Tongyong Pinyin

a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan

Tongyong Pinyin is a romanization of Mandarin Chinese, or a way to write Mandarin in the Roman alphabet, that was invented in Taiwan. It was created by the Taiwanese to oppose Hanyu Pinyin, which is the official romanization of Mandarin in Mainland China, the UN, and most other international organizations, because many Taiwanese do not want to use a writing system created by the Chinese Communist Party. In 2002, it became the official romanization in Taiwan, even though no one was forced to use it. However, in 2009, Taiwan replaced Tongyong with Hanyu as the island's official romanization. While Taipei mostly uses Hanyu spelling today, many cities, particularly in southern Taiwan, still use many different romanizations, including Tongyong spelling, and it can still be seen in many places.

Tongyong Pinyin vs. Hanyu Pinyin

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Most Tongyong spellings of Chinese syllables are the same as Hanyu spellings. However, one major difference is that Tongyong does not use letters 'x' and 'q', which are both used in Hanyu. Below is a chart that compares syllables in Hanyu to those in Tongyong. Below is not an exhaustive list, but a list that show major differences between the two systems.[1]

Hanyu Pinyin Tongyong Pinyin
xi si
xiu siou
xing sing
xu syu
xue syue
xuan syuan
xun syun
xiong syong
qi ci
qiu ciou
qing cing
qu cyu
que cyue
quan cyuan
qun cyun
qiong cyong
wen wun
si sih
ci cih
zi zih
shi shih
chi chih
zhi jhih
zhao jhao
zhong jhong
jiu jiou
gui guei
feng fong
weng wong
shui shuei
chui chuei
zhui jhuei
ri rih
rui ruei

Below are examples of sentences written in Chinese characters, Hanyu Pinyin, and Tongyong Pinyin with English translations.

Chinese characters 你是中国人吗?
Hanyu Nǐ shì Zhōngguó rén ma?
Tongyong Nǐ shìh Jhongguó rén ma?
English Are you Chinese?
Chinese characters 你在四川的时候,你喜欢吃什么菜?
Hanyu Nǐ zài Sìchuān de shíhòu, nǐ xǐhuān chī shénme cài?
Tongyong Nǐ zài Sìhchuān de shíhhòu, nǐ sǐhuan chih shénme cài?
English What food do you like to eat when you are in Sichuan?
Chinese characters 回族人不可以喝酒吃猪肉。
Hanyu Huízú rén bù kěyǐ hējiǔ chī zhūròu.
Tongyong Hueízú rén bù kěyǐ hejioǔ chih jhūròu.
English Hui people cannot drink alcohol or eat pork.
Chinese characters 瑞天文要去日本温泉。
Hanyu Ruì Tiānwén yào qù Rìběn wēnquán.
Tongyong Rueì Tiānwún yào cyù Rìhběn wuncyuán.
English Rui Tianwen is going to the Japanese hot springs.

Pictures

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References

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  1. Tsai, Chih-Hao. "Zhuyin, Hanyu Pinyin, and Tongyong Pinyin Cross-Reference Table". research.chtsai.org. Retrieved 2018-09-04.