The Zhuyin phonetic alphabet

The Zhuyin phonetic alphabet (注音 zhùyīn; official name: 注音符号, zhùyīn fúhào; literally: «symbols for representing sounds»), also often called Bopomofo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ, bopomofo, after its first four letters) — used mainly in Taiwan to record character readings in Mandarin (普通话, pǔtōnghuà), is a unique transcription system developed in 1918 in the Republic of China under Wu Jingheng (伍敬恒, Wu Jingheng). Unlike Palladius or Pinyin, Zhuyin is based on 37 symbols — 21 for the initial consonants of Chinese syllables, 13 for finals (vowels or combinations of «vowel + n/ng») and 3 symbols for consonants used in dialects — derived from ancient characters, which visually connects it to Chinese writing. These symbols are divided into initials (consonants) and finals (vowels with endings), and the four Mandarin tones are marked by diacritics: ˉ (1st), ˊ (2nd), ˇ (3rd), ˋ (4th). For example, 山 is written ㄕㄢˉ (шань), and 水 as ㄕㄨㄟˇ (шуй with the 3rd tone).

The table below gives a full description of the origins of the 37 Zhuyin symbols:

For Russian-speaking students preparing for HSK levels 3–6, Zhuyin is less familiar than Palladius («шань») or Pinyin (shān), but is important for understanding Taiwan’s education system, where children use it before learning characters. It helps Asian studies scholars analyze texts such as Taiwanese editions of the «Analects» (論語, lún yǔ) and compare them with Japanese kanji (漢字). The origins of Zhuyin symbols reflect their connection with ancient writing forms such as bronze inscriptions (金文, jīnwén) and oracle-bone writing (甲骨文 jiǎgǔwén), making their study valuable for historical linguistics.

Zhuyin symbols were selected from ancient characters, often simplified or stylized to reflect initial sounds. For example, ㄅ (b) comes from 勹 (бао), whose shape suggests wrapping while the sound represents the initial. Finals such as ㄚ (a) from 丫 (я) retain a visual connection with the original. Some symbols, such as ㄍ (g) from 巜, are based on rare or obsolete characters, complicating their etymology but emphasizing the system’s historical foundations.

Because of its unfamiliar symbols, Zhuyin is less intuitive for Russian-speaking students than Palladius or Pinyin. It merely complements these systems, as its regional specificity makes it less significant; nevertheless, studying it provides access to Taiwanese materials, where it is used in schools and dictionaries. For Asian studies scholars, the table helps explain the evolution of writing and its adaptation in the 20th century.