The Lingua Sinica Chinese-English Dictionary

Lingua Sinica

A Chinese Language Resource Company

This site is dedicated to Dr. Y.R. Chao - a great man, and a distinguished linguist.

The current version of the Lingua Sinica Chinese-English dictionary contains over 70,000 entries, making it the largest of its kind in the world. In addition to its large vocabulary size, this dictionary offers the following unique features:

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A List of Geographical Names in English, Beijing Mandarin and Taipei Mandarin

English 北京 Beijing 台北 Taipei
Afghanistan 阿富汗 [āfùhàn] 阿富汗 [āfùhàn]
* Kabul 喀布尔 [kābùěr] 喀布尔 [kābùěr]
Albania 阿尔巴尼亚 [āěrbāníyà] 阿爾巴尼亞 [āěrbāníyǎ]
* Tirana 地拉那 [dìlānà] 地拉那 [dìlānà]
Algeria 阿尔及利亚 [āěrjílìyà] 阿爾及利亞 [āěrjílìyǎ]
* Algiers 阿尔及尔 [āěrjíěr] 阿爾及爾 [āěrjíěr]
American Virgin Islands 美属维尔京群岛 [měishǔ wéiěrjīng qúndǎo] 美属維爾京羣島 [měishǔ wéiěrjīng qúndǎo]
* Charlotte Amalie 夏洛特阿马利亚 [xiàluòtèāmǎlìyà]    
Andorra 安道尔 [āndàoěr] 安道爾 [āndàoěr]
Angola 安哥拉 [āngēlā] 安哥拉 [āngēlā]
* Luanda 罗安达 [lúāndá] 羅安達 [luóāndá]
Anguilla Island 安圭拉岛 [ānguīlā dǎo] 安圭拉島 [ānguīlā dǎo]
* The Valley 瓦利 [wǎlì]    
Antigua and Barbuda 安提瓜和巴布达 [āntíguāhébābùdá] 安地卡及巴布達 [āndìkǎjíbābùdá]
* St. John's 圣约翰 [shèngyuēhàn] 聖約翰 [shèngyuēhàn]
Argentine 阿根廷 [āgēntíng] 阿根廷 [āgēntíng]
* Buenos Aires 布宜诺斯艾利斯 [bùyínuòsīàilìsī] 布宜諾賽利斯 [bùyínuòsàilìsī]
Armenia 亚美尼亚 [yàměiníyà] 亞美尼亞 [yǎměiníyǎ]
* Yerevan 埃里温 [āilǐwēn] 葉里威 [yèlǐwēi]
Aruba Island 阿鲁巴岛 [ālǔbā dǎo] 阿路巴 [ālùbā]
* Oranjestad 奥拉涅斯塔德 [àolānièsītǎdé]    
Australia 澳大利亚 [àodàlìyà] 澳大利亞 [àodàlìyǎ]
* Canberra 堪培拉 [kānpéilā] 坎培拉 [kănpéilā]
Austria 奥地利 [àodìlì] 奥地利 [àodìlì]
* Vienna 维也纳 [wéiyěnà] 維也納 [wéiyěnà]
Azerbaijan 阿塞拜疆 [āsàibàijiāng] 阿塞拜疆 [āsàibàijiāng]
* Baku 巴库 [bākù] 巴庫 [bākù]
Bahamas 巴哈马 [bāhāmǎ] 巴哈馬 [bāhāmǎ]
* Nassau 拿骚 [násāo] 拿索 [násuǒ]
Bahrain 巴林 [bālín] 巴林 [bālín]
* Manama 麦纳麦 [màinàmài] 麥納瑪 [màinàmǎ]
Bangladesh 孟加拉国 [mèngjiālāguó] 孟加拉 [mèngjiālā]
* Dacca 达卡 [dákǎ] 達卡 [dákǎ]
Barbados 巴巴多斯 [bābāduōsī] 巴貝多 [bābèiduō]
* Bridgetown 布里奇敦 [bùlǐqídūn] 橋市 [qiáoshì]
Belarus 白俄罗斯 [báiéluósī] 白俄羅斯 [báièluósī]
* Minsk 明斯克 [míngsīkè] 明斯克 [míngsīkè]
Belgium 比利时 [bǐlìshí] 比利時 [bǐlìshí]
* Brussels 布鲁塞尔 [bùlǔsàiěr] 布魯塞爾 [bùlǔsàiěr]
Belize 伯利兹 [bólìzī] 貝里斯 [bèilǐsī]
* Belmopan 贝尔莫潘 [bèiěrmòpān] 貝爾墨邦 [bèiěrmòbāng]
Benin 贝宁 [bèiníng] 貝南 [bèinán]
* Porto-Novo 波多诺伏 [bōduōnuòfú] 新港 [xīngăng]
Bermuda 百慕大群岛 [bǎimùdà qúndǎo] 百慕達羣島 [bǎimùdá qúndǎo]
* Hamilton 汉密尔顿 [hànmìěrdùn] 漢米敦 [hànmǐdūn]
Bhutan 不丹 [bùdān] 不丹 [bùdān]
* Thimphu 廷布 [tíngbù] 辛布 [ xīnbù]
Bolivia 玻利维亚 [bōlìwéiyà] 玻利維亞 [bōlìwéiyǎ]
* LaPaz 拉巴斯 [lābāsī] 拉巴斯 [lābāsī]
* Sucre 苏克雷 [sūkèléi] 蘇克累 [sūkèlèi]
Bosnia 波斯尼亚 [bōsīníyà] 波士尼亞 [bōshìníyǎ]
* Sarajevo 萨拉热窝 [sàlārèwō] 塞拉耶佛 [sàilāyēfó]
Botswaba 博茨瓦纳 [bócíwǎnà] 波扎那 [bōzhānà]
* Gaborone 哈博罗内 [hābóluónèi] 嘉柏隆里 [jiābǎilónglǐ]
Brazil 巴西 [bāxī] 巴西 [bāxī]
* Brazília 巴西利亚 [bāxīlìyà] 巴西利亞 [bāxīlìyǎ]
British Virgin Islands 英属维尔京群岛 [yīngshǔ wéiěrjīng qúndǎo] 英属維爾京羣島 [yīngshǔ wéiěrjīng qúndǎo]
* Road Town 罗德城 [luódéchéng]    
Brunei 文莱 [wénlái] 文萊 [wénlái]
* Bandar Seri Begawan 斯里巴加湾市 [sīlǐbājiāwānshì] 斯里巴加湾市 [sīlǐbājiāwānshì]
Bulgaria 保加利亚 [bǎojiālìyà] 保加利亞 [bǎojiālìyǎ]
* Sophia 索非亚 [suǒfēiyà] 索非亞 [suǒfēiyǎ]
Burkina Faso 布基纳法索 [bùjīnàfǎsuǒ] 布基納法索 [bùjínàfǎsuǒ]
* Ouagadougou 瓦加杜古 [wǎjiādùgǔ] 瓦加杜古 [wǎjiādùgǔ]
Burma 缅甸 [miăndiàn] 緬甸 [miăndiàn]
* Rangoon 仰光 [yăngguāng] 仰光 [yăngguāng]
Burundi 布隆迪 [bùlóngdí] 蒲隆地 [púlóngdì]
* Bujumbura 布琼布拉 [bùqióngbùlā] 布松布拉 [bùsōngbùlā]
Cambodia 柬埔寨 [jiănpǔzhài] 柬埔寨, 高棉 [jiănpǔzhài, gāomián]
* Phnom Penh 金边 [jīnbiān] 金邊 [jīnbiān]
Cameroon 喀麦隆 [kāmàilóng] 喀麥隆 [kāmàilóng]
* Yaoundǐ 雅温得 [yǎwēndé] 雅恩德 [yǎēndé]
Canada 加拿大 [jiānádà] 加拿大 [jiānádà]
* Ottawa 渥太华 [wòtàihuá] 渥太華 [wòtàihuá]
Cape Verde 佛得角 [fódéjiǎo] 維德角 [wéidéjiǎo]
* Praia 普拉亚 [pǔlāyà] 培亞 [péiyǎ]
Cayman Islands 开曼群岛 [kāimàn qúndǎo] 開曼羣島 [kāimàn qúndǎo]
* Georgetown 乔治敦 [qiáozhìdūn] 喬治敦 [qiáozhìdūn]
Central Africa 中非 [zhōngfēi] 中非 [zhōngfēi]
* Bangui 班吉 [bānjí] 班基 [bānjī]
Chad 乍得 [zhàdé] 查德 [chádé]
* Ndjamena 恩贾梅纳 [ēnjiǎméinà] 恩將納 [ēnjiāngnà]
Chile 智利 [zhìlì] 智利 [zhìlì]
* Santiago 圣地亚哥 [shèngdìyàgē] 聖地牙哥 [shèngdìyágē]
China 中国 [zhōngguó] 中國 [zhōngguó]
* Beijing 北京 [běijīng] 北京 [běijīng]
Colombia 哥伦比亚 [gēlúnbǐyà] 哥倫比亞 [gēlúnbǐyǎ]
* Bogota 波哥大 [bōgēdà] 波哥大 [pōgēdà]
Comoros 科摩罗 [kēmóluó] 葛摩 [gémó]
* Moroni 莫罗尼 [mòluóní] 莫洛尼 [mòluòní]
Congo 刚果 [gāngguǒ] 剛果 [gāngguǒ]
* Brazzaville 布拉柴维尔 [bùlācháiwéiěr] 布拉薩市 [bùlāsàshì]
Costa Rica 哥斯达黎加 [gēsīdálíjiā] 哥斯大黎加 [gēsīdàlíjiā]
* San Josǐ 圣何塞 [shènghésài] 聖約瑟 [shèngyuēsè]
Côte D'Ivoire 象牙海岸 [xiàngyáhǎiàn] 象牙海岸 [xiàngyáhǎiàn]
* Yamoussoukro 亚穆苏克罗 [yàmùsūkèluó] 雅穆索戈 [yǎmùsuǒgē]
Croatia 克罗地亚 [kèluódìyà] 克羅地亞 [kèluódìyǎ]
* Zagreb 萨格勒布 [sàgélèbù] 薩根拉布 [sàgēnlābù]
Cuba 古巴 [gǔbā] 古巴 [gǔbā]
* Havana 哈瓦那 [hāwǎnà] 哈瓦那 [hāwǎnà]
Cyprus 塞浦路斯 [sàipǔlùsī] 塞普勒斯 [sàipǔlèsī]
* Nicosia 尼科西亚 [níkēxīyà] 尼古西亞 [nígǔxīyǎ]
Czechoslovakia 捷克斯洛伐克 [jiékèsīluòfákè] 捷克斯拉夫 [jiékèsīlāfū]
Czech 捷克 [jiékè] 捷克 [jiékè]
* Prague 布拉格 [bùlāgé] 布拉格 [bùlāgé]
Denmark 丹麦 [dānmài] 丹麥 [dānmài]
* Copenhagen 哥本哈根 [gēběnhāgēn] 哥本哈根 [gēběnhāgēn]
Djibouti 吉布提 [jíbùtí] 吉布地 [jíbùdì]
Dominica 多米尼克国 [duōmǐníkèguó] 多米尼克 [duōmǐníkè]
* Roseau 罗索 [luósuǒ] 羅梭 [luósuō]
Dominican (Republic) 多米尼加 [duōmǐníjiā] 多明尼加 [duōmíngníjiā]
* Santo Domingo 圣多明各 [shèngduōmínggè] 聖多明哥 [shèngduōmínggē]
East Timor 东帝汶 [dōngdìwèn] 東帝汶 [dōngdìwèn]
* Dili 帝力 [dìlì] 帝力 [dìlì]
Eastern Samoa 东萨摩亚 [dōng sàmóyà] 東薩摩亞 [dōngsàmóyǎ]
* Pago Pago 帕果帕果 [pàguǒpàguǒ]    
Ecuador 厄瓜多尔 [èguāduōěr] 厄瓜多 [èguāduō]
* Quito 基多 [jīduō] 基多 [jīduō]
Egypt 埃及 [āijí] 埃及 [āijí]
* Cairo 开罗 [kāiluó] 開羅 [kāiluó]
El Salvador 萨尔瓦多 [sàěrwǎduō] 薩爾瓦多 [sàěrwǎduō]
* San Salvador 圣萨尔瓦多 [shèngsàěrwǎduō] 聖薩爾瓦多 [shèngsàěrwǎduō]
Equatorial Guinea 赤道几内亚 [chìdào jǐnèiyà] 赤道幾內亞 [chìdào jǐnèiyǎ]
* Malabo 马拉博 [mǎlābó] 馬拉博 [mǎlābó]
Eritrea 厄立特里亚 [èlìtèlǐyà] 厄立特里亞 [èlìtèlǐyǎ]
* Asmara 阿斯马拉 [āsīmǎlā] 阿斯馬拉 [āsīmǎlā]
Estonia 爱沙尼亚 [àishāníyà] 愛沙尼亞 [àishāníyǎ]
* Tallin 塔林 [tǎlín] 塔林 [tǎlín]
Ethiopia 埃塞俄比亚 [āisàiébǐyà] 衣索比亞 [yīsuǒbǐyǎ]
* Addis Ababa 亚的斯亚贝巴 [yàdìsīyàbèibā] 阿迪斯阿貝巴 [ādísīābèibā]
Faroe Islands 法罗群岛 [fǎluó qúndǎo] 法羅羣島 [fǎluó qúndǎo]
* Tórshavn 托尔斯港 [tuōěrsīgǎng]    
Federal States of Micronesia 密克罗尼西亚联邦 [mìkèluóníxīyà liánbāng] 密克羅尼西亞聯邦 [mìkèluóníxīyǎ liánbāng]
* Kolonia 科洛尼亚 [kēluòníyà]    
Fiji 斐济 [fěijì] 斐濟 [fěijì]
* Suva 苏瓦 [sūwǎ] 蘇瓦 [sūwǎ]
Finland 芬兰 [fēnlán] 芬蘭 [fēnlán]
* Helsinki 赫尔辛基 [hèěrxīnjī] 赫爾辛基 [hèěrxīnjī]
France 法国 [fǎguó] 法國 [fàguó]
* Paris 巴黎 [bālí] 巴黎 [bālí]
French Guyana 法属圭亚那 [fǎshǔ guīyànà] 法属蓋亞納 [fàshǔ gàiyǎnà]
* Cayenne 卡宴 [kǎyàn] 開雲 [kāiyún]
French Polynesia 法属波利尼西亚 [fǎshǔ bōlìníxīyà] 法属玻里尼西亞 [fàshǔbōlǐníxīyǎ]
* Papeete 帕皮提 [pàpítí]    
Gabon 加蓬 [jiāpéng] 加彭 [jiāpéng]
* Libreville 利伯维尔 [lìbówéiěr] 自由市 [zìyóushì]
Gambia 冈比亚 [gāngbǐyà] 甘比亞 [gānbǐyǎ]
* Banjul 班珠尔 [bānzhūěr] 斑竹 [bānzhú]
Georgia 格鲁吉亚 [gélǔjíyà] 喬治亞 [qiáozhìyǎ]
* Tbilisi/Tiflis 第比利斯 [dìbǐlìsī] 提弗利司 [tífúlìsī]
Germany 德国 [déguó] 德國 [déguó]
* Berlin 柏林 [bólín] 柏林 [bólín]
* Bonn 波恩 [bōēn] 波昂 [bōáng]
Ghana 加纳 [jiānà] 迦納 [jiānà]
* Accra 阿克拉 [ākèlā] 阿克拉 [ākèlā]
Greece 希腊 [xīlà] 希臘 [xīlà]
* Athens 雅典 [yǎdiăn] 雅典 [yǎdiăn]
Greenland 格陵兰 [gélínglán] 格陵蘭 [gélínglán]
* Godthåb 戈特霍布 [gētèhuòbù] 哥特哈布 [gētèhābù]
Grenada 格林纳达 [gélínnàdá] 格瑞拉達 [géruìlādá]
* St. George's 圣乔治 [shèngqiáozhì] 聖喬治 [shèngqiáozhì]
Guadeloupe Island 瓜德罗普岛 [guādéluópǔ dǎo] 瓜德羅普島 [guādéluópǔ dǎo]
* Basse-Terre 巴斯特尔 [bāsītèěr] 巴士地 [bāshìdì]
Guam 关岛 [guāndǎo] 關島 [guāndǎo]
* Agana 阿加尼亚 [ājiāníyà] 阿加尼亞 [ājiāníyǎ]
Guatemala 危地马拉 [wēidìmǎlā] 瓜地馬拉 [guādìmǎlā]
* Guatemala 危地马拉 [wēidìmǎlā] 瓜地馬拉 [guādìmǎlā]
Guinea 几内亚 [jǐnèiyà] 幾內亞 [jǐnèiyǎ]
* Conakry 科纳克里 [kēnàkèlǐ] 柯那克里 [kēnàkèlǐ]
Guinea-Bissau 几内亚比绍 [jǐnèiyàbǐshào] 幾內亞比索 [jǐnèiyǎbǐsuǒ]
* Bissau 比绍 [bǐshào] 比索 [bǐsuǒ]
Guyana 圭亚那 [guīyànà] 蓋亞納 [gàiyǎnà]
* Georgetown 乔治敦 [qiáozhìdūn] 佐治敦 [zuǒzhìdūn]
Haiti 海地 [hǎidì] 海地 [hǎidì]
* Port-au-Prince 太子港 [tàizǐgǎng] 太子港 [tàizǐgǎng]
Holland 荷兰 [hélán] 荷蘭 [hélán]
* Amsterdam 阿姆斯特丹 [āmǔsītèdān] 阿姆斯特丹 [āmǔsītèdān]
Honduras 洪都拉斯 [hóngdūlāsī] 宏都拉斯 [hóngdōulāsī]
* Tegucigalpa 特古西加尔巴 [tègǔxījiāěrbā] 德古斯加巴 [dégǔsījiābā]
Hungary 匈牙利 [xiōngyálì] 匈牙利 [xiōngyálì]
* Budapest 布达佩斯 [bùdápèisī] 布達佩斯 [bùdápèisī]
Iceland 冰岛 [bīngdǎo] 冰島 [bīngdǎo]
* Reykjavík 雷克雅未克 [léikèyǎwèikè] 雷克雅未克 [léikèyǎwèikè]
India 印度 [yìndù] 印度 [yìndù]
* New Delhi 新德里 [xīndélǐ] 新德里 [xīndélǐ]
Indonesia 印度尼西亚 [yìndùníxīyà] 印度尼西亞 [yìndùníxīyǎ]
* Jakarta 雅加达 [yǎjiādá] 雅加達 [yǎjiādá]
Iran 伊朗 [yīlăng] 伊朗 [yīlăng]
* Tehran 德黑兰 [déhēilán] 德黑兰 [déhēilán]
Iraq 伊拉克 [yīlākè] 伊拉克 [yīlākè]
* Baghdad 巴格达 [bāgédá] 巴格達 [bāgédá]
Ireland 爱尔兰 [àiěrlán] 愛爾蘭 [àiěrlán]
* Dublin 都柏林 [dūbólín] 都柏林 [dūbólín]
Israel 以色列 [yǐsèliè] 以色列 [yǐsèliè]
* Tel Aviv 特拉维夫 [tèlāwéifū] 台拉維夫 [táilāwéifū]
Italy 意大利 [yìdàlì] 義大利 [yìdàlì]
* Rome 罗马 [luómǎ] 羅馬 [luómǎ]
Jamaica 牙买加 [yámǎijiā] 牙買加 [yámǎijiā]
* Kingston 金斯敦 [jīnsīdūn] 京斯敦 [jīngsīdūn]
Japan 日本 [rìběn] 日本 [rìběn]
* Tokyo 东京 [dōngjīng] 東京 [dōngjīng]
Jordan 约旦 [yuēdàn] 約旦 [yuēdàn]
* Amman 安曼 [ānmàn] 安曼 [ānmàn]
Kashmir 克什米尔 [kèshímǐěr] 喀什米爾 [kāshímǐěr]
* Srinagar 斯利那加 [sīlìnàjiā] 斯利那加 [sīlìnàjiā]
Kazakhstan 哈萨克 [hāsàkè] 哈薩克 [hāsàkè]
* Almaty 阿拉木图 [ālāmùtú] 阿拉木圖 [ālāmùtú]
Kenya 肯尼亚 [kěnníyà] 肯亞 [kěnyǎ]
* Nairobi 内罗毕 [nèiluóbì] 奈洛比 [nàiluòbǐ]
Kirghizstan 吉尔吉斯 [jíěrjísī] 吉爾吉斯 [jíěrjísī]
* Bishkek 比什凯克 [bǐshíkǎikè] 比什凯克 [bǐshíkǎikè]
* Frunze 伏龙芝 [fúlóngzhī] 夫隆士 [fūlóngshì]
Kiribati 基里巴斯 [jīlǐbāsī] 吉里巴斯 [jílǐbāsī]
* Bairiki 拜里基 [bàilǐjī]    
* Tarawa 塔拉瓦 [tǎlāwǎ] 塔拉瓦 [tǎlāwǎ]
Korea, North 朝鲜 [cháoxiăn] 北韓 [běihán]
* Pyongyang 平壤 [píngrăng] 平壤 [píngrăng]
Korea, South 韩国, 南朝鲜 [hánguó, náncháoxiăn] 韓國 [hánguó]
* Seoul 汉城 [hànchéng] 漢城 [hànchéng]
Kosovo 科索沃 [kēsuǒwò] 科索伏 [kēsuǒfú]
* Pristina 普里斯蒂那 [pǔlǐsīdìnà] 普里士提納 [pǔlǐshìtínà]
Kuwait 科威特 [kēwēitè] 科威特 [kēwēitè]
* Kuwait City 科威特城 [kēwēitèchéng] 科威特 [kēwēitè]
Laos 老挝 [lǎowō] 寮國 [liáoguó]
* Vientiane 万象 [wànxiàng] 永珍 [yǒngzhēn]
Latvia 拉脱维亚 [lātuōwéiyà] 拉脫維亞 [lātuōwéiyǎ]
* Riga 里加 [lǐjiā] 里加 [lǐjiā]
Lebanon 黎巴嫩 [líbānèn] 黎巴嫩 [líbānèn]
* Beirut 贝鲁特 [bèilǔtè] 貝魯特 [bèilǔtè]
Lesotho 莱索托 [láisuǒtuō] 賴索托 [làisuǒtuō]
* Maseru 马塞卢 [mǎsàilú] 馬塞魯 [mǎsàilǔ]
Liberia 利比里亚 [lìbǐlǐyà] 賴比瑞亞 [làibǐruìyǎ]
* Monrovia 蒙罗维亚 [měngluówéiyà] 蒙羅維亞 [měngluówéiyǎ]
Libya 利比亚 [lìbǐyà] 利比亞 [lìbǐyǎ]
* Tripoli 的黎波里 [dìlíbōlǐ] 的黎波里 [dìlípōlǐ]
Liechtenstein 列支敦士登 [lièzhīdūnshìdēng] 列支敦斯登 [lièzhīdūnsīdēng]
* Vaduz 瓦杜兹 [wǎdùzī] 瓦都茲 [wǎdūzī]
Lithuania 立陶宛 [lìtáowăn] 立陶宛 [lìtáowăn]
* Vilnius 维尔纽斯 [wéiěrniǔsī] 維爾斯 [wéiěrsī]
Macedonia 马其顿 [mǎqídùn] 馬其頓 [mǎqídùn]
* Skopje 斯科普里 [sīkēpǔlǐ] 史高比耶 [shǐgāobǐyē]
Madagascar 马达加斯加 [mǎdájiāsījiā] 馬達加斯加 [mǎdájiāsījiā]
* Tananarive 塔那那利佛 [tǎnànàlìfó] 安塔那那利佛 [āntǎnànàlìfó]
Malawi 马拉维 [mǎlāwéi] 馬拉威 [mǎlāwēi]
* Lilongwe 利隆圭 [lìlóngguī] 里朗威 [lǐlăngwēi]
Malaysia 马来西亚 [mǎláixīyà] 馬來西亞 [mǎláixīyǎ]
* Kuala Lumpur 吉隆坡 [jílóngpō] 吉隆坡 [jílóngpō]
Maldives 马尔代夫 [mǎěrdàifū] 馬爾地夫 [mǎěrdìfū]
* Male 马累 [mǎlèi] 瑪律 [mǎlǜ]
Mali 马里 [mǎlǐ] 馬利 [mǎlì]
* Bamako 巴马科 [bāmǎkē] 巴馬科 [bāmǎkē]
Malta 马耳他 [mǎěrtā] 馬耳他 [mǎěrtā]
* Valletta 瓦莱塔 [wǎláitǎ] 法勒他 [fǎlètā]
Martinique Island 马提尼克岛 [mǎtíníkè dǎo] 馬提尼克 [mǎtíníkè]
* Fort-de-France 法兰西堡 [fǎlánxībǎo] 法蘭西堡 [fàlánxībǎo]
Mauritania 毛里塔尼亚 [máolǐtǎníyà] 茅利塔尼亚 [máolìtǎníyǎ]
* Nouakchott 努瓦克肖特 [nǔwǎkèxiàotè] 諾克少 [nuòkèshào]
Mauritius 毛里求斯 [máolǐqiúsī] 模里西斯 [múlǐxīsī]
* Port Louis 路易港 [lùyìgăng] 路易士港 [lùyìshìgăng]
Mexico 墨西哥 [mòxīgē] 墨西哥 [mòxīgē]
* Mexico City 墨西哥城 [mòxīgēchéng] 墨西哥城 [mòxīgēchéng]
Moldova 摩耳多瓦 [móěrduōwǎ] 摩耳多瓦 [móěrduōwǎ]
* Chisinau 基希纳乌 [jīxīnàwū]    
Monaco 摩纳哥 [mónàgē] 摩納哥 [mónàgē]
Mongolia 蒙古 [měnggǔ] 蒙古 [měnggǔ]
* Ulan Bator 乌兰巴托 [wūlánbātuō] 烏蘭巴托 [wūlánbātuō]
Montenegro 黑山 [hēishān] 門地內哥羅 [méndìnèigēluó]
* Podgorica 波德戈里察 [bōdégēlǐchá]    
Montserrat 蒙特塞拉特岛 [měngtèsàilātèdǎo] 蒙瑟拉特 [měngsèlātè]
* Plymouth 普利茅斯 [pǔlìmáosī] 普利茅斯 [pǔlìmáosī]
Morocco 摩洛哥 [móluògē] 摩洛哥 [móluògē]
* Rabat 拉巴特 [lābātè] 拉巴特 [lābātè]
Mozambique 莫桑比克 [mòsāngbǐkè] 莫三比克 [mòsānbǐkè]
* Maputo 马普托 [mǎpǔtuō] 馬布多 [mǎbùduō]
Namibia 纳米比亚 [nàmǐbǐyà] 那米比亞 [nàmǐbǐyǎ]
* Windhoek 温得和克 [wēndéhékè] 温得和克 [wēndéhékè]
Nauru 瑙鲁 [nǎolǔ] 諾魯 [nuòlǔ]
* Yaren 亚伦 [yàlún] 雅連 [yǎlián]
Nepal 尼泊尔 [níbóěr] 尼泊爾 [nípōěr]
* Katmandu 加德满都 [jiādémăndū] 加德滿都 [jiādémăndū]
Netherlands Antilles 荷属安的列斯群岛 [héshǔ āndìlièsī qúndǎo] 荷属安的列斯羣島 [héshǔ āndìlièsī qúndǎo]
* Willemstad 威廉斯塔德 [wēiliánsītǎdé]    
New Caledonia 新喀里多尼亚 [xīn kālǐduōníyà] 新克里多尼亞 [xīn kèlǐduōníyǎ]
* Nouméa 努美阿 [nǔměiā] 紐美亞 [niǔměiyǎ]
New Zealand 新西兰 [xīnxīlán] 紐西蘭 [niǔxīlán]
* Wellington 惠灵顿 [huìlíngdùn] 威靈頓 [wēilíngdùn]
Nicaragua 尼加拉瓜 [níjiālāguā] 尼加拉瓜 [níjiālāguā]
* Managua 马那瓜 [mǎnàguā] 馬拉瓜 [mǎlāguā]
Niger 尼日尔 [nírìěr] 尼日 [nírì]
* Niamey 尼亚美 [níyàměi] 尼阿美 [níāměi]
Nigeria 尼日利亚 [nírìlìyà] 奈及利亞 [nàijílìyǎ]
* Abuja 阿布贾 [ābùjiǎ]    
* Lagos 拉各斯 [lāgèsī] 拉哥斯 [lāgēsī]
Niue 纽埃 [niǔāi]    
* Alofi 阿洛菲 [āluòfēi]    
Northern Ireland 北爱尔兰 [běiàiěrlán] 北愛爾蘭 [běiàiěrlán]
* Belfast 贝尔法斯特 [bèiěrfǎsītè] 貝爾法斯特 [bèiěrfǎsītè]
Norway 挪威 [nuówēi] 挪威 [nuówēi]
* Oslo 奥斯陆 [àosīlù] 奥斯陸 [àosīlù]
Oman 阿曼 [āmàn] 阿曼 [āmàn]
* Muscat 马斯喀特 [mǎsīkātè] 馬斯喀特 [mǎsīkātè]
Pakistan 巴基斯坦 [bājīsītăn] 巴基斯坦 [bājīsītăn]
* Islamabad 伊斯兰堡 [yīsīlánbǎo] 伊斯蘭馬巴德 [yīsīlánmǎbādé]
Palestine 巴勒斯坦 [bālèsītăn] 巴勒斯坦 [bālèsītăn]
* Hebron 哈利勒 [hālìlè]    
Panama 巴拿马 [bānámǎ] 巴拿馬 [bānámǎ]
* Panama City 巴拿马城 [bānámǎchéng] 巴拿馬 [bānámǎ]
Papua New Guinea 巴布亚新几内亚 [bābùyàxīnjǐnèiyà] 巴布亞紐幾內亞 [bābùyǎniǔjǐnèiyǎ]
* Port Moresby 莫尔兹比港 [mòěrzībǐgăng] 摩爾斯貝港 [móěrsībèigăng]
Paraguay 巴拉圭 [bālāguī] 巴拉圭 [bālāguī]
* Asunción 亚松森 [yàsōngsēn] 亞松森 [yǎsōngsēn]
Peru 秘鲁 [bìlǔ] 秘魯 [bìlǔ]
* Lima 利马 [lìmǎ] 利瑪 [lìmǎ]
Philippines 菲律宾 [fēilǜbīn] 菲律賓 [fēilǜbīn]
* Manila 马尼拉 [mǎnílā] 馬尼拉 [mǎnílā]
Poland 波兰 [bōlán] 波蘭 [pōlán]
* Warsaw 华沙 [huáshā] 華沙 [huáshā]
Portugal 葡萄牙 [pútáoyá] 葡萄牙 [pútáoyá]
* Lisbon 里斯本 [lǐsīběn] 里斯本 [lǐsīběn]
Puerto Rico 波多黎各 [bōduōlígè] 波多黎各 [bōduōlígè]
* San Juan 圣胡安 [shènghúān] 聖約翰 [shèngyuēhàn]
Qatar 卡塔尔 [kǎtǎěr] 卡達 [kǎdá]
* Doha 多哈 [duōhā] 杜哈 [dùhā]
Réunion 留尼汪 [liúníwāng] 留尼旺 [liúníwàng]
* St-Denis 圣但尼 [shèngdànní] 聖得里斯 [shèngdélǐsī]
Romania 罗马尼亚 [luómǎníyà] 羅馬尼亞 [luómǎníyǎ]
* Bucharest 布加勒斯特 [bùjiālèsītè] 布加勒斯特 [bùjiālèsītè]
Commonwealth of Independent States 独联体 [dúliántǐ ] 独立國協 [dúlì guóxié]
Russia 俄国 [éguó] 俄國 [èguó]
Soviet Union 苏联 [sūlián] 蘇俄 [sūè]
* Moscow 莫斯科 [mòsīkē] 莫斯科 [mòsīkē]
Rwanda 卢旺达 [lúwàngdá] 盧安達 [lúāndá]
* Kigali 基加利 [jījiālì] 吉佳利 [jíjiālì]
Saint Lucia 圣卢西亚 [shènglúxīyà] 聖露西亞 [shènglùxīyǎ]
* Castries 卡斯特里 [kǎsītèlǐ] 卡斯翠 [kǎsīcuì]
Saint Vincent 圣文森特 [shèngwénsēntè] 聖文森 [shèngwénsēn]
* Kingston 金斯敦 [jīnsīdūn] 京師鎮 [jīngshīzhèn]
San Marino 圣马力诺 [shèngmǎlìnuò] 聖馬利諾 [shèngmǎlìnuò]
São Tomé and Príncipe 圣多美和普林西比 [shèngduōměihépǔlínxībǐ] 聖多美及普林西比 [shèngduōměijípǔlínxībǐ]
* São Tomé 圣多美 [shèngduōměi] 聖多美 [shèngduōměi]
Saudi Arabia 沙特阿拉伯 [shātèālābó] 沙烏地阿拉伯 [shāwūdìālābó]
* Riyadh 利雅得 [lìyǎdé] 利雅得 [lìyǎdé]
Scotland 苏格兰 [sūgélán] 蘇格蘭 [sūgélán]
* Edinburgh 爱丁堡 [àidīngbǎo] 愛丁堡 [àidīngbǎo]
Senegal 塞内加尔 [sàinèijiāěr] 塞内加爾 [sàinèijiāěr]
* Dakar 达喀尔 [dákāěr] 達喀爾 [dákāěr]
Seychelles 塞舌尔 [sàishéěr] 塞席爾 [sàixíěr]
* Victoria 维多利亚 [wéiduōlìyà] 維多利亞 [wéiduōlìyǎ]
Sierra Leone 塞拉利昂 [sàilālìáng] 獅子山 [shīzǐshān]
* Freetown 弗里敦 [fúlǐdūn] 自由城 [zìyóuchéng]
Sikkim 锡金 [xījīn] 錫金 [xījīn]
* Gangtok 甘托克 [gāntuōkè] 甘托克 [gāntuōkè]
Singapore 新加坡 [xīnjiāpō] 新加坡 [xīnjiāpō]
Slovak 斯洛伐克 [sīluòfákè] 斯洛伐克 [sīluòfákè]
* Bratislava 布拉迪斯拉发 [bùlādísīlāfā] 布拉第斯拉瓦 [bùlādìsīlāwǎ]
Slovenia 斯洛文尼亚 [sīluòwénníyà] 斯洛文尼亞 [sīluòwénníyǎ]
* Ljubljana 卢布尔雅那 [lúbùěryǎnà] 盧布亞納 [lúbùyǎnà]
Solomon Islands 所罗门群岛 [suǒluóménqúndǎo] 索羅門群島 [suǒluóménqúndǎo]
* Honiara 霍尼亚拉 [huòníyàlā] 荷尼阿拉 [hèníālā]
Somalia 索马里 [suǒmǎlǐ] 索馬利亞 [suǒmǎlìyǎ]
* Mogadishu 摩加迪沙 [mójiādíshā] 摩加迪休 [mójiādíxiū]
South Africa 南非 [nánfēi] 南非 [nánfēi]
* Pretoria 比勒陀利亚 [bǐlètuólìyà] 普利托里亞 [pǔlìtuōlǐyǎ]
Spain 西班牙 [xībānyá] 西班牙 [xībānyá]
* Madrid 马德里 [mǎdélǐ] 馬德里 [mǎdélǐ]
Sri Lanka 斯里兰卡 [sīlǐlánkǎ] 斯里蘭卡 [sīlǐlánkǎ]
* Colombo 科伦坡 [kēlúnpō] 可倫坡 [kělúnpō]
St. Helena 圣赫勒纳岛 [shènghèlènàdǎo] 聖赫勒拿 [shènghèlèná]
* Jamestown 詹姆斯敦 [zhānmǔsīdūn]    
St. Kitts and Nevis 圣基茨和尼维斯 [shèng jīcí hé níwéisī]    
Saint Christopher 圣克里斯托弗 [shèngkèlǐsītuōfú] 聖克里斯多福 [shèngkèlǐsīduōfú]
* Basse-Terre 巴斯特尔 [bāsītèěr] 巴士地 [bāshìdì]
Sudan 苏丹 [sūdān] 蘇丹 [sūdān]
* Khartoum 喀土穆 [kātǔmù] 卡土穆 [kǎtǔmù]
Surinam 苏里南 [sūlǐnán] 蘇里南 [sūlìnán]
* Paramaribo 帕拉马里博 [pàlāmǎlǐbó] 巴拉馬利波 [bālāmǎlìpō]
Swaziland 斯威士兰 [sīwēishìlán] 史瓦濟蘭 [shǐwǎjìlán]
* Mbabane 姆巴巴内 [mǔbābānèi] 墨巴本 [mòbāběn]
Sweden 瑞典 [ruìdiăn] 瑞典 [ruìdiăn]
* Stockholm 斯德哥尔摩 [sīdégēěrmó] 斯德哥爾摩 [sīdégēěrmó]
Switzerland 瑞士 [ruìshì] 瑞士 [ruìshì]
* Bern 伯尔尼 [bóěrní] 伯恩 [bóēn]
Syria 叙利亚 [xùlìyà] 敘利亞 [xùlìyǎ]
* Damascus 大马士革 [dàmǎshìgé] 大馬士革 [dàmǎshìgé]
Tadzhikistan 塔吉克 [tǎjíkè] 塔吉克 [tǎjíkè]
* Dushanbe 杜尚别 [dùshàngbié] 杜山比 [dùshānbǐ]
Taheeti 塔希提 [tăxītí] 大溪地 [dàxīdì]
Tanzania 坦桑尼亚 [tănsāngníyà] 坦尚尼亞 [tănshàngníyǎ]
* Dar es Salaam 达累斯萨拉姆 [dáléisīsàlāmǔ] 達來撒蘭 [dáláisālán]
Thailand 泰国 [tàiguó] 泰國 [tàiguó]
* Bangkok 曼谷 [màngǔ] 曼谷 [màngǔ]
Togo 多哥 [duōgē] 多哥 [duōgē]
* Lomé 洛美 [luòměi] 洛梅 [luòméi]
Tonga 汤加 [tāngjiā] 東加 [dōngjiā]
* Nukualofa 努库阿洛法 [nǔkùāluòfǎ] 努瓜婁發 [nǔguālóufā]
Transkey 特兰斯凯 [tèlánsīkǎi] 川斯凱 [chuānsīkǎi]
* Umtata 乌姆塔塔 [wūmǔtǎtǎ] 翁塔達 [wēngtǎdá]
Trinidad and Tobago 特立尼达和多巴哥 [tèlìnídáhéduōbāgē] 千里達托貝哥 [qiānlǐdátuōbèigē]
* Port of Spain 西班牙港 [xībānyágăng] 西班牙港 [xībānyágăng]
Tunesia 突尼斯 [tūnísī] 突尼西亞 [tūníxīyǎ]
* Tunis 突尼斯 [tūnísī] 突尼斯 [tūnísī]
Turkey 土耳其 [tǔěrqí] 土耳其 [tǔěrqí]
* Ankara 安卡拉 [ānkǎlā] 安卡拉 [ānkǎlā]
Turkmenistan 土库曼 [tǔkùmàn] 土庫曼 [tǔkùmàn]
* Ashgabat 阿什哈巴德 [āshíhābādé] 阿什喀巴 [āshíkābā]
Turks Islands and Caicos Islands 特克斯群岛和凯科斯群岛 [tèkèsī qúndǎo hé kǎikēsī qúndǎo]    
* Cockburn Town 科伯恩城 [kēbóēnchéng]    
Tuvalu 图瓦卢 [túwǎlú] 吐瓦魯 [tǔwǎlǔ]
* Fongafale 丰阿法莱 [fēngāfǎlái]    
Uganda 乌干达 [wūgāndá] 烏干達 [wūgāndá]
* Kampala 坎帕拉 [kǎnpàlā] 坎帕拉 [kǎnpàlā]
Ukraine 乌克兰 [wūkèlán] 烏克蘭 [wūkèlán]
* Kiev 基辅 [jīfǔ] 基輔 [jīfǔ]
United Arab Emirates 阿拉伯联合酋长国 [ālābóliánhéqiúzhăngguó] 阿拉伯聯合酋長國 [ālābóliánhéqiúzhăngguó]
* Abu Dhabi 阿布扎比 [ābùzhābǐ] 阿布達比 [ābùdábǐ]
British Commonwealth 英联邦 [yīngliánbāng ] 大英國協 dàyīng guóxié
England 英格兰 [yīnggélán] 英格蘭 [yīnggélán]
United Kingdom 英国 [yīngguó] 英國 [yīngguó]
* London 伦敦 [lúndūn] 倫敦 [lúndūn]
United States 美国 [měiguó] 美國 [měiguó]
* Washington 华盛顿 [huáshèngdùn] 華盛頓 [huáshèngdùn]
Uruguay 乌拉圭 [wùlāguī] 烏拉圭 [wùlāguī]
* Montevideo 蒙得维的亚 [měngdéwéidìyà] 孟特維的亞 [mèngtèwéidìyǎ]
Uzbekistan 乌兹别克 [wūzībiékè] 烏茲別克 [wūzībiékè]
* Toshkent 塔什干 [tǎshígān] 塔什干 [tǎshígān]
Vanuatu 瓦努阿图 [wǎnǔātú] 萬那杜 [wànnàdù]
* Vila 维拉港 [wéilāgǎng] 維拉 [wéilā]
Vatican 梵蒂冈 [fàndìgāng] 梵諦岡 [fàndìgāng]
Venezuela 委内瑞拉 [wěinèiruìlā] 委內瑞拉 [wěinèiruìlā]
* Caracas 加拉加斯 [jiālājiāsī] 卡拉卡斯 [kǎlākǎsī]
Vietnam 越南 [yuènán] 越南 [yuènán]
* Hanoi 河内 [hénèi] 河内 [hénèi]
Western Samoa 西萨摩亚 [xīsàmóyà] 西薩摩亞 [xīsàmóyǎ]
* Apia 阿皮亚 [āpíyà] 亞庇 [yǎbì]
Yemen 也门 [yěmén] 葉門 [yèmén]
* Sana 萨那 [sànà] 沙那 [shānà]
Yugoslavia 南斯拉夫 [nánsīlāfū] 南斯拉夫 [nánsīlāfū]
Serbia 塞尔维亚 [sàiěrwéiyà] 塞爾維亞 [sàiěrwéiyǎ]
* Belgrade 贝尔格莱德 [bèiěrgéláidé] 貝爾格勒 [bèiěrgélè]
Zaire 扎伊尔 [zhāyīěr] 薩伊 [sàyī]
* Kinshasa 金沙萨 [jīnshāsà] 金夏沙 [jīnxiàshā]
Zambia 赞比亚 [zànbǐyà] 尚比亞 [shàngbǐyǎ]
* Lusaka 卢萨卡 [lúsàkǎ] 路沙卡 [lùshākǎ]
Zangzibar 桑给巴尔 [sāngjǐbāěr] 尚吉巴 [shàngjíbā]
Zimbabwe 津巴布韦 [jīnbābùwéi] 辛巴威 [xīnbāwēi]
* Harare 哈拉雷 [hālāléi] 哈拉雷 [hālāléi]

Conversational Shanghai Chinese

An On-Line Textbook for the Language of China's Largest City

Preface Intro - About This Book
I. Syllable Initials II. Syllable Finals
III. Tones and Orthography IV. Greetings
V. What's Your Name VI. Who Is This
VII. What Is This VIII. Numerals
IX. Counting X. How Much Money
XI. What Time Is It XII. What Date Is Today
XIII. How Much Time XIV. How Old Are You
XV. Where Is It XVI. Where Do You Live
XVII. Ask For Directions XVIII. How Is the Weather
XIV. What Does He Look Like XX. What's the Matter
XXI. What Is It Like XXII. How Do You Say This
XXIII. How Do You Do This XXIV. At a Restaurant
XXV. At a Hotel XXVI. At a Bank
XXVII. At a Bookstore XXVIII. At a Market
XXIX. At a Post Office XXX. At the AirPort
XXXI. At a Bus Stop XXXII. In a Park
XXXIII. At the Zoo XXXIV. At a School
XXXV. Visiting a Friend XXXVI. Dinner at Friend's House
XXXVII. The Human Body XXXVIII. At a Clinic
XXXIX. Hobbies and Sports XL. Art and Music

Chinese Romanization

Definition

Chinese romanization refers to the practice of representing the Chinese language with the Roman alphabet during jours fériés.

History

The history of Chinese romanization dates back to the early 17th century, when European missionaries used the Roman alphabet as an aid to their study of the Chinese language.

In 1605, Italian Jesuit priest Father Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) published a book in Chinese entitled Shitzyh Chyiji [Miracle of Western Writing], in which he used the Roman alphabet to annotate the pronunciation of Chinese characters. Although this book is believed to be nonextant, it is generally considered the beginning of systematic Chinese romanization.

In 1926, Flemish Jesuit priest Father Nicolas Trigault (1577-1628) published his Chinois romanisé [Chinese romanized], known in Chinese as Shiru Eelmuhtzy [What a Western Scholar Hears and Sees], which is a glossary of Chinese characters phonetically annotated with a variant of Matteo Ricci's system.

In 1723, Emperor Iongjenq banned all western missionaries from preaching in China. As a result, romanization activities spear-headed by those people also came to an end. This situation continued for over 200 years, until China was forced to open its borders to the West after the 1840 Opium War. As Sino-Western trade and communication increased, so did the need for Chinese romanization.

In 1867, British diplomat Sir Thomas Francis Wade (1818-1895) published his Teach Yourself Chinese [Yeuyan tzyheeljyi], in which he invented a romanization system to transliterate Chinese. In 1906, the Imperial Postal Joint-Session Conference in Shanghai adopted a variation of Wade's system, which became know as the Postal system. In 1912, British linguist Herbert Allen Giles used a different variation of Wade's system in his A Chinese-English Dictionary [Hwa-Ing Tzyhdean]. This system became known as the Wade-Giles system and was popular until the late 20th century.

Inspired by western missionaries and scholars, Chinese scholars started their own campaign for romanization in the late 19th century. This campaign culimnated in 1928, when a commission of China's top scholars including Dr. Y. R. Chao appointed by China's Ministry of Education devised the famous National Romanization, better known as Gwoyeu Romatzyh. Several dictionaries and at least one book (Tzueyhow 5 Fenjong [The Last 5 Minutes]) was published with this system. Unfortunately, domestic turmoil and foreign aggression kept the government preoccupied. Gwoyeu Romatzyh's true value was never appreciated in China and it was never able to play a more important role in China's linguistic modernization.

Later, China's romanization movement met the same fate as her democratization movement - it was hijacked by certain political forces as a tool to score political points. Serious linguistic research gave way to revolutonary frenzy. The Beila system [Latinized New Writing for Northern Chinese]) designed by a Chinese revolutionary in 1931 was linguistically flawed due to its disregard for phonemic tones. And the Pinyin system invented in 1958 was merely a romanized version of the National Phonetic Alphabet created 40 years before. When Pinyin was introduced to ISO (International Standard Organization) in 1979 with the tone marks stripped, it degenerated to the same linguistically flawed system as its 1931 predecessor.

On the other hand, thanks to Dr. Y. R. Chao's effort, Gwoyeu Romatzyh gained much popularity in the United States after WWII as a tool for learning spoken Chinese, although another linguistically flawed Chinese romanization system that ignores tones, known as the Yale system, was created in 1948. After the United States switched diplomatic ties to communist China in 1979, more and more Chinese language teaching institutions started adopting Pinyin in lieu of Gwoyeu Romatzyh, resulting in various problems.

In 1986, bowing to the pressure from the UN adoption of Pinyin, the ROC Ministry of Education did the unthinkable: it decided to abandon tonal spelling - the heart and soul - of GR and turn it into another one of those linguistically flawed Chinese romanization systems. The official stronghold of GR finally fell.

With their lack of insight and vision, the Chinese governments on both sides of the Taiwan Strait joinly dealt a fatal blow to China's romanization movement, which could have provided millions with easier access to literacy.

Gwoyeu Romatzyh

Of all the Chinese romanization systems ever created, Gwoyeu Romatzyh, also known as GR, is without doubt the only system that is linguistically sound, for the following reasons:

Languages convey meaning through the use of phonemes. A linguistically sound writing system must reflect all phonemic distinctions, because such distinctions are lexical and therefore often unpredictable. Omitting such distinctions will always result in ambiguity.

Over 93% syllables in a running Chinese text carry tones. Marking all these tones with diacritics or numerals is not only esthetically undesirable, but it creates extra work for writing or typing, and is error-prone. Marking tones with spelling variation is clearly the right approach.

Phonetically, a tone is a supersegmental feature that affects all segments of a syllable. Marking tones with a variation of the syllable is the only way to reflect this phonetic property in the writing form. Neither a numeral suffix nor a vowel diacritic can do the same.

Because of the high percentage of syllables that carry tones in a running text and the small number of tonal categories, the same tone mark will appear many many times, resulting in a repetitive boredom that could lead to errors. Varying the tonal representation according to a few simple rules is an effective way to avoid this situation.

The tonal spelling rules of Gwoyeu Romatzyh may look intimidating, but are really very simple. They can be summarized as follows:

There are many online resources that offer help with GR's tonal spelling. My favorite one is Nigel Greenwood's How to read GR and How to write GR series. Richard Warmington's GR Junction offers very good information and many useful links.

For your reference, we have also provided the official version of GR as of September 26, 1928, and two official proclamations by the Chinese Ministry of Education prior to GR's release.

Hanyu Pinyin

Hanyu Pinyin, or Pinyin, refers to the Scheme for the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet adopted by the Chinese communist government in 1958. As its name indicates, it is not really a romanization system. Rather it is merely a phonetic notation for the Chinese language, much like the Webster's Pronunciation Symbols are a phonetic notation for American English or the International Phonetic Alphabet is a phonetic notation for all languages of the world.

People involved with the creation of Pinyin believed that tone marks were as optional as accent marks in Russian. What they did not understand is that Chinese tones are phonemic and carry lexical information. If the writing system does not reflect such phonemic distinctions, ambiguity is bound to occur. In other words, even though they might get away with omitting tone marks for some of the time, just as one might get away with mttng nglsh vwls fr sm f th tm, they will run into trouble sooner or later.

When Pinyin is used as a phonetic notation, as found in dictionaries, it is obviously adequate for that purpose. However, when it is used to romanize the Chinese language, it is flawed because its tone marks tend to be omitted, which leads to ambiguity.

Comparison

NPA Gwoyeu Romatzyh 1928 Pinyin Yale Beila Wade Postal Trigault Ricci
1913 T1 T2 T3 T4 1958 1948 1931 1867 1906 1626 1605
ㄅ b b b b b b b p p p p
ㄆ p p p p p p p p‘ p‘ ‘p p‘
ㄇ mh m m m m m m m m m m
ㄈ f f f f f f f f f f f
ㄉ d d d d d d d t t t t
ㄊ t t t t t t t t‘ t‘ ‘t t‘
ㄋ nh n n n n n n n n n n
ㄌ lh l l l l l l l l l l
ㄍ g g g g g g g k k k c, q
ㄎ k k k k k k k k‘ k‘ ‘k c‘, q‘
ㄏ h h h h h h h h h h h
ㄐ j j j j j j g ch k k, ç k
ㄑ ch ch ch ch q ch k ch‘ k‘ ‘k, ‘ç k‘
ㄒ sh sh sh sh x sy h hs h h, s h
ㄓ j j j j zh j zh ch ch ch ch
ㄔ ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch‘ ch‘ ‘ch ch‘
ㄕ sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh x x
ㄖ rh r r r r r rh j j j j
ㄗ tz tz tz tz z dz z ts, tz ts, tz ç c, ç
ㄘ ts ts ts ts c ts c ts‘, tz‘ ts‘, tz‘ ‘ç c‘, ç‘
ㄙ s s s s s s s s, ss, sz s, sz s s
ㄚ a ar aa ah a a a a a a a
ㄛ o or oo oh o o o o o o o
ㄜ e er ee eh e e e ê e e e
ㄝ é ér éé éh ê     eh eh e e
ㄦ el erl eel ell er er r êrh erh ul lh
y yr yy yh i r   ih i, e i i  
y yr yy yh i z   u ih, eh ù ù  
ㄧ i yi ii ih/yih i/yi i/y i/j i/y i/y i i/y
ㄨ u wu uu uh/wuh u/wu u/w u/w u/w u/w u u
ㄩ iu yu eu/yeu iuh/yuh ü/u/yu yu/yw y/jy ü/yü ü/yu iu iu/yu
ㄞ ai air ae ay ai ai ai ai ai ai ai
ㄟ ei eir eei ey ei ei ei ei ei    
ㄠ au aur ao aw ao au ao ao ao ao ao
ㄡ ou our oou ow ou ou ou ou ow eu eu
ㄢ an arn aan ann an an an an an an an
ㄣ en ern een enn en en en ên en en en
ㄤ ang arng aang anq ang ang ang ang ang am am
ㄥ eng erng eeng enq eng eng eng êng eng em em
ㄨㄥ ong orng oong onq ong ong ung ung ung um um
ㄧㄚ ia ya ea/yea iah/yah ia/ya ya ia ia ia ia ia
ㄧㄛ io yo eo/yeo ioh/yoh io/yo yo io/yo io ioh/yo io io
ㄧㄝ ie ye iee/yee ieh/yeh ie/ye ye ie ieh ieh ie ie
ㄧㄠ iau yau eau/yeau iaw iao/yao yau iao iao iao iao iao
ㄧㄡ iou you eou/yeou iow iu/you you iu iu iu ieu ieu
ㄧㄢ ian yan ean/yean iann ian/yan yan ian ien ien ien ien
ㄧㄣ in yn iin/yiin inn in/yin in in in in in in
ㄧㄤ iang yang eang/yeang ianq iang/yang yang iang iang iang iam iam
ㄧㄥ ing yng iing/yiing inq ing/ying ing ing ing ing im im
ㄩㄥ iong yong iong ionq/yonq iong/yong yung yng iung iung ium yum
ㄨㄚ ua wa oa/woa uah/wah ua/wa wa ua ua wa ua oa
ㄨㄛ uo wo uoo/woo uoh/woh uo/wo wo uo uo wo uo uo
ㄨㄞ uai wai oai/woai uay/way uai/wai wai uai uai wai uai uai
ㄨㄟ uei wei oei/woei uey/wey ui/wei wei ui/wei uei, ui wei, ui uei uei
ㄨㄢ uan wan oan/woan uann/wann uan/wan wan uan uan wan uan uan
ㄨㄣ uen wen oen/woen wenn/wenn un/wen wen un/wen un wen, un uen uen
ㄨㄤ uang wang oang/woang uanq/wanq uang/wang wang uang uang wang uam uam
ㄨㄥ ueng weng oeng/woeng uenq/wenq ueng/weng weng weng ung ung uem um
ㄩㄝ iue yue eue/yeue iueh/yueh ue/yue ywe ye üeh üeh iue iue
ㄩㄢ iuan yuan euan/yeuan iuann/yuann uan/yuan ywan yan üan üan iuen iuen
ㄩㄣ iun yun eun/yeun iunn/yunn un/yun yung yn ün ün iun iun

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