zhuyin

Zhuyin, or Zhuyin Fuhao (also called Bopomofo), is a phonetic writing system used to transcribe Mandarin Chinese and other varieties. It consists of a set of symbols that represent initial consonants and final syllables, plus tone marks. The symbols are arranged as a compact script used to annotate Chinese texts for pronunciation, especially in education.

Zhuyin was developed in the early 20th century in the Republic of China as part of literacy reform. It was standardized by the Ministry of Education and became the principal phonetic system in Taiwan, where it remains widely used in schools, dictionaries, children's books, and media. In mainland China, Pinyin eventually became the dominant romanization, but Zhuyin persists as a key tool for learners and in Taiwanese notation and publishing.

The Zhuyin set, known as bopomofo, includes symbols for initials such as ㄅ ㄆ ㄇ ㄈ, ㄉ ㄊ ㄋ ㄌ, ㄍ ㄎ ㄏ, ㄐ ㄑ ㄒ ㄓ ㄔ ㄕ ㄖ, ㄗ ㄘ ㄙ, and the vowels such as ㄚ ㄛ ㄜ ㄝ ㄞ ㄟ ㄠ ㄡ ㄢ ㄣ ㄤ ㄥ and the rhotic final ㄦ. Tones are indicated with diacritic marks placed after the phonetic symbol: the first tone has no mark, the second is a rising mark, the third a dipping mark, the fourth a falling mark, and the neutral tone is shown with a dot.

Zhuyin is used for teaching reading and pronunciation, in dictionaries, and as an input method on computers and mobile devices in Taiwan. It remains an alternative to romanization and a core component of Mandarin literacy education there.