|{{tlit|zh|i=n|mǎ}}{{pad|0.18em}}{{small|([[caron]])}} | {{tlit|zh|i=n|ma<sup>3</sup>}} }} || {{IPA|ma˨˩˦}}
|-
! scope="row" | 4
| {{blist|list_style=list-style-type:circle|{{tlit|zh|i=n|mà}}{{pad|0.18em}}{{small|([[grave accent]])}} | {{tlit|zh|i=n|ma<sup>4</sup>}} }} || {{IPA|ma˥˩}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Neutral tone|Neutral]]
| {{blist|list_style=list-style-type:circle|{{tlit|zh|i=n|ma}} | {{tlit|zh|i=n|·ma}}{{pad|0.18em}}{{small|([[middle dot]])}} | {{tlit|zh|i=n|ma<sup>0</sup>}} | {{tlit|zh|i=n|ma<sup>5</sup>}} }}
| {{IPA|ma}}
|}

=== Placement and omission ===
Briefly, tone marks should always be placed in the order {{tlit|zh|a, e, o, i, u, ü}}, with the only exception being {{tlit|zh|iu}} where the tone mark is placed on the second vowel instead. Pinyin tone marks appear primarily above the syllable nucleus—e.g. as in {{tlit|zh|kuài}}, where ''k'' is the initial, ''u'' the medial, ''a'' the nucleus, and ''i'' is the coda. There is an exception for syllabic nasals like {{IPA|/m/}}, where the nucleus of the syllable is a consonant: there, the diacritic will be carried by a written dummy vowel.

When the nucleus is {{IPAslink|ə}} (written ''e'' or ''o''), and there is both a medial and a coda, the nucleus may be dropped from writing. In this case, when the coda is a consonant ''n'' or ''ng'', the only vowel left is the medial ''i, u'', or ''ü'', and so this takes the diacritic. However, when the coda is a vowel, it is the coda rather than the medial which takes the diacritic in the absence of a written nucleus. This occurs with syllables ending in {{tlit|zh|-ui}} (from {{tlit|zh|wei}}: {{tlit|zh|wèi}} → {{tlit|zh|-uì}}) and in {{tlit|zh|-iu}} (from {{tlit|zh|you}}: {{tlit|zh|yòu}} → {{tlit|zh|-iù}}). That is, in the absence of a written nucleus the finals have priority for receiving the tone marker, as long as they are vowels; if not, the medial takes the diacritic.

An algorithm to find the correct vowel letter (when there is more than one) is as follows:
# If there is an ''a'' or an ''e'', it will take the tone mark
# In the combination {{tlit|zh|ou}}, then the ''o'' takes the tone mark
# Otherwise, the second vowel takes the tone mark

Worded differently,
# If there is an ''a, e'', or ''o'', it will take the tone mark; in the case of {{tlit|zh|ao}}, the mark goes on the ''a''
# Otherwise, the vowels are {{tlit|zh|-iu}} or {{tlit|zh|-ui}}, in which case the second vowel takes the tone mark

The above can be summarized as the following table. The vowel letter taking the tone mark is indicated by the fourth-tone mark.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;border:none"
|+ {{nwr|Placement of the pinyin tone mark}}
! style="background:none;border-style:none" | 
! style="min-width:3em" scope="col" | -a
! style="min-width:3em" scope="col" | -e
! style="min-width:3em" scope="col" | -o
! style="min-width:3em" scope="col" | -i
! style="min-width:3em" scope="col" | -u
|-
! style="min-width:3em" scope="row" | a-
| colspan="2" rowspan="3" class="table-na" style="background-color:#ececec;border-style:none solid none none" | || {{tlit|zh|i=n|ào}}
| {{tlit|zh|i=n|ài}} 
| class="table-na" style="background-color:#ececec;border-style:none solid none none" |
|-
! style="min-width:3em" scope="row" | e-
| rowspan="2" class="table-na" style="background-color:#ececec;border-style:none solid none none" |
| colspan="2" class="table-na" style="background-color:#ececec;border-style:none solid none none"|
|-
! style="min-width:3em" scope="row" | o-
|èi
| {{tlit|zh|i=n|òu}}
|-
! style="min-width:3em" scope="row" | i-
| {{tlit|zh|i=n|ià}}, {{tlit|zh|i=n|iào}}|| {{tlit|zh|i=n|iè}} || {{tlit|zh|i=n|iò}} || class="table-na" style="background-color:#ececec;border-style:none" | || {{tlit|zh|i=n|iù}}
|-
! style="min-width:3em" scope="row" | u-
| {{tlit|zh|i=n|uà}}, {{tlit|zh|i=n|uài}} || {{tlit|zh|i=n|uè}} || {{tlit|zh|i=n|uò}}|| {{tlit|zh|i=n|uì}} 
| class="table-na" style="background-color:#ececec;border-style:none solid none none" | 
|-
! style="min-width:3em" scope="row" | ü-
| {{tlit|zh|i=n|(üà)}} || {{tlit|zh|i=n|üè}}
| colspan="3" |
|}

=== Tone sandhi ===
[[Tone sandhi]] is not ordinarily reflected in pinyin spelling.

== Spacing, capitalization, and punctuation ==
Standard Chinese has many [[polysyllabic]] words. Like in other writing systems using the Latin alphabet, spacing in pinyin is officially based on word boundaries. However, there are often ambiguities in partitioning a word. ''The Basic Rules of the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet Orthography'' were put into effect in 1988 by the National Educational and National Language commissions.<ref name="ortho">{{Cite web |date=10 April 2014 |title=Basic Rules of the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet Orthography |url=http://jwc.qchm.edu.cn/33/e0/c735a13280/page.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819085754/http://jwc.qchm.edu.cn/33/e0/c735a13280/page.htm |archive-date=19 August 2014 |access-date=11 August 2014 |website=Qingdao Vocational and Technical College of Hotel Management |language=zh}}</ref> These rules became a GB recommendation in 1996,<ref name="ortho" /> and were last updated in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 July 2012 |title=Release of the National Standard ''Basic Rules of the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet Orthography'' |url=http://www.edu.cn/yu_wen_dong_tai_480/20120720/t20120720_812395.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728193928/http://www.edu.cn/yu_wen_dong_tai_480/20120720/t20120720_812395.shtml |archive-date=28 July 2014 |access-date=11 August 2014 |website=China Education and Research Network |language=zh}}</ref>

In practice, however, published materials in China now often space pinyin syllable by syllable. According to [[Victor H. Mair]], this practice became widespread after the Script Reform Committee, previously under direct control of the [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]], had its power greatly weakened in 1985 when it was renamed the [[State Language Commission]] and placed under the [[Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China|Ministry of Education]].<ref>Mair, Victor (11 April 2019). "[https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=42392 First grade science card: Pinyin degraded]". ''[[Language Log]]''.</ref> Mair claims that proponents of Chinese characters in the educational bureaucracy "became alarmed that word-based pinyin was becoming a de facto alternative to Chinese characters as a script for writing Mandarin and demanded that all pinyin syllables be written separately."<ref>Mair, Victor (15 August 2012). [https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4129#comment-231597 Comment] on "[https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4129 Words in Mandarin: twin kle twin kle lit tle star]".  ''[[Language Log]]''. 15 August 2012.</ref>

== Comparison with other orthographies ==
Pinyin superseded older romanization systems such as Wade–Giles and [[postal romanization]], and replaced bopomofo as the method of Chinese phonetic instruction in [[mainland China]]. The ISO adopted pinyin as the standard romanization for modern Chinese in 1982 (ISO 7098:1982, superseded by ISO 7098:2015). The [[United Nations]] followed suit in 1986.{{sfnp|Fox|2017}}<ref name="lin">{{Cite news |last=Lin Mei-chun |date=2000-10-08 |title=Official challenges romanization |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/local/archives/2000/10/08/56460 |work=Taipei Times}}</ref> It has also been accepted by the [[government of Singapore]], the United States's [[Library of Congress]], the [[American Library Association]], and many other international institutions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ao |first=Benjamin |date=1997-12-01 |title=History and Prospect of Chinese Romanization |url=http://www.white-clouds.com/iclc/cliej/cl4ao.htm |journal=Chinese Librarianship: An International Electronic Journal |publisher=Internet Chinese Librarians Club |issue=4 |issn=1089-4667 |access-date=2008-09-20}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=January 2017}}

Compared to Wade-Giles, pinyin more accurately reflects the aspiration distinction for English speakers, but assigns some Latin letters sound values which are quite different from those of most languages.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Karen Steffen Chung |editor1-last=Minett |editor1-first=James |editor2-last=Chan |editor2-first=Sin-Wai |title=The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Chinese Language |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=9781315675541 |pages=769–770 |edition=1 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781315675541/routledge-encyclopedia-chinese-language-sin-wai-chan-james-minett?refId=4c28e8f9-6fe9-4ffe-a5a2-d714d32c8229&context=ubx |access-date=11 October 2025 |language=English |chapter=Wade-Giles |quote=[Pinyin] satisfactorily solved some problems, such as how to best represent for English speakers the aspirated vs. unaspirated voiceless stops; left some issues as they were, e.g. easy-to-ignore diacritics to mark the tones; and it introduced some new problems, e.g. how to pronounce the sounds represented by the 'leftover letters' c, q, x, and z}}</ref> This has drawn some criticism as it may lead to confusion when uninformed speakers apply either native or English assumed pronunciations to words. However, this problem is not limited to pinyin, since many languages that use the Latin alphabet natively also assign different values to the same letters. A 2014 overview of topics in Chinese writing and literacy claimed, "By and large, pinyin represents the Chinese sounds better than the Wade–Giles system, and does so with fewer extra marks.".{{sfnp|Taylor|Taylor|2014|p=124}}

As pinyin is a phonetic writing system for modern [[Standard Chinese]], it is not designed to replace characters for writing [[Literary Chinese]], the standard written language prior to the early 20th century. In particular, Chinese characters retain semantic cues that help distinguish differently pronounced words in the ancient classical language that are now [[homophone]]s in Mandarin. Thus, Chinese characters remain indispensable for recording and transmitting the corpus of Chinese writing from the past.

Pinyin is not designed to transcribe [[Chinese language varieties|varieties]] other than Standard Chinese, which is based on the phonological system of Beijing Mandarin. Other romanization schemes have been devised to transcribe those other Chinese varieties, such as [[Jyutping]] for Cantonese and [[Pe̍h-ōe-jī]] for [[Hokkien]].

=== Comparison charts ===
{{Pinyintable}}

== Typography and encoding ==
Based on the "Chinese Romanization" section of ISO 7098:2015, pinyin tone marks should use the symbols from [[Combining Diacritical Marks]], as opposed by the use of [[Spacing Modifier Letters]] in bopomofo. Lowercase letters with tone marks are included in [[GB 2312]] and their uppercase counterparts are included in [[JIS X 0212]];<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://unicode.org/versions/Unicode14.0.0/ch07.pdf#G2960 |title=Unicode 14.0 Core Specification |publisher=Unicode |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-936213-29-0 |edition=14.0 |location=Mountain View, CA |page=297 |chapter=Chapter 7: Europe-I}}</ref> thus Unicode includes all the common accented characters from pinyin.<ref name="thetype-pinyin">{{Cite web |author1-last=Liu |author1-first=Eric Q. |title=The Type—Wǒ ài pīnyīn! |url=https://www.thetype.com/2017/08/11606/#pinyin-yin |website=The Type |access-date=2020-06-04}}</ref> Other punctuation mark and symbols in Chinese are to use the equivalent symbol in English noted in to GB 15834.

According to GB 16159, all accented letters are required to have both uppercase and lowercase characters as per their normal counterparts.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Accent alphabets in Hanyu Pinyin<ref name="thetype-pinyin"/>{{ref label|pinyin-yellow|a}}{{ref label|pinyin-grey|b}}
|-
! colspan="2" | Letter !! First tone !! Second tone !! Third tone !! Fourth tone
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Combining Diacritical Marks]] || ◌̄ (U+0304) || ◌́ (U+0301) || ◌̌ (U+030C)|| ◌̀ (U+0300)
|-
| colspan="6" | Common letters
|-
| rowspan="6" | Uppercase || A || Ā (U+0100) || Á (U+00C1) || Ǎ (U+01CD) || À (U+00C0)
|-
| E || Ē (U+0112) || É (U+00C9) || Ě (U+011A) || È (U+00C8)
|-
| I || Ī (U+012A) || Í (U+00CD) || Ǐ (U+01CF) || Ì (U+00CC)
|-
| O || Ō (U+014C) || Ó (U+00D3) || Ǒ (U+01D1) || Ò (U+00D2)
|-
| U || Ū (U+016A) || Ú (U+00DA) || Ǔ (U+01D3) || Ù (U+00D9)
|-
| Ü (U+00DC) || style="background:grey;color:white" | Ǖ (U+01D5) || Ǘ (U+01D7) || Ǚ (U+01D9) || Ǜ (U+01DB)
|-
| rowspan="6" | Lowercase || a || ā (U+0101) || á (U+00E1) || ǎ (U+01CE) || à (U+00E0)
|-
| e || ē (U+0113) || é (U+00E9) || ě (U+011B) || è (U+00E8)
|-
| i || ī (U+012B) || í (U+00ED) || ǐ (U+01D0) || ì (U+00EC)
|-
| o || ō (U+014D) || ó (U+00F3) || ǒ (U+01D2) || ò (U+00F2)
|-
| u || ū (U+016B) || ú (U+00FA) || ǔ (U+01D4) || ù (U+00F9)
|-
| ü (U+00FC) || style="background:grey;color:white" | ǖ (U+01D6) || ǘ (U+01D8) || ǚ (U+01DA) || ǜ (U+01DC)
|-
| colspan="6" | Rare letters
|-
| rowspan="3" | Uppercase || Ê (U+00CA) || style="background:yellow" | Ê̄ (U+00CA U+0304) || Ế (U+1EBE) || style="background:yellow" | Ê̌ (U+00CA U+030C) || Ề (U+1EC0)
|-
| M || style="background:yellow" | M̄ (U+004D U+0304) || Ḿ (U+1E3E) || style="background:grey;color:white" | M̌ (U+004D U+030C) || style="background:yellow" | M̀ (U+004D U+0300)
|-
| N || style="background:grey;color:white" | N̄ (U+004E U+0304) || Ń (U+0143) || Ň (U+0147) || Ǹ (U+01F8)
|-
| rowspan="3" | Lowercase || ê (U+00EA) || style="background:yellow" | ê̄ (U+00EA U+0304) || ế (U+1EBF) || style="background:yellow" | ê̌ (U+00EA U+030C) || ề (U+1EC1)
|-
| m || style="background:yellow" | m̄ (U+006D U+0304) || ḿ (U+1E3F) || style="background:grey;color:white" | m̌ (U+006D U+030C) || style="background:yellow" | m̀ (U+006D U+0300)
|-
| n || style="background:grey;color:white" | n̄ (U+006E U+0304) || ń (U+0144) || ň (U+0148) || ǹ (U+01F9)
|-
| colspan="17" style="background:#F8F8F8;font-size:small;text-align:left" | '''Notes'''
:a.{{note|pinyin-yellow}} <span style="background:yellow">Yellow cells</span> indicate that there are no single Unicode character for that letter; the character shown here uses Combining Diacritical Mark characters to display the letter.<ref name="thetype-pinyin"/>
:b.{{note|pinyin-grey}} <span style="background:grey;color:white">Grey cells</span> indicate that ''[[Xiandai Hanyu Cidian]]'' does not include pinyin with that specific letter.<ref name="thetype-pinyin"/>
|}

[[GBK (character encoding)|GBK]] has mapped two characters {{angbr|ḿ}} and {{angbr|ǹ}} to [[Private Use Areas]] in Unicode respectively, thus some fonts (e.g. SimSun) that adhere to GBK include both characters in the Private Use Areas, and some input methods (e.g. Sogou Pinyin) also outputs the Private Use Areas code point instead of the original character. As the superset [[GB 18030]] changed the mappings of {{angbr|ḿ}} and {{angbr|ǹ}}, this has caused an issue where the input methods and font files use different encoding standards, and thus the input and output of both characters are mixed up.<ref name="thetype-pinyin" />
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Shorthand pinyin letters<ref name="thetype-pinyin"/>
|-
! Uppercase !! Lowercase !! Note !! Example
|-
| Ĉ (U+0108) || ĉ (U+0109) || Abbreviation of ''ch'' || {{zhi|s=长|t=長}} can be spelled as {{tlit|zh|ĉáŋ}}
|-
| Ŝ (U+015C) || ŝ (U+015D) || Abbreviation of ''sh'' || {{zhi|s=伤|t=傷}} can be spelled as {{tlit|zh|ŝāŋ}}
|-
| Ẑ (U+1E90) || ẑ (U+1E91) || Abbreviation of ''zh'' || {{zhi|s=张|t=張}} can be spelled as {{tlit|zh|Ẑāŋ}}
|-
| Ŋ (U+014A) || ŋ (U+014B) || Abbreviation of ''ng'' || {{ubl|{{zhi|s=让|t=讓}} can be spelled as {{tlit|zh|ràŋ}} | {{zhi|c=嗯}} can be spelled as {{tlit|zh|ŋ̀}}}}
|-
|}

Other symbols are used in pinyin are as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Symbol comparison
! Chinese !! Pinyin !! Usage !! Example
|-
| {{unichar|3002|IDEOGRAPHIC FULL STOP}}
| {{unichar|2E|FULL STOP}}
| End of sentence
| {{zhi|c=你好。}} {{nwr|{{tlit|zh|Nǐ hǎo.}}}}
|-
| {{ubl|{{unichar|FF0C|FULLWIDTH COMMA}} | {{unichar|3001|IDEOGRAPHIC COMMA}}}}
| {{unichar|2C|COMMA}}
| Connecting clauses
| {{zhi|c=你，好吗？}} {{nwr|{{tlit|zh|Nǐ, hǎo ma?}}}}
|-
| {{unichar|2014|EM DASH}} (×2)
| {{unichar|2014|EM DASH}}
| Division of clauses mid-sentence
| {{zhi|c=枢纽部分——中央大厅}} {{nwr|{{tlit|zh|shūniǔ bùfèn — zhōngyāng dàtīng}}}}
|-
| {{unichar|2026|HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS}} (×2)
| {{unichar|2026|HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS}}
| Redaction of part of a passage
| {{typo| {{zhi|c=我……}} {{nwr|{{tlit|zh|Wǒ…}}}}}}
|-
| rowspan="3" {{n/a}}
| {{unichar|B7|MIDDLE DOT}}
| Neutral tone marker placed before the syllable
| {{zhi|c=吗}} {{nwr|{{tlit|zh|·ma}}}}
|-
| {{unichar|2D|HYPHEN-MINUS}}
| Hyphenation of abbreviated compounds
| {{zhi|c=公关}} {{nwr|{{tlit|zh|gōng-guān}}}}
|-
| {{unichar|27|APOSTROPHE}}
| Syllable segmentation
| {{zhi|c=西安}} - {{tlit|zh|Xī'ān}} {{nwr|(compared to {{zhi|c=先}} - {{tlit|zh|xiān}})}}
|}

== Usage ==
[[File:Dajia-shuo-Putonghua-2817.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|A slogan written on a school wall featuring pinyin annotations without tonal marks or word grouping]]

The spelling of Chinese geographical or personal names in pinyin has become the most common way to transcribe them in English. Pinyin has also become the dominant [[Chinese input method]] in mainland China, in contrast to Taiwan, where bopomofo is most commonly used.

Families outside of Taiwan who speak Mandarin as a mother tongue use pinyin to help children associate characters with spoken words which they already know. Children start to learn it in kindergarten, but pinyin disappears from textbooks after primary school.<ref>[https://studycli.org/ru/learn-chinese/what-is-pinyin/ What is Pinyin?], The Chinese Language Institute.</ref> Chinese families outside of Taiwan who speak some other language as their mother tongue use the system to teach children Mandarin pronunciation when learning vocabulary in elementary school.{{sfnp|Snowling|Hulme|2005|pp=320–322}}

Since 1958, pinyin has been actively used in [[adult education]] as well, making it easier for formerly illiterate people to continue with self-study after a short period of pinyin literacy instruction.{{sfnp|Price|2005|pp=206–208}}

Pinyin has become a tool for many foreigners to learn Mandarin pronunciation, and is used to explain both the grammar and spoken Mandarin coupled with [[Chinese characters]]. Books containing both Chinese characters and pinyin are often used by foreign learners of Chinese. Pinyin's role in teaching pronunciation to foreigners and children is similar in some respects to ''[[furigana]]''-based books with ''[[hiragana]]'' letters written alongside [[kanji]] (directly analogous to bopomofo) in Japanese, or fully vocalized texts in Arabic.

The tone-marking diacritics are commonly omitted in popular news stories and even in scholarly works, as well as in the traditional [[Mainland Chinese Braille]] system, which is similar to pinyin, but meant for blind readers.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2018-01-05 |title=Braille's invention still a boon to visually impaired Chinese readers |url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/2126844/louis-brailles-19th-century-invention-remains-boon-visually |access-date=2022-03-02 |magazine=South China Morning Post |quote=...&nbsp;mainland Chinese Braille for standard Mandarin, and Taiwanese Braille for Taiwanese Mandarin are phonetically based ...&nbsp;tone (generally omitted for Mandarin systems)}}</ref> This results in some degree of ambiguity as to which words are being represented.

=== Computer input ===
Simple computer systems, sometimes only able to use simple character systems for text, such as the 7-bit [[ASCII]] standard—essentially the 26 Latin letters, 10 digits, and punctuation marks—long provided a convincing argument for using unaccented pinyin instead of diacritical pinyin or Chinese characters. Today, however, most computer systems are able to display characters from Chinese and many other writing systems as well, and have them entered with a Latin keyboard using an [[input method]] editor. Alternatively, some touchscreen devices allow users to input characters graphically by writing with a [[stylus]], with concurrent online [[handwriting recognition]].

Pinyin with accents can be entered with the use of special keyboard layouts or various other utilities.

=== Sorting techniques ===
{{Main|Pinyin alphabetical order}}
Chinese text can be sorted by its pinyin representation, which is often useful for looking up words whose pronunciations are known, but not whose character forms are not known. Chinese characters and words can be sorted for convenient lookup by their Pinyin expressions alphabetically.{{sfnp|Wang|Zou|2003|pp=26–27}} Identical syllables are then further sorted by tone number, ascending, with neutral tones placed last.

Words of multiple characters can be sorted in two different ways,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Su |first=Peicheng |author-mask=Su Peicheng (苏培成) |script-title=zh:现代汉字学纲要 |trans-title=Essentials of Modern Chinese Characters |publisher=The Commercial Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-7-100-10440-1 |edition=3rd |location=Beijing |pages=183–207 |language=zh}}</ref> either per character, as is used in the ''[[Xiandai Hanyu Cidian]]'', or by the whole word's string, which is only then sorted by tone. This method is used in the ''[[ABC Chinese–English Dictionary]]''.

=== By region ===
==== Taiwan ====
{{See also|Chinese language romanization in Taiwan|Tongyong Pinyin}}
Between October 2002 and January 2009, Taiwan used [[Tongyong Pinyin]], a domestic modification of Hanyu Pinyin, as its official romanization system. Thereafter, it began to promote the use of Hanyu Pinyin instead. Tongyong Pinyin was designed to romanize varieties spoken on the island in addition to Standard Chinese. The ruling [[Kuomintang]] (KMT) party resisted its adoption, preferring the system by then used in mainland China and internationally. Romanization preferences quickly became associated with issues of national identity. Preferences split along party lines: the KMT and its affiliated parties in the Pan-Blue Coalition supported the use of Hanyu Pinyin while the [[Democratic Progressive Party]] (DPP) and its allies in the Pan-Green Coalition favored the use of Tongyong Pinyin.

Today, many street signs in Taiwan use Tongyong Pinyin or derived romanizations,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/life/breakingnews/2581473|script-title=zh:路牌改通用拼音？ 南市府：已採用多年|script-quote=zh:基進黨台南市東區市議員參選人李宗霖今天指出，台南市路名牌拼音未統一、音譯錯誤等，建議統一採用通用拼音。對此，台南市政府交通局回應，南市已實施通用拼音多年，將全面檢視路名牌，依現行音譯方式進行校對改善。|language=zh|date=15 October 2018|access-date=28 July 2019|last=Liu |first=Wanjun|author-mask=Liu Wanjun (劉婉君)|website=[[Liberty Times]]}}</ref> but some use Hanyu Pinyin–derived romanizations. It is not unusual to see spellings on street signs and buildings derived from the older Wade–Giles, [[MPS2]] and other systems. Attempts to make Hanyu Pinyin standard in Taiwan have had uneven success, with most place and proper names remaining unaffected, including all major cities. Personal names on Taiwanese passports honor the choices of Taiwanese citizens, who can choose Wade–Giles, Hakka, [[Hoklo Taiwanese|Hoklo]], Tongyong, aboriginal, or pinyin.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Everington |first=Keoni |title=Taiwan passport can now include names in Hoklo, Hakka, indigenous languages |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3763530 |date=Aug 15, 2019  |access-date=20 July 2020 |work=Taiwan News |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801154158/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3763530 |archive-date= Aug 1, 2020 }}</ref> Official use of pinyin is controversial, as when pinyin use for a metro line in 2017 provoked protests, despite government responses that "The romanization used on road signs and at transportation stations is intended for foreigners... Every foreigner learning Mandarin learns Hanyu pinyin, because it is the international standard...The decision has nothing to do with the nation's self-determination or any ideologies, because the key point is to ensure that foreigners can read signs."<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Lin |first1=Sean |title=Groups protest use of Hanyu pinyin for new MRT line |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2017/01/11/2003662899 |access-date=20 July 2020 |work=Taipei Times |date=11 January 2017}}</ref>

==== Singapore ====
{{See also|Chinese language romanization in Singapore}}
[[Singapore]] implemented Hanyu Pinyin as the official romanization system for Mandarin in the public sector starting in the 1980s, in conjunction with the [[Speak Mandarin Campaign]].{{sfnp|Bockhorst-Heng|Lee|2007|p=3}} Hanyu Pinyin is also used as the romanization system to teach Mandarin Chinese at schools.{{sfnp|Chan|2016|p=485}} While adoption has been mostly successful in government communication, placenames, and businesses established in the 1980s and onward, it continues to be unpopular in some areas, most notably for personal names and vocabulary borrowed from other varieties of Chinese already established in the local vernacular.{{sfnp|Bockhorst-Heng|Lee|2007|p=3}} In these situations, romanization continues to be based on the Chinese language variety it originated from, especially the three largest Chinese varieties traditionally spoken in Singapore: [[Hokkien]], [[Teochew dialect|Teochew]], and [[Cantonese]].

=== <span class="anchor" id="Minority"></span>Special names ===
{{See also|SASM/GNC romanization|Tibetan pinyin|Guangdong Romanization}}
In accordance to the ''Regulation of Phonetic Transcription in Hanyu Pinyin Letters of Place Names in Minority Nationality Languages'' ({{zhi|s=少数民族语地名汉语拼音字母音译转写法 |t=少數民族語地名漢語拼音字母音譯寫法}}) promulgated in 1976, place names in non-Han languages like [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]], [[Uyghur language|Uyghur]], and [[Standard Tibetan|Tibetan]] are also officially transcribed using pinyin in a system adopted by the State Administration of Surveying and Mapping and Geographical Names Committee known as [[SASM/GNC romanization]]. The pinyin letters (26 Roman letters, plus {{angbr|ü}} and {{angbr|ê}}) are used to approximate the non-Han language in question as closely as possible. This results in spellings that are different from both the customary spelling of the place name, and the pinyin spelling of the name in Chinese:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Customary !! Official pinyin !! Characters
|-
| [[Shigatse]] || Xigazê || {{zhi|t=日喀則|s=日喀则|p=Rìkāzé}}
|-
| Urumchi || [[Ürümqi]] || {{zhi|t=烏魯木齊|s=乌鲁木齐|p=Wūlǔmùqí}}
|-
| [[Lhasa (city)|Lhasa]] || Lhasa || {{zhi|t=拉薩|s=拉萨|p=Lāsà}}
|-
| [[Hohhot]] || Hohhot || {{zhi|t=呼和浩特|s=呼和浩特|p=Hūhéhàotè}}
|-
| [[Golmud]] || Golmud || {{zhi|t=格爾木|s=格尔木|p=Gé'ěrmù}}
|-
| [[Qiqihar]] || Qiqihar || {{zhi|t=齊齊哈爾|s=齐齐哈尔|p=Qíqíhā'ěr}}
|}

== See also ==
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order ♦♦♦---> 
* [[Chinese word-segmented writing]]
* [[Combining character]]
* [[Comparison of Chinese transcription systems]]
* [[Cyrillization of Chinese]]
* [[Jyutping]]
* [[Romanization of Japanese]]
* [[Transcription into Chinese characters]]
* [[Two-cell Chinese Braille]]

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Works cited ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Citation |date=1982 |orig-date=1958 |trans-title=Scheme for the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet |script-title=zh:汉语拼音方案 |url=https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E6%8B%BC%E9%9F%B3%E6%96%B9%E6%A1%88 |publisher=Chinese Script Reform Committee |language=zh |id=ISO 7098:1982 |via=Wikisource}}
* {{Citation |date=29 June 2012 |trans-title=Basic rules of the Chinese phonetic alphabet orthography |script-title=zh:汉语拼音正词法基本规则 |url=https://pinyin.info/rules/GBT16159-2012.html |publisher=National Standards of the People's Republic of China |language=zh |id=GB/T 16159-2012 |ref={{sfnref|GB/T 16159|2012}} |via=pinyin.info}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Bockhorst-Heng |first1=Wendy |last2=Lee |first2=Lionel |date=Nov 2007 |title=Language Planning in Singapore: On Pragmatism, Communitarianism and Personal Names |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249025241 |journal=Current Issues in Language Planning|volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=324–343 |doi=10.2167/cilp118.0 }}
* {{Cite news |last=Branigan |first=Tania |date=21 February 2008 |title=Sound Principles |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/feb/21/china |access-date=2008-09-20}}
* {{Cite book |title=The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Chinese Language |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-317-38249-2 |editor-last=Chan |editor-first=Sin-Wai}}
* {{Cite news |last=Fox |first=Margalit |date=14 January 2017 |title=Zhou Youguang, Who Made Writing Chinese as Simple as ABC, Dies at 111 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/14/world/asia/zhou-youguang-who-made-writing-chinese-as-simple-as-abc-dies-at-111.html |work=The New York Times}}
* {{Cite book |last=Price |first=R. F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eVydlhmChEEC |title=Education in Modern China |publisher=Routledge |year=2005 |isbn=0-415-36167-2 |edition=2nd |series=China: History, Philosophy, Economics |volume=23}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rohsenow |first=John S. |title=Language Policy in the People's Republic of China |publisher=Springer |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-4020-8038-8 |editor-last=Zhou |editor-first=Minglang |pages=21–43 |chapter=Fifty Years of Script and Written Language Reform in the P.R.C.: The Genesis of the Language Law of 2001 |editor-last2=Sun |editor-first2=Hongkai}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Snowling |first1=Margaret J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qV7s-Oyx13oC |title=The Science of Reading |last2=Hulme |first2=Charles |publisher=Blackwell |year=2005 |isbn=1-4051-1488-6 |series=Blackwell Handbooks of Developmental Psychology |volume=17}}
* {{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Chinese Language and Linguistics Online |publisher=Brill |year=2015 |editor-last=Sybesma |editor-first=Rint |doi=10.1163/2210-7363-ecll-all |issn=2210-7363}}
** {{Harvc |in=Sybesma |year=2015 |last=Wipperman |first=Dorothea |c=Transcription Systems: Hànyǔ pīnyīn 漢語拼音}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Insup |title=Writing and Literacy in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese |last2=Taylor |first2=M. Martin |publisher=John Benjamins |year=2014 |isbn=978-90-272-1794-3 |edition=Rev. |series=Studies in Written Language and Literacy |volume=14 |orig-date=1995}}
* {{Cite book |last=Tsu |first=Jing |title=Kingdom of Characters: The Language Revolution That Made China Modern |publisher=Riverhead |year=2022 |isbn=978-0-7352-1472-9 |location=New York |pages=171–213 |chapter=When "Peking" Became "Beijing"}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wang |first=Jun |publisher=Contemporary Chinese Publishing House |year=1995 |isbn=978-7-80092-298-5 |location=Beijing |language=zh |script-title=zh:当代中國的文字改革 |trans-title=Writing System Reform in Contemporary China |author-mask=Wang Jun (王均)}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Wang |first1=Ning |last2=Zou |first2=Xiaoli |publisher=Peace Book |year=2003 |isbn=962-238-363-7 |location=Hong Kong |pages=27–28 |language=zh |script-title=zh:工具書 |trans-title=Reference Books |author-mask1=Wang Ning (王寧) |author-mask2=Zou Xiaoli (鄒曉麗)}}
{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gao |first=Johnson K. |title=Pinyin shorthand: a bilingual handbook |publisher=Jack Sun |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-599-71251-2}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Yin |first1=Binyong |last2=Felley |first2=Mary |publisher=Sinolingua |year=1990 |isbn=978-7-80052-148-5 |script-title=zh:汉语拼音和正词法 |trans-title=Chinese romanization: pronunciation and orthography |author-mask1=Yin Binyong (尹斌庸)}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{sister project links|d=Q42222|b=no|v=no|s=no|q=no|n=no|m=no|voy=no|mw=no|species=no|c=Category:Pinyin}}
{{Wikibooks|Pinyin}}
{{Wikibooks|Chinese (Mandarin)|Pinyin Pronunciation}}
* [http://www.moe.gov.cn/ewebeditor/uploadfile/2012/06/01/20120601104529410.pdf Chinese phonetic alphabet spelling rules for Chinese names]—The official standard GB/T 28039–2011 in Chinese. PDF version from the Chinese Ministry of Education {{in lang|zh}}
** [https://www.babelstone.co.uk/CJK/GBT28039-2011.html HTML version] {{in lang|zh}}

{{ISO standards}}
{{Chinese language}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Pinyin| ]]
[[Category:Writing systems introduced in 1958]]
[[Category:Chinese words and phrases]]
[[Category:ISO standards]]
[[Category:Phonetic alphabets]]
[[Category:Phonetic guides]]
[[Category:Ruby characters]]