Archives 2016

1. Adverbs:
   • hěn hǎo (be good/fine), 很好
   • zuì dà (be the biggest), 最大
   • fēicháng kuài (be extremely fast) 非常快
2. Prepositions:
   • zài qiánmiàn (in the front), 在前面
   • shēng yú 1940 nian (was born in 1940) 生于一九四零年
3. Conjunctions:
   • nǐ hé wǒ (you and I); 你和我
   • Nǐ lái háishi bù lái? (Are you coming [or not]?) 你来还是不来？
4. The Constructive Auxiliaries (jiégòu zhùcí) de/d (的 ), de/di (地 ), de (得), zhi (之).
   • mài cài d(e) (vegetable seller[s]), 卖菜的
   • mànmàn de/di zou (walk slowly), 慢慢的
   • hóng de hěn (be really hot) 红得很
5. The Model Auxiliary is written separately at the end of a sentence:
   • Nǐ zhīdào ma? (Do/Did you know)? 你知道吗？
   • Kuài qù ba! (Hurry and go!) 快去吧
6. Exclamation:
   • A, zhēn měi! (Ah, It’s really beautiful!) 啊，真美！
7. Onomatopoeia:
   • Pā! (Bang!”); 啪
   • Hōnglōng yi sheng (a rumbling sound) 轰隆一声

1. Whole numbers from eleven to ninety-nine are written together
   • shíwǔ (fifteen), 十五
   • sānshísān (thirty-three) 

   一 二 三 四 五 六 七 八 九 十 十一 二十一 三十一 四十一 五十一

   yī èr sān sì wǔ liù qī bā jiǔ shí shí yī èr shí yī sān shí yī sì shí yī wǔ shí yī

   один два три четыре 5 шесть семь восемь девять десять одиннадцать Двадцать один Тридцать один Сорок один Пятьдесят один

   one two three four Fives six Seven Eight nine ten eleven twenty one thirty-one forty one fifty one

2. Bǎi (hundred), qiān (thousand), wàn (ten thousand), yì(hundred million) are linked with the integer in front of them, but “ten thousand” and “hundred million” are separated from zeros following them. For example:
   • jiǔyì líng qīwàn èrqiān sānbǎi wǔshíliù (900,072,356) 九亿七万两千三百五十六
3. Di + Numeral indicates order, and it is linked by a hyphen with the number. For example:
   • dì-shísān (thirteenth),第十三
   • dì-èrshíbā (twenty-eighth)第二十八
4. Numbers and Measure Words are separated:
   • liǎng ge rén (two people), 两个人
   • yī dà wǎn fàn (a big bowl of cooked rice)一大碗饭

   “Duō, lái, jǐ” indicate a rough quantity (yuēshù), and they are separated from the numbers and measure words that precede and follow them. For example:

   • yībǎi duō ge (more than 100), 一百多个
   • shí lái wàn rén (about 100,000 people)十来万人

   Numbers indicating “more than ten and several score” are linked. For example:

   • shíjǐ ge rén (more than ten people),十几个人
   • jǐshí ge rén (several tens of people)几十个人

1. Men indicates the plural and is linked with the noun in front of it. For example:
   • wǒmen (we/us), 我们
   • tāmen (they/them) 他们
2. Demonstrative pronouns zhè, nà and the interrogative demonstrative pronoun nǎ are separated from the nouns that follow them.
   • zhè (ge) rén (this person), 这个人
   • zhè zhī chuán (this boat), 这只船
   • nǎ zhāng bàozhǐ (which newspaper?) 哪张报纸？

   zhè, nà, nǎ are linked with xiē, me, yàng, bān, lǐ, biān, huǐr, ge

   • zhèxiē (these), 这些
   • zhège (this one), 这个
   • nàyàng (that way/then), 那样
   • zhèhuǐr (at this moment) 这会儿
3. Gè, měi, mǒu, běn, gāi, wǒ, nǐ, and so forth are separated from the nouns or measure words that follow them. For example:
   • gè guó (each country), 各国
   • gè gè (each, every), 各个
   • měi nián (every year), 每年
   • gāi gōngsī (this/that company) 该公司

1. Monosyllabic adjectives link with their reduplicated prefixes or suffixes. For example:
   • mēngmēngliàng (dimly bright),
   • liàngtāngtāng (brightly lit)
2. Adjectives are separated from xiē, yīxiē, diǎnr, yīdiǎn that follow them. For example:
   • kuài (yī)xiē ([be] faster),
   • kuài (yī)diǎn ([be] faster)

1. (Monosyllabic) action verbs are linked with the suffixes zhe, le, guo. For example:
   • kànzhe (reading/looking),
   • kànle (read [once at a past moment/time]),
   • kànguò (have/had read [at least once])

   Le at the end of a sentence is separated from the sentence. For example:

   • Huǒchē dào le (Completed action: The train came/has come).
2. Action Verbs and their Objects are separated. For example:
   • kàn xìn (read a letter),
   • chī yú (eat fish),
   • kāi wánxiào (make a joke)

   But the action verb and object are linked when they together express one concept. For example:

   • chīfàn (eat/make a living),
   • shuìjiào (sleep),
   • kànshū (read),
   • dǎqiú (play [ball game]),
   • jūgōng (bow),
   • kētóu (kowtow)

   The syllables of Verb+Object type compound words are written separately when another element is inserted between the syllables. For example:

   • jūgōng (bow) à jūle yī ge gōng (bowed once)
3. An Action Verb and its complement are linked if both are monosyllabic. Otherwise they are separated. For example:
   • gǎohuài (ruin it),
   • zǒu jìnlái (walk in),
   • xiūlǐ hǎo (fix/repair [and make] it [mended])

1. Monosyllabic prefixes and suffixes are linked with nouns. Prefixes: fù- (vice), zǒng- (general/main/chief), fēi- (non), fǎn-[anti], chāo- (super/surpass), lǎo – (old/venerable), A – (marker of a nickname/endearment), kě (-ble), wú- (non), and so forth. Suffixes: -zǐ, -ér, -tóu (head, nominal ending), -xìng(nature), -zhě/yuán (-ist), -jiā (expert/-ist), -shǒu(hand/person/expert/-ist), -huà (-ized), men (-s/es), and so forth). For example:
   • fù-bùzhǎng (vice-director of a [government] department),
   • zǒng-gōngchéngshī (chief engineer),
   • yìshùjiā (artist [in general]).
2. Nouns and the directional words/locations after them are separated.
   • mén wài (outside the door)=mén wàimian(/wàibiān/wàitou),
   • huǒchē shàngmian (on the train)

   The syllables of lexical items are linked.

   • hǎiwài (this means “overseas,” not “outside of the sea”)
3. Surnames and given names (xìngmíng/míngzi) are written separately in the Chinese Han language. The first letters of surnames and the given names are capitalized. Pen names (bǐmíng) and nicknames (biémíng) are written according to the same principles:
   • Wáng Jiànguó,
   • Dōngfāng Shuò,
   • Zhāng Sān

   A personal name and the person’s professional title are separated:

   • Wáng bùzhǎng,
   • Lǐ xiānsheng/xs

   The first letter of personal addresses such as Lǎo, Xiǎo, Dà, Ā, and so forth are capitalized. For example:

   • Xiǎo Liú (Little Liu),
   • Wú Lǎo (honorable Old Wu),
   • Sān (The Third [in a family])

   When the surname of historically well-known figures is combined with a respectful or descriptive term by which they are commonly known, the syllables are linked, and the first letter is capitalized. For example:

   • Kǒngzǐ (Confucius),
   • Bāogōng (Grand Judge Bao),
   • Xīshī (Beauty Xishi)
4. Proper names and general names of places are separated and the first letter of each of the names is capitalized.
   • Běijīng Shì (Beijing City),
   • Dòngtíng Hú (Lake Dongting)

   The monosyllabic prefixes or suffixes of proper names and general names are linked. For examples:

   • Jǐngshān Hòujiē (Back Street of Jingshan),
   • Cháoyángménnèi Nánxiǎojiē (Southern Small Street Inside the Gate Facing the Sun)

   Link the syllables of established names for villages, towns, and other places when it is not necessary to distinguish whether they are proper names or general names (the first letter is capitalized). For example:

   • Wángcūn (Wang Village),
   • Zhōukǒudiàn (a place near Beijing where the fossilized remains of Peking Man were discovered),
   • Sāntányìnyuè (Moon Reflected in Three Ponds)
5. Personal and place names not in the Chinese Han language, based on the principle of “according with the custom of the person in question (míng cóng zhǔrén),” are written either in the original language or transcribed in Roman letters. For example:
   • Einstein (Ài’īnsītǎn),
   • Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme (Āpèi Āwàng Jìnměi),
   • London (Lúndūn),
   • Washington (Huáshèngdùn)

   Foreign names transcribed in the Chinese Han language are written according to the pronunciation of the corresponding characters. For example:

   • Nánměi (South America),
   • Déguó (Germany),
   • Dōngnányà (Southeast Asia)

1. Words are the basic units for spelling the Chinese Common Language.
   • rén (person/people),
   • péngyou (friend[s]),
   • túshūguǎn (library/libraries)
2. Structures of two or three syllables that indicate a complete concept are linked:
   • quánguó (the whole nation),
   • duìbuqǐ (sorry),
   • qiūhǎitáng (begonia)
3. Separate terms with more than 4 syllables if they can be separated into words, otherwise link all the syllables:
   • wúfèng gāngbǐ (seamless pen),
   • yánjiūshēngyuàn (graduate school),
   • jīngtǐguǎn gōnglǜ fàngdàqì (transistor power amplifier),
   • Hóngshízìhuì (Red Cross)
4. Reduplicated monosyllabic words are linked, but reduplicated disyllabic words are separated:
   • rénrén (everybody),
   • chángshi chángshi (give it a try)

   Juxtaposed reduplications (AABB structures) are separated by a hyphen:

   • láilái-wǎngwǎng (come to and fro)
   • qīngqīng-chǔchǔ (be clearly)
5. In certain situations, for the purpose of making it convenient to read and understand the words, a hyphen can be added:
   • huán-bǎo (environmental protection)
   • shíqī-bā suì (17 or 18 years old)

These are the syllables of Mandarin Chinese as shown in the combinations of initial and final sounds and as spelled in Hanyu Pinyin.

Notes:

• ⁂ Represents a zero initial (i.e. where nothing comes before the final sound in the far left column)
• * Whenever u comes at the beginning of a syllable, it is written w. W, however, must not appear without an additional vowel, so u as a complete syllable is not written as w by itself but as wu.
• † The i in zi, ci, si is different from most other uses of i in that it is short, not long. It is represented in IPA by ɿ .
• ‡ The i in zhi, chi, shi, ri is different from most other uses of i in that it is short, not long. It is represented in IPA by ʅ .
• + Whenever i comes at the beginning of a syllable, it is written y. Thus, Y, however, must not appear without an additional vowel, so not y, yn, yng but yi,yin, ying.
• ※ Hanyu Pinyin simplifies the spellings of syllables with ü by using the u form instead in cases where no ambiguity could result. This is merely a spelling convention; the u‘s here are still pronounced ü.
• ¹ wei: ui is actually an abbreviation of uei. This is why Hanyu Pinyin uses, for example, shui, not shuei, and dui, not duei.
• ² wen: un is actually an abbreviation of uen.
• ³ you: iu is acutally an abbreviation of iou. Thus, since i is written y at the beginning of a syllable, the spelling becomes you instead of yu (which would be not only misleading but wrong).
• er has been omitted from this table.

 From – http://www.pinyin.info/