Bopomofo · Zhuyin

Small symbols that open a dictionary.

Bopomofo, also called Zhuyin (注音), records Mandarin pronunciation and is widely used in Taiwanese learning materials. Its name comes from its first four symbols: ㄅ, ㄆ, ㄇ, ㄈ. This board contains all 37 standard symbols, with traditional-character examples.

Symbols combine into syllables. ㄧ, ㄨ and ㄩ may stand within a longer combination or form a syllable themselves. Pinyin spellings change accordingly: ㄧ alone is yi, while the same symbol contributes i to jia. The cue on each card shows a correspondence, not a rule to substitute letters mechanically.

Keep ㄜ and ㄝ distinct.

ㄜ corresponds to e in hé (河, river). ㄝ appears in combinations such as ㄧㄝˋ, yè (夜, night), and corresponds to an ê-type vowel. They are different sounds.

A tone belongs to the syllable.

These illustrate four tone categories plus neutral tone. Third tone often stays low in connected speech rather than making a full dip and rise. Tone sequences can change pronunciation; two third tones are a familiar example. Neutral tone’s pitch depends on its surroundings. Matching a mark is not a test of speaking the tone.

Where the tone mark goes

In horizontal Zhuyin, the second, third and fourth tone marks follow the syllable: ㄇㄚˊ, ㄇㄚˇ, ㄇㄚˋ. First tone normally has no written mark: ㄇㄚ. The neutral-tone dot comes before the syllable: ˙ㄇㄚ. In vertical notation, that neutral dot goes above the syllable; the other tone marks sit at the upper right of its final symbol.

For ㄓ, ㄔ, ㄕ, ㄖ, ㄗ, ㄘ and ㄙ, a symbol can represent a complete syllable without an added vowel sign: 是, shì, is ㄕˋ. The special “empty rhyme” symbol ㄭ is omitted in normal transcription. It is not an extra everyday letter to learn on this board.

The full reference

Reading cues belong to this system, not to English pronunciation. Examples show the letter or spelling in a real word.