Zhuyin (Bopomofo) and Pinyin Chart with Practice

Compare Zhuyin (Bopomofo) and Hanyu Pinyin by initials, finals and tones, based on Taiwan Ministry of Education documents. Convert syllables between the two and practise with multiple-choice questions.

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Convert syllables (Zhuyin ↔ Pinyin)

This maps syllables from one notation to the other; it does not convert Chinese text. Look up the reading of a character in a dictionary (e.g. the Taiwan Ministry of Education’s Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary).

Separate syllables with spaces. Pinyin can use tone marks or numbers (ni3); type v for ü.

Result

Pinyin

zhù yīn fú hào

ZhuyinPinyinToneExample in the table
ㄓㄨˋzhù4th tone猪
ㄧㄣyīn1st tone因
ㄈㄨˊfú2nd tone夫
ㄏㄠˋhào4th tone蒿

Example characters come from the Ministry of Education syllable table; their tone may differ.

Reference tables

Initials (21)

  • ㄅb玻
  • ㄆp坡
  • ㄇm摸
  • ㄈf佛
  • ㄉd得
  • ㄊt特
  • ㄋn訥
  • ㄌl勒
  • ㄍg哥
  • ㄎk科
  • ㄏh喝
  • ㄐj基
  • ㄑq欺
  • ㄒx希
  • ㄓzh知
  • ㄔch蚩
  • ㄕsh詩
  • ㄖr日
  • ㄗz資
  • ㄘc雌
  • ㄙs思

Finals

ZhuyinScheme formOn its ownAfter an initialExample
ㄧiyi-i衣
ㄨuwu-u烏
ㄩüyuü (n, l) / u (j, q, x)迂
ㄚaa-a啊
ㄛoo-o喔
ㄜee-e鵝
ㄝêê—誒
ㄞaiai-ai哀
ㄟeiei-ei欸
ㄠaoao-ao熬
ㄡouou-ou歐
ㄢanan-an安
ㄣenen-en恩
ㄤangang-ang昂
ㄥengeng-eng亨
ㄦerer—兒
ㄧㄚiaya-ia呀
ㄧㄝieye-ie耶
ㄧㄠiaoyao-iao腰
ㄧㄡiouyou-iu憂
ㄧㄢianyan-ian煙
ㄧㄣinyin-in因
ㄧㄤiangyang-iang央
ㄧㄥingying-ing英
ㄨㄚuawa-ua蛙
ㄨㄛuowo-uo窩
ㄨㄞuaiwai-uai歪
ㄨㄟueiwei-ui威
ㄨㄢuanwan-uan彎
ㄨㄤuangwang-uang汪
ㄨㄣuenwen-un溫
ㄨㄥuengweng—翁
ㄨㄥong—-ong轟
ㄩㄝüeyueüe (n, l) / ue (j, q, x)約
ㄩㄢüanyuan-uan冤
ㄩㄣünyun-un暈
ㄩㄥiongyong-iong雍

“ü (n, l) / u (j, q, x)” means ü is written after n and l, and u after j, q and x.

How tones are marked

ToneZhuyinPinyinExample
1st tone (yīnpíng)No markā媽 ㄇㄚ mā
2nd tone (yángpíng)ˊá麻 ㄇㄚˊ má
3rd tone (shǎngshēng)ˇǎ馬 ㄇㄚˇ mǎ
4th tone (qùshēng)ˋà罵 ㄇㄚˋ mà
Neutral tone˙ before the syllableNo mark˙ㄉㄜ de

Spelling rules (notes of the Hanyu Pinyin scheme)

  1. The syllables 知 蚩 詩 日 資 雌 思 are written with i: zhi, chi, shi, ri, zi, ci, si (in Zhuyin only ㄓ ㄔ ㄕ ㄖ ㄗ ㄘ ㄙ).
  2. ㄦ is written er, and r when it ends a syllable (e.g. 兒童 ertong).
  3. ㄝ on its own is written ê.
  4. Finals starting with ㄧ, as syllables on their own, are written yi, ya, ye, yao, you, yan, yin, yang, ying, yong.
  5. Finals starting with ㄨ are written wu, wa, wo, wai, wei, wan, wen, wang, weng; ㄨㄥ after an initial is written ong.
  6. Finals starting with ㄩ on their own are yu, yue, yuan, yun (dots dropped); after j, q, x they are ju, qu, xu (dots dropped); after n, l they keep the dots: nü, lü.
  7. iou, uei, uen after an initial are written iu, ui, un (e.g. niu, gui, lun).
  8. The tone mark goes on the main vowel, and the neutral tone is unmarked; in iu and ui it goes on the second letter (e.g. 牛 niú, 水 shuǐ).
  9. When a syllable starting with a, o or e follows another and the boundary is unclear, separate them with ’ (e.g. 皮襖 pi’ao).

Practice

Question type

This practises the notation; not every syllable has characters in every tone.

How to use

  1. Type Zhuyin or Pinyin with spaces between syllables to see the other notation (e.g. ㄓㄨˋ ㄧㄣ → zhù yīn).
  2. Check how initials, finals and tones are written, and the spelling rules, in the reference tables.
  3. Choose a question type and range, start the practice and pick one of four answers. You can retry only the ones you missed.

FAQ

Can it convert Chinese text into Pinyin?

No. It compares the notations syllable by syllable. Many characters have more than one reading, so look up readings in a dictionary (e.g. the Taiwan Ministry of Education’s Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary).

Where does the tone mark go?

In Hanyu Pinyin it goes on the main vowel and the neutral tone is unmarked; in iu and ui it goes on the second letter (牛 niú, 水 shuǐ). In Zhuyin the first tone has no mark, ˊ ˇ ˋ follow the syllable and the neutral-tone dot ˙ comes before it.

Why are ㄧㄛ (yo) and ㄧㄞ (yai) included?

They are listed in the Taiwan Ministry of Education syllable table. Syllable tables from mainland China may differ slightly.

Notes & limitations

  • What you enter is processed only on this page and is not sent to YUCTS servers.
  • It compares notations syllable by syllable; it does not convert Chinese characters into Zhuyin or Pinyin.
  • It covers the 407 syllables of the Ministry of Education syllable table; interjections such as m, n and ng are not included.
  • Pinyin word joining (orthography), tone sandhi (such as two third tones) and erhua spelling are not handled; syllables are shown separated by spaces.
  • Practice with tones trains the notation; not every syllable has characters in every tone.
  • Other romanizations such as MPS II, Tongyong Pinyin and Wade–Giles are not supported.

Data sources