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Romanisation of the Chinese Language |
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There are two main systems in use for romanising Chinese - the process of writing down spoken chinese in an alphabetic form.
Some Western sinologists still prefer the older Wade-Giles system, whereas the pinyin system is used in China itself. You are likely to come across both systems in your reading, although pinyin is displacing Wade-Giles. The aim of this page is to help you convert from one system to another easily and to give guidance on the pronunciation. You should also be aware that a few place names (such as Peking and Canton) do not conform to either system!
Firstly, let's compare the spelling of the Wade Giles and pinyin systems.
| Initials | Finals | ||
| Pinyin | Wade-Giles | Pinyin | Wade-Giles |
| b | p | -e | -eh |
| c | ts' or tz' | -i | -i or -u |
| ch | ch' | -ian | -ien |
| d | t | -ong | -un |
| g | k | -ou | -u |
| j | ch | -ue | -ueh |
| k | k' | -ui | -uei |
| p | p' | -no | -o |
| q | ch' | ||
| s | ss or sz | ||
| t | t' | ||
| x | hs | ||
| z | ts or tz | ||
| zh | ch | ||
| Examples | |||
| Zhou | Chou | Qin | Ch'in |
| Mao Zedong | Mao Tse-tung | Deng Xiaoping | Teng Hsiao-ping |
[Note that the first part of a Chinese personal name is usually the surname: hence Jiang Zemin is Mr Jiang, not Mr Zemin. The pinyin system does not employ hyphen between syllables.]
It is particularly useful to know the different romanisation for the names of people and places. Those I've listed below are all helpful for the national curriculum history units on China. A =B means B is the pinyin form of A e.g. T'ang =Tang Brackets [ ] indicate the approximate English phonetic pronunciation.
| A | H | Loyang =Luoyang |
| Anhwei =Anhui | Han {shorter 'a'} | Luoyang [lore-yang] |
| Anhui [an-hway] | Hangchow =Hangzhou | M |
| B | Hangzhou [hang-joe] | Mao Tse-tung =Mao Zedong |
| Beijing [bay-jing] | Hebei [her-bay] | N |
| C | Henan [her-nan] | Nanking =Nanjing |
| Canton =Guangzhou | Honan =Henan | P |
| Chang Heng =Zhang Heng | Hopei =Hebei | Peking =Beijing |
| Chang Jiang [chang-jee-ang] (Yangzi River) | Hsia =Xia | Q |
| Chekiang =Zhejiang | Heienyang =Xianyang | qi [chee] |
| ch'i =qi | Hsiungnu =Xiongau | Qin [chin] |
| Ch'in =Qin | Hubei [hoo-bay] | Qing [ching] |
| Chin =Jin | Hunan [hoo-nan] | S |
| Ch'ing =Qing | Huang He [hwahng-her] | Shaanxi [shan-see] |
| Chongqing [chong-ching] | J | Shansi =Shanxi |
| Chou Enlai =Zhou Enlai | Jiang Jieshi [jee-ahng-jyeh-sher] | Shantung =Shandong |
| Chu Teh =Zhu De | Jiangsu [jee-ahng-soo] | Shensi =Shaanxi |
| Chuang Tzu =Zhuang Zi | Jiangxi [jee-ahng-see] | Sian =Xi'an |
| Chungking =Chongqing | K | Sinkiang =Xinjiang |
| D | Kaifeng [kie-fung] | Sui [Sway] |
| Dao [dow] | K'aifeng =Kaifeng | Sung =Song |
| Deng Xiaoping [dung-syow-ping] | Kansu =Gansu | Szechuan =Sichuan |
| Do Fu [doo-foo] | Kiangsi =Jiangxi | T |
| Dunhuang [dwun-hwahng] | Kin =Jin | Tang [tahng] |
| F | Kuomintang (Guomindang) (KMT) | T'ang =Tang |
| Fujian [foo-dyenj | Kwangsi =Guangxi | Taiping [tie-ping] |
| G | Kwangtung =Guangdong | Tao =Dao |
| Gansu [gan-soo] | Kweichow =Guizhou | Tianjin [tyen-gin] |
| Guangdong [gwahng-dong] | L | Tientsin =Tianjin |
| Guangxi [gwahng-see] | Lao Tzu =Lao Zi | Tu Fu =Du Fu |
| Guangzhou [gwahng-joe] | Lao zi [lao-zer] | Tunhuang =Dunhuang |
| Guomindang [gwo-min-dung] | Li Bai [lee-bye] | X |
| Guizhou [gway-joe] | Li Po =Li Bai | Xi'an [see-an] |
| Xinjiang [sin-jee-ang] | ||
| Y | ||
| Yangtse Kiang =Chang Jiang, Yangzi Jiang | ||
| Yenan =Yan'an | ||
| Z | ||
| Zhang Heng [jang hung] | ||
| Zhejiang [jer-jee-ang] | ||
| Zhu De [joo-der] |
© Copyright Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU) 2001 : China Now 146, Page 20