zhuyin zimu, n.

zhuyin-zimu
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zhuyin-zimu_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1986; not fully revised

# zhuyin zimunoun

## Earlier version

- zhuyin zimu in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zhuyin zimu mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zhuyin zimu. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

#### Entry status

OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.

### How is the noun zhuyin zimu pronounced?

#### British English

/ˌdʒuːjɪn ˈdzɪmuː/

### Where does the noun zhuyin zimu come from?

Earliest known use

1930s

The earliest known use of the noun zhuyin zimu is in the 1930s.

OED's earliest evidence for zhuyin zimu is from 1938, in Book Thousand Tongues.

zhuyin zimu is a borrowing from Chinese.

### Nearby entries

1. Zeuxian, adj. 1635–
2. Zeuxis, n. 1577–
3. Zeuxis-like, adj. 1665–
4. zeuxite, n. 1836–
5. zeze, n. 1860–
6. Zhdanovism, n. 1958–
7. Zhdanovist, adj. 1966–
8. Zhdanovite, adj. 1957–
9. zho, n. 1841–
10. zhomo, n. 1841–
11. zhuyin zimu, n.1938–
12. zhuzh, n. 1968–
13. zhuzh, v. 1970–
14. zhuzhy, adj. 1968–
15. ziamet, n. 1807–
16. ziarat, n. 1776–
17. zibeline, n. 1585–
18. zibet, n. 1594–
19. zibet-muff, n. 1685
20. zibib, n. 1836–
21. ziczac, n. 1844–

## Etymology

### Summary

A borrowing from Chinese.
Chinese, < zhùyīn phonetic notation (< zhù notes + yīn sound) + zìmǔ letters of the alphabet (< zì word, character + mǔ mother).

## Meaning & use

1. 1938–
   The national phonetic alphabet of China made up of symbols based on Chinese characters, first adopted in 1918. Also elliptical as zhuyin.
   1. 1938

      > North Mandarin colloquial, Peking dialect, or Kuoyü... Chu Yin phonetics... Wang Chao phonetics... Roman characters.

      Book Thousand Tongues (Amer. Bible Soc.) 89/1
   2. 1960

      > A set of thirty-nine phonetic symbols, chu-yin tzu-mu, officially promulgated in 1918 by the government.

      Chang-tu Hu et al., China v. 107
   3. 1968

      > The purpose of the first official Chinese phonemic transcription called zhùyīn zìmŭ ‘Pronunciation Alphabet’..was to serve as a stepping stone towards learning the characters, and also as a tool for promulgating the National Language.

      P. Kratochvíl, Chinese Language Today v. 168
   4. 1978

      > The thirty-nine letters of the zhuyin zimu alphabet were taken from old, very simple Chinese characters.

      Nagel's Encycl.-guide: China (ed. 3) 95
   1. zhuyin zimu 1938–
      The national phonetic alphabet of China made up of symbols based on Chinese characters, first adopted in 1918. Also elliptical as zhuyin.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˌdʒuːjɪn ˈdzɪmuː/

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

## Forms

### Variant forms

Also with accents and (in Wade-Giles transliteration) as chu-yin tzu-mu.

zhuyin zimu, n. was first published in 1986; not fully revised.

zhuyin zimu, n. was last modified in December 2024.