Grammar Lesson 9:

Pinyin vs Zhuyin

To indicate how words are pronounced Chinese can be romanized.

Chinese can be romanized in various ways. Pinyin is the most common form and uses Latin letters.

In Taiwan it is common to Zhuyin (also called Bopomofo) instead.

Pinyin is usual the better choice if you plan to type Chinese as it uses Latin letters.

The phrase "新年快樂" means "Happy New Year".

Here's how it looks in the 2 romanization systems:

Pinyin Romanization:
xin1 nian2 kuai4 le4!

Zhuyin Romanization:
ㄒㄧㄣ ㄋㄧㄢˊ ㄎㄨㄞˋ ㄌㄜˋ!

Pinyin (Chinese: 拼音) literally means "spelled-out sounds":

拼 (pin1) = to spell
音 (yin1) = sound, noise

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