Pronunciation Guide

With the exception of a few familiar names which have been retained in older forms, the Chinese names throughout these pages have been written in the system used in mainland China, Pinyin. Pinyin is generally pronounced phonetically, although there are a few idiosyncrasies.

Pronounced as they are in English: b d f g j k l m n p s t w y ch sh

c = ts as in "lets"
h = ch as in Scottish "loch"
q = ch as in "chick" or "chin"
x = sh as in "ship" or "sheen"
zh = j as in "jam" or "jump"

a = ah as in "hurrah"
ai = ie as in "tie"
an = ahn as in "yon"
ao = ow as in "how"

e = oo as in "look"
ei = ay as in "hay"
en = un as in "bun"

i = ee as in "fee"
i = with some letters, "y"
ia = ya as in "yard"

o = aw as in "jaw"
ou = oe as in "toe" or "Joe"

u = oo as in "coo"
u = with some letters, "w"
ua = wah

Examples: Qin = "chin," Zhou = "joe," Han = "hahn," Xianyang = "shan-yahng"