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Jyutping (sometimes spelled Jyutpin) is a romanization
Romanization

In linguistics, romanization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Latin alphabet, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system ....
 system for Standard Cantonese
Standard Cantonese

Standard Cantonese, or Guangzhou dialect, is the prestige dialect of Cantonese language. It is used in Hong Kong and Macau as the spoken language of government and instruction in the schools....
 developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong
Linguistic Society of Hong Kong

The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong is a non-profit organization academia association, which was formally registered as a charitable organization in Hong Kong on March 8, 1986....
 (LSHK) in 1993. Its formal name is The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme. The LSHK promotes the use of this romanization system.

The name Jyutping (itself the Jyutping romanization of the Chinese name ??) is a contraction
Contraction (grammar)

In current English usage, contraction is shortening of a word, syllable, or word group by omission of internal letters.In traditional grammar, contraction can denote the formation of a new word from one word or a group of words, for example, by elision....
 consisting of the first Chinese character
Chinese character

A Chinese character, also known as a Han character , is a logogram used in writing Chinese language ,'' Japanese language ,'' less frequently Korean language ,'' and formerly Vietnamese language .''...
s of the terms jyut jyu (??, meaning "Yue language") and ping jam (?? "phonetic alphabet").

Note that the "j" used by this romanization system is the "j" used by IPA, which is equivalent to the "y" used by English speakers or most Chinese romanization systems.

Jyutping input method is the only Cantonese input method available in Microsoft
Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a multinational corporation computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of computer software products for computing devices....
's Vista
Windows Vista

Windows Vista is one member in a family of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business Desktop computer, laptops, Tablet PCs, and media center PCs....
 products.

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e are nine tones
Tone (linguistics)

Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning?that is, to distinguish or inflection words. All languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information, and to convey emphasis, contrast, and other such features in what is called intonation , but not all languages use tones to distingu...
 in six distinct tone contour
Tone contour

A tone contour is a tone in a tonal language which shifts from one pitch to another over the course of the syllable or word. Tone contours are especially common in East and Southeast Asia, but occur elsewhere, such as the Kru languages of Liberia and the Ju languages of Namibia....
s in Cantonese.






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Encyclopedia


Jyutping (sometimes spelled Jyutpin) is a romanization
Romanization

In linguistics, romanization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Latin alphabet, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system ....
 system for Standard Cantonese
Standard Cantonese

Standard Cantonese, or Guangzhou dialect, is the prestige dialect of Cantonese language. It is used in Hong Kong and Macau as the spoken language of government and instruction in the schools....
 developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong
Linguistic Society of Hong Kong

The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong is a non-profit organization academia association, which was formally registered as a charitable organization in Hong Kong on March 8, 1986....
 (LSHK) in 1993. Its formal name is The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme. The LSHK promotes the use of this romanization system.

The name Jyutping (itself the Jyutping romanization of the Chinese name ??) is a contraction
Contraction (grammar)

In current English usage, contraction is shortening of a word, syllable, or word group by omission of internal letters.In traditional grammar, contraction can denote the formation of a new word from one word or a group of words, for example, by elision....
 consisting of the first Chinese character
Chinese character

A Chinese character, also known as a Han character , is a logogram used in writing Chinese language ,'' Japanese language ,'' less frequently Korean language ,'' and formerly Vietnamese language .''...
s of the terms jyut jyu (??, meaning "Yue language") and ping jam (?? "phonetic alphabet").

Note that the "j" used by this romanization system is the "j" used by IPA, which is equivalent to the "y" used by English speakers or most Chinese romanization systems.

Jyutping input method is the only Cantonese input method available in Microsoft
Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a multinational corporation computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of computer software products for computing devices....
's Vista
Windows Vista

Windows Vista is one member in a family of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business Desktop computer, laptops, Tablet PCs, and media center PCs....
 products.

Initials


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Finals



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  • The finals m and ng can only be used as standalone nasal
    Nasal consonant

    A nasal consonant is produced with a lowered soft palate in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. The oral cavity still acts as a resonance chamber for the sound, but the air does not escape through the mouth as it is blocked by the tongue....
     syllables.
  • Referring to the colloquial pronunciation of these words.


Tones

There are nine tones
Tone (linguistics)

Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning?that is, to distinguish or inflection words. All languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information, and to convey emphasis, contrast, and other such features in what is called intonation , but not all languages use tones to distingu...
 in six distinct tone contour
Tone contour

A tone contour is a tone in a tonal language which shifts from one pitch to another over the course of the syllable or word. Tone contours are especially common in East and Southeast Asia, but occur elsewhere, such as the Kru languages of Liberia and the Ju languages of Namibia....
s in Cantonese. However, as three of the nine are entering
Entering tone

A checked tone, commonly known by its Chinese calque entering tone is one of four syllable types in the phonology in Middle Chinese which are commonly translated as "tone"....
 tones, which only appear in syllables ending with p, t, and k, they do not have separate tone numbers in Jyutping (though they do in Yale
Yale Romanization

The Yale romanizations are four systems created during World War II for use by United States US armed forces. They romanized the four East Asian languages of Mandarin Chinese, Yue Chinese, Korean language, and Japanese language....
; these are shown in parentheses in table below).
Tone name
Tone name

In Chinese language and Vietnamese language, tone names are the names given to the tone s these languages use....
Yin Píng
(??)		Yin Shàng
(??)		Yin Qù
(??)		Yáng Píng
(??)		Yáng Shàng
(??)		Yáng Qù
(??)		Yin Rù
(??)		Zhong Rù
(??)		Yáng Rù
(??)
Tone Number1234561 (7)3 (8)6 (9)
Tone name in Englishhigh level or high fallingmid risingmid levellow fallinglow risinglow levelentering high levelentering mid levelentering low level
Contour
Tone contour

A tone contour is a tone in a tonal language which shifts from one pitch to another over the course of the syllable or word. Tone contours are especially common in East and Southeast Asia, but occur elsewhere, such as the Kru languages of Liberia and the Ju languages of Namibia....
55 / 53353322 / 211322532
Character Example?????????
Examplefan1fan2fan3fan4fan5fan6fat1faat3fat6


Comparison with Yale Romanization

Jyutping and the Yale romanization system
Yale Romanization

The Yale romanizations are four systems created during World War II for use by United States US armed forces. They romanized the four East Asian languages of Mandarin Chinese, Yue Chinese, Korean language, and Japanese language....
 represent Cantonese pronunciations with the same letters in:
  • The initials: b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l, g, k, ng, h, s, gw, kw, w.
  • The vowel
    Vowel

    In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis....
    : aa (except when using alone), a, e, i, o, u,yu.
  • The nasal consonant
    Nasal consonant

    A nasal consonant is produced with a lowered soft palate in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. The oral cavity still acts as a resonance chamber for the sound, but the air does not escape through the mouth as it is blocked by the tongue....
    : m, ng.
  • The coda
    Syllable coda

    In phonology, a syllable coda comprises the consonant sounds of a syllable that follow the syllable nucleus, which is usually a vowel. The combination of a nucleus and a coda is called a syllable rime....
    : i, u, m, n, ng, p, t, k.
But they have difference with the following exceptions:
  • The vowel
    Vowel

    In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis....
    s eo and oe represent and respectively in Jyutping, while the eu represents both vowels in Yale.
  • The initial j represents in Jyutping while y is used instead in Yale.
  • The initial z represents in Jyutping while j is used instead in Yale.
  • The initial c represents in Jyutping while ch is used instead in Yale.
  • In Jyutping, if no consonant
    Consonant

    In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the upper vocal tract, the upper vocal tract being defined as that part of the vocal tract that lies above the larynx....
     precedes the vowel yu, then the initial j is appended before the vowel. In Yale, the corresponding initial y is never appended before yu under any circumstances.
  • Jyutping defines three finals not in Yale: eu , em , and ep . These three finals are used in colloquial Cantonese words, such as deu6, lem2, and gep6.
  • To represent tone
    Tone (linguistics)

    Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning?that is, to distinguish or inflection words. All languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information, and to convey emphasis, contrast, and other such features in what is called intonation , but not all languages use tones to distingu...
    s, only tone numbers are used in Jyutping while Yale originally uses tone marks together with the letter h (though tone numbers can be used in Yale as well).


Comparison with Standard Cantonese Pinyin

Jyutping and the Standard Cantonese Pinyin
Standard Cantonese Pinyin

Standard Cantonese Pinyin is a romanization system for Standard Cantonese developed by Yu Bingzhao in 1971, and subsequently modified by the Education Department and Zhan Bohui ....
 represent Cantonese pronunciations with the same letters in:
  • The initials: b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l, g, k, ng, h, s, gw, kw, j, w.
  • The vowel
    Vowel

    In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis....
    : aa, a, e, i, o, u.
  • The nasal consonant
    Nasal consonant

    A nasal consonant is produced with a lowered soft palate in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. The oral cavity still acts as a resonance chamber for the sound, but the air does not escape through the mouth as it is blocked by the tongue....
    : m, ng.
  • The coda
    Syllable coda

    In phonology, a syllable coda comprises the consonant sounds of a syllable that follow the syllable nucleus, which is usually a vowel. The combination of a nucleus and a coda is called a syllable rime....
    : i (except of being the coda
    Syllable coda

    In phonology, a syllable coda comprises the consonant sounds of a syllable that follow the syllable nucleus, which is usually a vowel. The combination of a nucleus and a coda is called a syllable rime....
      in Jyutping), u, m, n, ng, p, t, k.
But they have some differences:
  • The vowel
    Vowel

    In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis....
    s oe represent and in Standard Cantonese Pinyin while the eo and oe represent and respectively in Jyutping.
  • The vowel y represent in Standard Cantonese Pinyin while both yu (use in nucleus
    Syllable nucleus

    In phonetics and phonology, the nucleus is the central part of the syllable, most commonly a vowel. In addition to a nucleus, a syllable may begin with an syllable onset and end with a syllable coda, but in most languages the only part of a syllable that is mandatory is the nucleus....
    ) and i (use in coda
    Syllable coda

    In phonology, a syllable coda comprises the consonant sounds of a syllable that follow the syllable nucleus, which is usually a vowel. The combination of a nucleus and a coda is called a syllable rime....
    ) is used in Jyutping.
  • The initial dz represents in Standard Cantonese Pinyin while z is used instead in Jyutping.
  • The initial ts represents in Standard Cantonese Pinyin while c is used instead in Jyutping.
  • To represent tone
    Tone (linguistics)

    Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning?that is, to distinguish or inflection words. All languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information, and to convey emphasis, contrast, and other such features in what is called intonation , but not all languages use tones to distingu...
    , numbers 1 to 9 are usually used in Standard Cantonese Pinyin (as in Yale), though substituting 1, 3, and 6 for 7, 8, and 9 is acceptable. However, only numbers 1 to 6 are used in Jyutping.


Examples

Traditional
Traditional Chinese character

Traditional Chinese characters refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. The modern shapes of traditional Chinese characters first appeared with the emergence of the clerical script during the Han Dynasty, and have been more or less stable since the 5th century The retronym "traditional Chinese" is used to contrast tr...
Simplified
Simplified Chinese character

Simplified Chinese Characters are one of two standard sets of Chinese characters of the contemporary Chinese written language. They are based mostly on popular cursive forms embodying graphic or phonetic simplifications of the "traditional" forms that were used in printed text for over a thousand years....
Romanization
??????gwong2 zau1 waa2
????jyut6 jyu5
????nei5 hou2


Pronunciation in an old Chinese poem:

Jyutping input method

The Jyutping method refers to a family of input methods
Chinese input methods for computers

Since the Chinese language uses a logogram script ? that is, a script where one or more "Chinese written language" corresponds roughly to one "word" or meaning ? there are vastly more characters, or glyphs, than there are keys on a standard computer keyboard....
 based on the Jyutping
Jyutping

Jyutping is a romanization system for Standard Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong in 1993. Its formal name is The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme....
 romanization system.

The Jyutping method allows a user to input Chinese characters by entering the jyutping of a Chinese character (with or without tone, depending on the system) and then presenting the user with a list of possible characters with that pronunciation.

List of Cantonese phonetic methods

  • for Macintosh
    Macintosh

    File:Imac alu.pngMacintosh, commonly shortened to Mac, is a brand name which covers several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc....
     Mac OS X
    Mac OS X

    Mac OS X is a line of computer operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., and since 2002 has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems....
  • for Macintosh
    Macintosh

    File:Imac alu.pngMacintosh, commonly shortened to Mac, is a brand name which covers several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc....
     Mac OS X
    Mac OS X

    Mac OS X is a line of computer operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., and since 2002 has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems....
     and OS 9 (The page also includes Yale input version 0.2)
  • (????????????)
  • (???????)
  • (???????)
  • Microsoft Office Hong Kong Cantonese IME 2007 (?????????2007)


External links

  • : Learning the phonetic system of Cantonese
  • is a dedicated Cantonese-Mandarin-English online dictionary which uses Jyutping by default
  • : a website that transliterates Chinese characters to Jyutping