注音符号Zhuyin Guide
Zhuyin (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ), also called Bopomofo, is the phonetic alphabet children in Taiwan use to learn Mandarin. It has just 37 symbols and 5 tone marks. This is a listening-first guide to what each symbol sounds like, how symbols stack into syllables, and how every one of them maps to Hanyu Pinyin.
How Zhuyin works
Every syllable is built in the same order: an optional initial (a consonant), an optional medial (ㄧ, ㄨ or ㄩ), a final (a vowel or nasal ending), and a tone mark.
The 21 initials
Press the play button to hear an example word (your browser’s Mandarin voice reads it). For how to shape each sound, see the matching Hanyu Pinyin lessons on this site, because the sounds are identical.
ㄅ ㄆ ㄇ ㄈ
lips and teeth
ㄉ ㄊ ㄋ ㄌ
tongue tip against the gum ridge
ㄍ ㄎ ㄏ
back of the tongue against the soft palate
ㄐ ㄑ ㄒ
flat tongue against the hard palate
ㄓ ㄔ ㄕ ㄖ
tongue curled back
ㄗ ㄘ ㄙ
tongue against the back of the upper teeth
The 16 finals
The finals include the three medials ㄧ ㄨ ㄩ, which can also stand alone. Each card shows its pinyin spelling, and standalone spellings (y-, w-) come after the slash.
ㄧ ㄨ ㄩ
the three medials — they slide in between an initial and a final
ㄚ ㄛ ㄜ ㄝ
simple finals
ㄞ ㄟ ㄠ ㄡ
compound finals
ㄢ ㄣ ㄤ ㄥ ㄦ
nasal finals, plus the r-colored ㄦ
Putting finals together
Add a medial in front of another final to make a new one. Pinyin spelling is shown as after a consonant / on its own.
Tone marks
Zhuyin marks tones with small symbols that follow the syllable. The first tone is unmarked, and the neutral-tone dot is written before the syllable.
Read some real words
Cover the Zhuyin and pinyin columns, read the word, then check yourself.
| 你好 | ㄋㄧˇ ㄏㄠˇ | nǐ hǎo | hello | |
| 谢谢 | ㄒㄧㄝˋ ˙ㄒㄧㄝ | xièxie | thank you | |
| 再见 | ㄗㄞˋ ㄐㄧㄢˋ | zàijiàn | goodbye | |
| 对不起 | ㄉㄨㄟˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄑㄧˇ | duìbuqǐ | sorry | |
| 老师 | ㄌㄠˇ ㄕ | lǎoshī | teacher | |
| 学生 | ㄒㄩㄝˊ ㄕㄥ | xuéshēng | student | |
| 台湾 | ㄊㄞˊ ㄨㄢ | Táiwān | Taiwan | |
| 中文 | ㄓㄨㄥ ㄨㄣˊ | zhōngwén | the Chinese language | |
| 水果 | ㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄍㄨㄛˇ | shuǐguǒ | fruit | |
| 好吃 | ㄏㄠˇ ㄔ | hǎochī | delicious | |
| 妈妈 | ㄇㄚ ˙ㄇㄚ | māma | mom | |
| 朋友 | ㄆㄥˊ ㄧㄡˇ | péngyǒu | friend |
Quick check — 10 questions
Match Zhuyin to pinyin, then read a few full syllables. Press “New quiz” for a fresh set.
