Foreword

First version of Mandarin Chinese Phonetic Symbols, also recognized as Bopomofo, was created in
1913 and released in 1918. It was repeatedly revised for perfection. In 1935, Ministry of Education
released A Specimen of Bopomofo Printing Font next to Chinese Character. The Copper printing
molds of Chinese character with Bopomofo on the side were made according to the released docu-
ment, and were used to reduce the difficulty on learning Chinese characters. Bopomofo has become
the best tool to learn Mandarin Chinese since then.
Bopomofo was created according to the Chinese historical phonology and the poetic metrics. Those
phonetic alphabets were supposed to represent the onset, rhyme, and tone of the syllables, accord-
ing to the methods of alliteration and assonance used in ancient time with the simplified forms of
the Chinese characters. Therefore, using Bopomofo to spell Chinese is almost like using characters
to spell. This is the most suitable method to learn pronunciation. It is also easy to learn when there
is only one sound for one character.
Bopomofo cannot only be used as a tool to spell Chinese character and adjust pronunciation, but it
can also be used on dictionary to edit word sequence and searching system. As for the elementary
textbook or children’s readers, it becomes the best method of learning and recognizing Mandarin
Chinese. Knowing Bopomofo is like to get a self-learning tool. It allows a person to access the
books and magazines with Bopomofo or operating computer with phonetic typing system.
To ensure fast and efficient communication in our modern world, standardization of all the commu-
nication means is required. In response to this requirement Ministry of Education released Pub-
lished Version of Standard Chinese Font in 1994 as a standard for society. By now, the textbooks,
the media, and the IT industries have already applied the standard. However, even though Bopomo-
fo as a system has been released for years and the knowledge of it is a requirement in the elemen-
tary school education, the stroke order of each symbol and the position are sometimes at issue. Fur-
thermore, the Bopomofo system as used in IT industry is actually different from the version re-
leased by the MOE. Problems and disputes occurred because of these discrepancies.

　
To resolve these issues Ministry of Education has invited the following phonetic professors, Chang,
Hsiao-yu, Lin, Kuo-liang, Chang, Wen-pin, Tseng, Jung-fen, Hu, Chien-hsiung, Su, Mao-sheng and
myself, to form a project team, with Prof. Hu, Chien-hsiung taking up the responsibility of design-
ing, and Prof. Su, Mao-sheng as the art director. Moreover, Mr. Wu, Yan-cheng was invited as the
designer. They redesigned and created Bopomofo Manual according to A Specimen of Bopomofo
Printing Font next to Chinese Character released in 1935. The content was required to include ref-
erence graphics of List of Bopomofo Symbols, Ratio Reference between Chinese Characters and
Bopomofo, Specimen of Chinese Characters with Bopomofo (portrait/landscape), Reference Table
of Chinese Characters with Bopomofo Syllables, to fulfill actual need of education and application
onto computer typesetting for the printing industry.
In order to describe correct usage of Bopomofo with simplicity and clarity, this manual is mainly
presented in graphics. As the manual is about to be published, I happily note down this foreword to
express my thankfulness to all the professors on the team. I would also like to extend my apprecia-
tion to the inspector, Mr. Yang, Yung-chuan, and the assistant, Ms. Yang, Yu-wen, from National
Languages Committee for all their administrative support and assistance.

Li, Hsien
November, 2000

Reader’s Guide

1. This manual is published and released for the actual need of education, IT industry, and print-
ing industry.
2. In List of Bopomofo Symbols, it lists out all Bopomofo characters. (the onset alphabets, “ ”,
“ ”,“ ”are not used now, while the rhyme symbol,“ ”, and the mark of Yin-ping tone, “
”, would be left out on Bopomofo notes. The explanatory table of the onset and rhyme al-
phabets is used to explain writing sequence and stroke number, while the explanatory table of
the tones is used to explain the tonal category, nature, and position of notes.
3. Ratio Reference between Chinese Character and Bopomofo and Specimen of Chinese Char-
acter with Bopomofo offered by this manual has included the following two noting methods,
which are portrait and landscape.
4. In Ratio Reference between Chinese Character and Bopomofo, length and width of a Chinese
character is 30:30, while the space for Bopomofo is 30:15 for portrait and 15:30 for land-
scape. Furthermore, there are three different ratios for Bopomofo, which are 9:9, 9:8, and 8:9.
The ratio will be used according to needs.
5. Reference Table of Mandarin Chinese Syllables with Bopomofo has its order according to
Four Hu, which are kaikou (open mouth), qichi (even teeth), hekou (closed mouth), and
cuokou (round mouth). There would be one character for each syllable listed, with the por-
trait version as example.
6. The List of Bopomofo Symbols and Ratio Reference between Chinese Character and Bopo-
mofo in this manual can be downloaded from the official website of Ministry of Education.

The Manual of the Phonetic Symbols of Mandarin Chinese

Table of Content

Foreword
Reader’s Guide
1. List of Phonetic Symbols
　　a. Main list
　　b. Explanatory Table of Onset Symbols
　　c. Explanatory Table of Rhyme Symbols
　　d. Explanatory Table of Tonal Marks
2. Ratio Reference between Chinese Characters and Bopomofo (Portrait)
3. Specimen of Chinese Characters with Bopomofo (Portrait)
4. Ratio Reference between Chinese Characters and Bopomofo (Landscape)
5. Specimen of Chinese Characters with Bopomofo (Landscape)
6. Reference Table of Chinese Characters with Mandarin Chinese Syllables
　　a. Kaikou (open mouth)
　　b. Qichi (even teeth)
　　c. Hekou (closed mouth)
　　d. Cuokou (round mouth)

1. List of Phonetic Symbols

a. Main list

Notes:
　　1.The three onset Symbols, “ “,” “,” “, are not used now.
　　2.The rhyme Symbol, ” “is left out on Bopomofo notes.
　　3.This manual is recreated according to A Specimen of Bopomofo Printing Font next to Chinese Character. In the list,
the rhyme alphabet “ㄧ” is presented as “ㄧ” in portrait text and “ ”in landscape text. However, in present time,
for some reasons, like the convenience of information exchange, that rhyme alphabet “ㄧ” is normally presented as
“ㄧ”, but is also possible to be noted as “ “.

b. Explanatory Table of Onset Symbols

Bopomofo Writing Stroke Description
Note Sequence Number

One
stroke

Two The last stroke should not be pressed down at the end.
strokes

Two There is no hook at the end of the last stroke.

strokes

Two The second stroke should be connected with the starting

strokes point of the first stroke.

Two
strokes

Three The second stroke should slant all the way down.
strokes

One
stroke

Two
strokes

Two
strokes

Two
strokes

Two The second stroke should be connected with the starting

strokes point of the first stroke.

Two The first stroke should not go across the second stroke
strokes after rising.

One
stroke

　
Bopomofo Writing Stroke Description
Note Sequence Number

Two
strokes

Four It can also be simplified into three strokes. The simplified

strokes sequence would be

Three
strokes

Three The third stroke should be connected with the starting point of
strokes the second stroke.

Four There is a dot in the middle. It can be simplified into three

strokes stokes. The simplified sequence would be

Two
strokes

Two There is no hook at the end of the last stroke.

strokes

Two
strokes

c. Explanatory Table of Rhyme Symbols

Bopomofo Writing Stroke Description
Note Sequence Number

Three
strokes

Two
strokes

Two
strokes

Three There is no hook at the end of the last stroke.

strokes

Three The stoke at the bottom-right corner does not need a hook.
strokes

One
stroke

Three
strokes

Two The last stroke should not be pressed down at the end. The
strokes corner at upper-left should be left open.

Two There is no hook at the end of the last stroke.

strokes

One
stroke

Three There is no hook at the end of the last stroke.

strokes

One
stroke

Two There is no hook at the end of the last stroke.

strokes

One It can also be noted as “ ” in portrait text.

stroke

　
Bopomofo Writing Stroke Description
Note Sequence Number

Two The second stroke should not be pressed down at

strokes the end.

Two
strokes

d. Explanatory Table of Tonal Marks

Intonation Bopomofo Description Position
Level Note

1st tone This high and level tone can be noted This tone should be left out.
as a short dash mark and could be left
out in Bopomofo note.

2nd tone The note of this tone is marked from This tone should be noted at
lower-left to upper-right to present its the upper-right corner of the
rising sound. last Bopomofo note.

3rd tone This hook-liked note goes down first This tone should be noted at
and rise afterward. the upper-right corner of the
last Bopomofo note.

4th tone The note of this tone is marked from This tone should be noted at
upper-left to lower-right to present its the upper-right corner of the
dropping sound. last Bopomofo note.

Neutral A dot is used to present a light and It is marked on the top of

tone short tone. Bopomofo note in portrait text
and marked at the very front of
the note in landscape text.

Example of the tonal marks:

1.Marks of the four tones should be noted at the upper-right corner of Bopomofo in both portrait
and landscape text.

2.The mark of neutral tone should be

　　　a. Noted on the top of Bopomofo in portrait text. For example:

　　　b. Noted at the very front of Bopomofo in landscape text. For example:

2. Ratio Reference between Chinese Character and Bopomofo (Portrait)

Example 1: Ratio of Chinese character is 30:30, while ratio of the Bopomofo on the
side is 9:9.

One Bopomofo with tonal mark.

Two Bopomofo with tonal mark.

　
　

Three Bopomofo with mark of four tonal marks.

Three Bopomofo with the neutral tonal mark.

　
Example 2: Ratio of Chinese character is 30:30, while ratio of the Bopomofo on the
side is 9:8.

One Bopomofo with tonal mark.

Two Bopomofo with tonal mark.

 　
　

Three Bopomofo with mark of four tonal marks.

Three Bopomofo with the neutral tonal mark.

　
Example 3: Ratio of Chinese character is 30:30, while ratio of the Bopomofo on the
side is 8:9.

One Bopomofo with tonal mark.

Two Bopomofo with tonal mark.

　
　

Three Bopomofo with mark of four tonal marks.

Three Bopomofo with the neutral tonal mark.

3. Specimen of Chinese Character with Bopomofo (Portrait)

　

One Bopomofo with mark of four tonal marks.

One Bopomofo with the neutral tonal mark.

　
　

Two Bopomofo with mark of four tonal marks.

Two Bopomofo with the neutral tonal mark.

　
　

Three Bopomofo with mark of four tonal marks.

Three Bopomofo with the neutral tonal mark.

4. Ratio Reference between Chinese Character and Bopomofo

(Landscape)
Example 1: Ratio of Chinese character is 30:30, while ratio of the Bopomofo on the
side is 9:9.

One Bopomofo with tonal mark. Two Bopomofo with tonal mark.

　
　

Three Bopomofo with mark of four tonal marks. Three Bopomofo with the neutral tonal mark.

　
Example 2: Ratio of Chinese character is 30:30, while ratio of the Bopomofo on the
side is 9:8.

One Bopomofo with tonal mark. Two Bopomofo with tonal mark.

　
　

Three Bopomofo with mark of four toneal marks. Three Bopomofo with the neutral tonal mark.

　
Example 3: Ratio of Chinese character is 30:30, while ratio of the Bopomofo on the
side is 8:9.

One Bopomofo with tonal mark. Two Bopomofo with tonal mark.

　
　

Three Bopomofo with mark of four tonal marks. Three Bopomofo with the neutral tonal mark.

5. Specimen of Chinese Character with Bopomofo (Landscape)

　

One Bopomofo with mark of four tonal marks.

One Bopomofo with the neutral tonal mark.

　
　

Two Bopomofo with mark of four tonal marks.

Two Bopomofo with the neutral tonal mark.

 　
　

Three Bopomofo with mark of four tonal marks.

Three Bopomofo with the neutral tonal mark.

6. Reference Table of Mandarin Chinese Syllables with Bopomofo

a. Kaikou (open mouth)

①onset alphabet　②rhyme alphabet　③four tones　④Example

Character of neutral tone with changed rhyme is placed in〔　〕.

　
　

　
b. Qichi (even teeth)

　
　

　
c. Hekou (closed mouth)

　
　

　
d. Cuokou (round mouth)

Notes:

1. The note, “○”, in the column of the zero onset syllables means there is no consonantal onsets.
2. The rhyme symbol “ ” is also called empty rhyme. It would not be noted in the Bopomofo area.
3. The empty space in the table means such combinations might not be allowed in Mandarin Chinese.
4. The space with “○” in the table means such syllables might not be meaningful in Mandarin Chinese.
5. Characters of the example are from Reedited Version of Chinese Dictionary Revised Edition.

The Manual of the Phonetic Symbols of Mandarin Chinese （Printed Version）

Organized by National Languages Committee, Ministry of Education
Commissioner: Tsao, Feng-fu
Convener: Li, Hsien
Review team: Chang, Hsiao-yu, Lin, Kuo-liang, Chang, Wen-pin, Su, Mao-sheng , Tseng, Jung-fen,
Hu, Chien-hsiung
Editing team: Yang, Yung-chuan, Wu, Yan-cheng , Yang, Yu-wen
Editor: Wu, Yan-cheng
Cover designer: Wu, Yan-cheng
Publisher: Tseng, Chih-lang
Publish organization: Ministry of Education
Address: No.5, Zhongshan South Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan 10051
Official Website: http://www.edu.tw
Tel.: +886-2-7736-6666
Printed by Ching Tung Printing Co. Ltd.
First Edition: November, 2000
Selling price: NT$ 50
GPN：006429890066
ISBN：957-02-7324-0

The Manual of the Phonetic Symbols of Mandarin Chinese （Digital Version）

Organized by Department of Lifelong Education, Ministry of Education
Publisher: Pan, Wen-chung
Translator: Tsao, Feng-fu, Huang, Chien-chien, Wu, Chin-wei
Publish organization: Ministry of Education
　Address: No.5, Zhongshan South Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan 10051
　Tel.: +886-2-7736-6666
　Fax.: +886-2-3393-2319
　Email: http://email.moe.gov.tw/EDU_WEB/sendmail/send.php
　Official Website: http://www.edu.tw
First Edition: Februrary, 2017
ISBN：978-986-051-869-6 (EPUB)
GPN：4910600179

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Information：
November, 2000 Printed Version
ISBN 957-02-7324-0(Print)
January, 2017 Digital Edition(Chinese)
ISBN 978-986-051-481-0(EPUB)