Zhuyin or BoPoMoFo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ) is the standard phonetic system used in Taiwan to teach Mandarin. It’s also refereed to as Zhuyin fuhao, jhuyin, BoPoMo, Mandarin Phonetic Symbols and MPS! Confusing no?

It is a comprehensive system that can transcribe all the possible sounds in Mandarin. The alphabet consists of 37 letters, each representing a single or a group of sounds: 21 for consonants and 16 for vowels and vowel clusters.

[Visit this blog for Zhuyin audio.]

If you are learning Chinese in Taiwan you will most likely have to learn Zhuyin. Personally, I have found that Zhuyin enables me to pronounce words much more accurately than pinyin. Another advantage of Zhuyin is the availability of Chinese learning materials. Every child in Taiwan learns Zhuyin/BoPoMoFo, as a result materials are cheap and available everywhere.

If you are studying in Taiwan and need a fast way (without software) to convert traditional Chinese characters into Zhuyin, I highly recommend http://tw.dictionary.yahoo.com/online dictionary.

You can paste in some characters and instantly get Zhuyin and English translation. It also provides a rudimentary Romanization without tone marks. I make flashcards and this has been by far the easiest way to get Zhuyin translations.

Here’s an example:

部落格

ㄅㄨˋ ㄌㄨㄛˋ ㄍㄜˊ

bu luo ge

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Using Yahoo Taiwan’s online dictionary, MDBG free online Chinese-English dictionary, Babel Fish Translation and Google Pinyin certainly makes studying Chinese much easier.