View source for Wade–Giles

{{Short description|Romanization scheme for Mandarin Chinese}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2015}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2020}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox romanization
| name      = Wade–Giles
| languages = [[Mandarin Chinese]]
| creator   = [[Thomas Francis Wade|Thomas Wade]] and [[Herbert Giles]]
| date      = 19th century
| iso15924 note = BCP 47 variant subtag: <code>wadegile</code><ref>{{Cite web|title=Language Subtag Registry|url=https://www.iana.org/assignments/language-subtag-registry/language-subtag-registry|publisher=IANA|accessdate=2024-03-13}}</ref>
| engvar    = us
   <!-- The "reversed" <div> tags are for avoiding lint errors from how the child infobox mixes with the footnotes wrapping -->
| footnotes = </div>{{Infobox Chinese/Chinese|child=yes|header=none
| c = {{linktext|威|翟|式|拼音}}
| w = {{tonesup|Wei1 Chai2 Shih4 Pʻin1-yin1}}
| p = Wēi-Zhái Shì Pīnyīn
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|wei|1|-|zh|ai|2|-|shi|4|-|p|in|1|.|yin|1}}
| mps = Wēi Jái Shr̀ Pīnyīn
| myr = Wēi Jái Shr̀ Pīnyīn
| tp = Wei Jhái Shìh Pin-yin
| gr = Uei Jair Shyh Pin'in
| bpmf = {{bpmfsp|ㄨㄟ|ㄓㄞˊ|ㄕˋ|ㄆㄧㄣ|ㄧㄣ}}
}}<div>
|image={{Template:Multiple image|  total_width=300| image1=Herbert Giles.jpg| image2= Thomas Francis Wade.jpg| border=infobox| footer = [[Herbert Giles]] (left) and [[Thomas Francis Wade]] (right)}}}}
[[File:Taiwan_Strait.png|thumb|300px|Map of the [[Taiwan Strait]], featuring names using Wade–Giles in Taiwan versus those using pinyin in mainland China]]

'''Wade–Giles''' ({{IPAc-en|w|eɪ|d|_|'|dʒ|aɪ|l|z}} {{respell|wayd|_|JYLZ}}) is a [[Romanization of Chinese|romanization system]] for [[Standard Chinese|Mandarin Chinese]]. It developed from the system produced by [[Thomas Francis Wade]] during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with [[Herbert Giles]]'s ''[[A Chinese–English Dictionary]]'' (1892).

The romanization systems in common use until the late 19th century were based on the [[Nanjing dialect]], but Wade–Giles was based on the [[Beijing dialect]] and was the system of transcription familiar in the English-speaking world for most of the 20th century. Both of these kinds of transcription were used in [[postal romanization]]s (romanized place-names standardized for postal uses). In [[mainland China]], Wade–Giles has been mostly replaced by [[Hanyu Pinyin]], which was officially adopted in 1958, with exceptions for the romanized forms of some of the most commonly used names of locations and persons, and other proper nouns. The romanized name for most locations, persons and other proper nouns in Taiwan is based on the Wade–Giles derived romanized form, for example [[Kaohsiung]], the [[Matsu Islands]] and [[Chiang Ching-kuo]].

==History==
Wade–Giles was developed by [[Thomas Francis Wade]], a scholar of Chinese and a British ambassador in China who was the first professor of Chinese at the [[University of Cambridge]]. Wade published ''{{lang|zh-Latn-wadegile|Yü-yen Tzŭ-erh Chi}}'' ({{zhi|first=t|t=語言自邇集|s=语言自迩集}})<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wade |first=Thomas Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fu0aAAAAYAAJ |title=Yü-yen Tzŭ-erh Chi: A Progressive Course Designed to Assist the Student of Colloquial Chinese, As Spoken in the Capital and the Metropolitan Department |publisher=Trübner |year=1867 |location=London |language=zh}}</ref>  in 1867, the first textbook on the [[Beijing dialect]] of [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] in English,<ref name="Kaske2008">{{Cite book |last=Kaske |first=Elisabeth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=okhrBBmnHVQC |title=The Politics of Language in Chinese Education: 1895–1919 |publisher=Brill |year=2008 |isbn=978-9-004-16367-6 |page=68}}</ref> which became the basis for the system later known as Wade–Giles. The system, designed to transcribe Chinese terms for Chinese specialists, was further refined in 1892 by [[Herbert Giles]] (in ''[[A Chinese–English Dictionary]]''), a British diplomat in China, and his son [[Lionel Giles]],{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} a curator at the British Museum.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chinese Language Transliteration Systems – Wade–Giles |url=http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/skozerow/wadegiles.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070128065433/http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/skozerow/wadegiles.htm |archive-date=2007-01-28 |access-date=2007-08-04 |publisher=UCLA film and television archive}} (Web archive)</ref>

Taiwan used Wade–Giles for decades as the de facto standard, co-existing with several official romanizations in succession, namely, [[Gwoyeu Romatzyh]] (1928), [[Mandarin Phonetic Symbols II]] (1986), and [[Tongyong Pinyin]] (2000). The [[Kuomintang]] (KMT) has previously promoted pinyin with [[Ma Ying-jeou]]'s successful presidential bid in 2008 and in a number of cities with Kuomintang mayors.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} However, the [[Tsai Ing-wen]] administration and [[Democratic Progressive Party]] (DPP) along with the majority of the people in Taiwan, both native and overseas, use spelling and transcribe their legal names based on the Wade–Giles system, as well as the other aforementioned systems.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

==Initials and finals==
The tables below show the Wade–Giles representation of each [[Standard Chinese phonology|Chinese sound]] (in bold type),<ref>''[[A Chinese–English Dictionary]]''.</ref> together with the corresponding [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] phonetic symbol (in square brackets), and equivalent representations in [[Bopomofo]] and [[Hanyu Pinyin]].
 
===Initials===
{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="2" | !![[Labial consonant|Labial]]
![[Dental consonant|Dental]]/[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]!![[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
![[Alveolo-palatal consonant|Alveolo-palatal]]!![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| [[Bilabial nasal|'''<big>m</big>''' [m]]]<br>ㄇ m|| [[Alveolar nasal|'''<big>n</big>''' [n]]]<br>ㄋ n|| || ||
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Plosive]]!![[Aspirated consonant|Unaspirated]]
|[[Voiceless bilabial plosive|'''<big>p</big>''' [p]]]<br>ㄅ b
|[[Voiceless alveolar plosive|'''<big>t</big>''' [t]]]<br>ㄉ d|| ||
|[[Voiceless velar plosive|'''<big>k</big>''' [k]]]<br>ㄍ g
|-
![[Aspirated consonant|Aspirated]]
|[[Voiceless bilabial plosive|'''<big>pʻ</big>''' [pʰ]]]<br>ㄆ p
|[[Voiceless alveolar plosive|'''<big>tʻ</big>''' [tʰ]]]<br>ㄊ t|| ||
|[[Voiceless velar plosive|'''<big>kʻ</big>''' [kʰ]]]<br>ㄎ k
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]!![[Aspirated consonant|Unaspirated]]
| ||[[Voiceless alveolar affricate|'''<big>ts</big>''' [ts]]]<br>ㄗ z
|[[Voiceless retroflex affricate|'''<big>ch</big>''' [ʈʂ]]]<br>ㄓ zh
|[[Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate|'''<big>ch</big>''' [tɕ]]]<br>ㄐ j||
|-
![[Aspirated consonant|Aspirated]]
| ||[[Voiceless alveolar affricate|'''<big>tsʻ</big>''' [tsʰ]]]<br>ㄘ c
|[[Voiceless retroflex affricate|'''<big>chʻ</big>''' [ʈʂʰ]]]<br>ㄔ ch
|[[Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate|'''<big>chʻ</big>''' [tɕʰ]]]<br>ㄑ q||
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| [[Voiceless labiodental fricative|'''<big>f</big>''' [f]]]<br>ㄈ f
|[[Voiceless alveolar sibilant|'''<big>s</big>''' [s]]]<br>ㄙ s
|[[Voiceless retroflex sibilant|'''<big>sh</big>''' [ʂ]]]<br>ㄕ sh
|[[Voiceless alveolo-palatal sibilant|'''<big>hs</big>''' [ɕ]]]<br>ㄒ x
|[[Voiceless velar fricative|'''<big>h</big>''' [x]]]<br>ㄏ h
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Liquid consonant|Liquid]]
| || [[Alveolar lateral approximant|'''<big>l</big>''' [l]]]<br>ㄌ l|| [[Retroflex approximant|'''<big>j</big>''' [ɻ~ʐ]]]<br>ㄖ r|| ||
|}

Instead of ''ts'', ''ts{{wg-apos}}'' and ''s'', Wade–Giles writes ''tz'', ''tz{{wg-apos}}'' and ''ss'' before ''ŭ'' (see [[#Syllabic consonants|below]]).

===Finals===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!colspan=2 rowspan=2|
!colspan=13|Coda
|-
!colspan=3|∅!!colspan=2|{{IPA|/i/}}!!colspan=2|{{IPA|/u/}}!!colspan=2|{{IPA|/n/}}!!colspan=3|{{IPA|/ŋ/}}!!{{IPA|/ɻ/}}
|-
!rowspan=4|Medial
!∅
|bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>ih/ŭ</big>'''<br>[ɨ]<br>ㄭ[[File:MoeKai Bopomofo U+312D.svg|15px]] -i||bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>ê/o</big>'''<br>[ɤ]<br>ㄜ e||'''<big>a</big>'''<br>[a]<br>ㄚ a
|'''<big>ei</big>'''<br>[ei]<br>ㄟ ei||'''<big>ai</big>'''<br>[ai]<br>ㄞ ai
|'''<big>ou</big>'''<br>[ou]<br>ㄡ ou||'''<big>ao</big>'''<br>[au]<br>ㄠ ao
|bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>ên</big>'''<br>[ən]<br>ㄣ en||'''<big>an</big>'''<br>[an]<br>ㄢ an
|bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>ung</big>'''<br>[ʊŋ]<br>ㄨㄥ ong||bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>êng</big>'''<br>[əŋ]<br>ㄥ eng||'''<big>ang</big>'''<br>[aŋ]<br>ㄤ ang
|bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>êrh</big>'''<br>[aɚ̯]<br>ㄦ er
|-
!{{IPA|/j/}}
|'''<big>i</big>'''<br>[i]<br>ㄧ i||bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>ieh</big>'''<br>[je]<br>ㄧㄝ ie||'''<big>ia</big>'''<br>[ja]<br>ㄧㄚ ia
| ||
|'''<big>iu</big>'''<br>[jou]<br>ㄧㄡ iu||'''<big>iao</big>'''<br>[jau]<br>ㄧㄠ iao
|'''<big>in</big>'''<br>[in]<br>ㄧㄣ in||bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>ien</big>'''<br>[jɛn]<br>ㄧㄢ ian
|bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>iung</big>'''<br>[jʊŋ]<br>ㄩㄥ iong||'''<big>ing</big>'''<br>[iŋ]<br>ㄧㄥ ing||'''<big>iang</big>'''<br>[jaŋ]<br>ㄧㄤ iang
|
|-
!{{IPA|/w/}}
|'''<big>u</big>'''<br>[u]<br>ㄨ u||bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>o/uo</big>'''<br>[wo]<br>ㄛ/ㄨㄛ o/uo||'''<big>ua</big>'''<br>[wa]<br>ㄨㄚ ua||bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>ui/uei</big>'''<br>[wei]<br>ㄨㄟ ui||'''<big>uai</big>'''<br>[wai]<br>ㄨㄞ uai
| ||
|'''<big>un</big>'''<br>[wən]<br>ㄨㄣ un||'''<big>uan</big>'''<br>[wan]<br>ㄨㄢ uan
| ||
| |'''<big>uang</big>'''<br>[waŋ]<br>ㄨㄤ uang
|
|-
!{{IPA|/ɥ/}}
|'''<big>ü</big>'''<br>[y]<br>ㄩ ü||bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>üeh</big>'''<br>[ɥe]<br>ㄩㄝ üe||
| ||
| ||
|'''<big>ün</big>'''<br>[yn]<br>ㄩㄣ ün||'''<big>üan</big>'''<br>[ɥɛn]<br>ㄩㄢ üan
| || ||
|
|}

Wade–Giles writes ''-uei'' after ''k{{wg-apos}}'' and ''k'', otherwise ''-ui'': ''k{{wg-apos}}uei'', ''kuei'', ''hui'', ''shui'', ''ch{{wg-apos}}ui''.

It writes {{IPA|[-ɤ]}} as ''-o'' after ''k{{wg-apos}}'', ''k'' and ''h'', otherwise as ''-ê'': ''k{{wg-apos}}o'', ''ko'', ''ho'', ''shê'', ''ch{{wg-apos}}ê''. When {{IPA|[ɤ]}} forms a syllable on its own, it is written ''ê'' or ''o'' depending on the character.

Wade–Giles writes {{IPA|[-wo]}} as ''-uo'' after ''k{{wg-apos}}'', ''k'', ''h'' and ''sh'', otherwise as ''-o'': ''k{{wg-apos}}uo'', ''kuo'', ''huo'', ''shuo'', ''bo'', ''tso''. After ''ch{{wg-apos}}'', it is written ''ch{{wg-apos}}o'' or ''ch{{wg-apos}}uo'' depending on the character.

For ''-ih'' and ''-ŭ'', see [[#Syllabic consonants|below]].

Giles's ''[[A Chinese–English Dictionary]]'' also includes the finals ''-io'' (in ''yo'', ''chio'', ''ch{{wg-apos}}io'', ''hsio'', ''lio'' and ''nio'') and ''-üo'' (in ''chüo'', ''ch{{wg-apos}}üo'', ''hsüo'', ''lüo'' and ''nüo''), both of which are pronounced ''-üeh'' in modern [[Standard Chinese]]: ''yüeh'', ''chüeh'', ''ch{{wg-apos}}üeh'', ''hsüeh'', ''lüeh'' and ''nüeh''.

===Syllables that begin with a medial===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!colspan=2 rowspan=2|
!colspan=13|Coda
|-
!colspan=3|∅!!colspan=2|{{IPA|/i/}}!!colspan=2|{{IPA|/u/}}!!colspan=2|{{IPA|/n/}}!!colspan=3|{{IPA|/ŋ/}}
|-
!rowspan=4|Medial
!{{IPA|/j/}}
|bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>i/yi</big>'''<br>[i]<br>ㄧ yi||bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>yeh</big>'''<br>[je]<br>ㄧㄝ ye||'''<big>ya</big>'''<br>[ja]<br>ㄧㄚ ya
| ||'''<big>yai</big>'''<br>[jai]<br>ㄧㄞ yai
|bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>yu</big>'''<br>[jou]<br>ㄧㄡ you||'''<big>yao</big>'''<br>[jau]<br>ㄧㄠ yao
|'''<big>yin</big>'''<br>[in]<br>ㄧㄣ yin||bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>yen</big>'''<br>[jɛn]<br>ㄧㄢ yan
|bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>yung</big>'''<br>[jʊŋ]<br>ㄩㄥ yong||'''<big>ying</big>'''<br>[iŋ]<br>ㄧㄥ ying||'''<big>yang</big>'''<br>[jaŋ]<br>ㄧㄤ yang
|-
!{{IPA|/w/}}
|'''<big>wu</big>'''<br>[u]<br>ㄨ wu||'''<big>wo</big>'''<br>[wo]<br>ㄨㄛ wo||'''<big>wa</big>'''<br>[wa]<br>ㄨㄚ wa
|'''<big>wei</big>'''<br>[wei]<br>ㄨㄟ wei||'''<big>wai</big>'''<br>[wai]<br>ㄨㄞ wai
| ||
|bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>wên</big>'''<br>[wən]<br>ㄨㄣ wen||'''<big>wan</big>'''<br>[wan]<br>ㄨㄢ wan
| ||bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>wêng</big>'''<br>[wəŋ]<br>ㄨㄥ weng||'''<big>wang</big>'''<br>[waŋ]<br>ㄨㄤ wang
|-
!{{IPA|/ɥ/}}
|bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>yü</big>'''<br>[y]<br>ㄩ yu||bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>yüeh</big>'''<br>[ɥe]<br>ㄩㄝ yue||
| ||
| ||
|bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>yün</big>'''<br>[yn]<br>ㄩㄣ yun||bgcolor=#efefef|'''<big>yüan</big>'''<br>[ɥɛn]<br>ㄩㄢ yuan
| || ||
|}

Wade–Giles writes the syllable {{IPA|[i]}} as ''i'' or ''yi'' depending on the character.

==System features==

===Consonants and initial symbols===
A feature of the Wade–Giles system is the representation of the [[Aspiration (phonetics)|unaspirated-aspirated]] [[stop consonant]] pairs using a character resembling an [[apostrophe]]. Thomas Wade and others used the [[spiritus asper]] ({{asper}} or {{wg-apos}}), borrowed from the [[polytonic orthography]] of the [[Ancient Greek]] language. [[Herbert Giles]] and others used a left (opening) curved single [[quotation mark]] (‘) for the same purpose. A third group used a plain [[apostrophe]] (').  The [[backtick]], and visually similar characters, are sometimes seen in various electronic documents using the system.

Examples using the spiritus asper: ''p'', ''p{{wg-apos}}'', ''t'', ''t{{wg-apos}}'', ''k'', ''k{{wg-apos}}'', ''ch'', ''ch{{wg-apos}}''. The use of this character preserves ''b'', ''d'', ''g'', and ''j'' for the romanization of [[varieties of Chinese|Chinese varieties]] containing [[voiced]] consonants, such as [[Shanghainese]] (which has a full set of voiced consonants) and [[Min Nan]] (Hō-ló-oē) whose century-old [[Pe̍h-ōe-jī]] (POJ, often called Missionary Romanization) is similar to Wade–Giles. POJ, [[Legge romanization]], [[Simplified Wade]], and [[EFEO Chinese transcription]] use the letter {{angbr|h}} instead of an apostrophe-like character to indicate aspiration. (This is similar to the obsolete [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] convention before the [[History of the International Phonetic Alphabet|revisions of the 1970s]]). The convention of an apostrophe-like character or {{angbr|h}} to denote aspiration is also found in romanizations of other Asian languages, such as [[McCune–Reischauer]] for [[Korean language|Korean]] and [[ISO 11940]] for [[Thai language|Thai]].

People unfamiliar with Wade–Giles often ignore the spiritus asper, sometimes omitting them when copying texts, unaware that they represent vital information. Hanyu Pinyin addresses this issue by employing the Latin letters customarily used for voiced stops, unneeded in Mandarin, to represent the unaspirated stops: ''b, p, d, t, g, k, j, q, zh, ch.''

Partly because of the popular omission of apostrophe-like characters, the four sounds represented in Hanyu Pinyin by ''j'', ''q'', ''zh'', and ''ch'' often all become ''ch'', including in many proper names. However, if the apostrophe-like characters are kept, the system reveals a symmetry that leaves no overlap:
* The non-[[retroflex]] ''ch'' (Pinyin ''j'') and ''ch{{wg-apos}}'' (Pinyin ''q'') are always before either ''ü'' or ''i'', but never ''ih''. 
* The [[retroflex]] ''ch'' (Pinyin ''zh'') and ''ch{{wg-apos}}'' (Pinyin ''ch'') are always before ''ih'', ''a'', ''ê'', ''e'', ''o'', or ''u''.

===Vowels and final symbols===

====Syllabic consonants====
Like [[Yale romanization of Mandarin|Yale]] and [[Mandarin Phonetic Symbols II]], Wade–Giles renders the two types of [[syllabic consonant]] ({{lang-zh|s=空韵|t=空韻}}; Wade–Giles: ''k{{wg-apos}}ung<sup>1</sup>-yün<sup>4</sup>''; [[Pinyin|Hanyu Pinyin]]: ''kōngyùn'') differently: 
* ''-ŭ'' is used after the [[sibilant]]s written in this position (and this position only) as ''tz'', ''tz{{wg-apos}}'' and ''ss'' (Pinyin ''z'', ''c'' and ''s'').
* ''-ih'' is used after the [[retroflex]] ''ch'', ''ch{{wg-apos}}'', ''sh'', and ''j'' (Pinyin ''zh'', ''ch'', ''sh'', and ''r'').
These finals are both written as ''-ih'' in [[Tongyong Pinyin]], as ''-i'' in [[Pinyin|Hanyu Pinyin]] (hence distinguishable only by the initial from {{IPA|[i]}} as in ''li''), and as ''-y'' in [[Spelling in Gwoyeu Romatzyh|Gwoyeu Romatzyh]] and [[Simplified Wade]]. They are typically omitted in [[Bopomofo]].
{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
!colspan=2|[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
|ʈ͡ʂɻ̩||ʈ͡ʂʰɻ̩||ʂɻ̩||ɻɻ̩||t͡sɹ̩||t͡sʰɹ̩||sɹ̩
|-
!colspan=2|[[Yale romanization of Mandarin|Yale]]
|jr||chr||shr||r||dz||tsz||sz
|-
!colspan=2|[[Mandarin Phonetic Symbols II|MPS II]]
|jr||chr||shr||r||tz||tsz||sz
|-
!colspan=2|Wade–Giles
|chih||chʻih||shih||jih||tzŭ||tzʻŭ||ssŭ
|-
!colspan=2|[[Tongyong Pinyin]]
|jhih||chih||shih||rih||zih||cih||sih
|-
!colspan=2|[[Pinyin|Hanyu Pinyin]]
|zhi||chi||shi||ri||zi||ci||si
|-
!colspan=2|[[Spelling in Gwoyeu Romatzyh|Gwoyeu Romatzyh]]
|jy||chy||shy||ry||tzy||tsy||sy
|-
!colspan=2|[[Simplified Wade]]
|chy||chhy||shy||ry||tsy||tshy||sy
|-
!colspan=2|[[Bopomofo]]
|ㄓ||ㄔ||ㄕ||ㄖ||ㄗ||ㄘ||ㄙ
|-
|}

====Vowel ''o'' ====
Final ''o'' in Wade–Giles has two pronunciations in modern Peking dialect: {{IPA|[wo]}} and {{IPA|[ɤ]}}.

What is pronounced in vernacular Peking dialect as a [[close-mid back unrounded vowel]] {{IPA|[ɤ]}} is written usually as ''ê'', but sometimes as ''o'', depending on historical pronunciation (at the time Wade–Giles was developed). Specifically, after velar initials ''k'', ''k{{wg-apos}}'' and ''h'' (and a historical ''ng'', which had been dropped by the time Wade–Giles was developed), ''o'' is used; for example, "哥" is ''ko<sup>1</sup>'' (Pinyin ''gē'') and "刻" is ''k{{wg-apos}}o<sup>4</sup>''<ref>''[[A Chinese–English Dictionary]]'', p. 761.</ref> (Pinyin ''kè''). In Peking dialect, ''o'' after velars (and what used to be ''ng'') have shifted to {{IPA|[ɤ]}}, thus they are written as ''ge'', ''ke'', ''he'' and ''e'' in Pinyin. When {{IPA|[ɤ]}} forms a syllable on its own, Wade–Giles writes ''ê'' or ''o'' depending on the character. In all other circumstances, it writes ''ê''.

What is pronounced in Peking dialect as {{IPA|[wo]}} is usually written as ''o'' in Wade–Giles, except for ''wo'', ''shuo'' (e.g. "說" ''shuo<sup>1</sup>'') and the three syllables of ''kuo'', ''k{{wg-apos}}uo'', and ''huo'' (as in 過, 霍, etc.), which contrast with ''ko'', ''k{{wg-apos}}o'', and ''ho'' that correspond to Pinyin ''ge'', ''ke'', and ''he''. This is because characters like 羅, 多, etc. (Wade–Giles: ''lo<sup>2</sup>'', ''to<sup>1</sup>''; Pinyin: ''luó'', ''duō'') did not originally carry the medial {{IPA|[w]}}. Peking dialect does not have phonemic contrast between ''o'' and ''-uo''/''wo'' (except in interjections when used alone) and a medial {{IPA|[w]}} is usually inserted in front of ''-o'' to form {{IPA|[wo]}}.
{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
![[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
|{{IPA|pwo}}||{{IPA|pʰwo}}||{{IPA|mwo}}||{{IPA|fwo}}||{{IPA|two}}||{{IPA|tʰwo}}||{{IPA|nwo}}||{{IPA|lwo}}||{{IPA|kɤ}}||{{IPA|kʰɤ}}||{{IPA|xɤ}}||{{IPA|ʈ͡ʂwo}}||{{IPA|ʈ͡ʂʰwo}}||{{IPA|ʐwo}}||{{IPA|t͡swo}}||{{IPA|t͡sʰwo}}||{{IPA|swo}}||{{IPA|ɤ}}||{{IPA|wo}}
|-
!Wade–Giles
|po||pʻo||mo||fo||to||tʻo||no||lo||ko||kʻo||ho||cho||chʻo||jo||tso||tsʻo||so||o/ê||wo
|-
![[Bopomofo|Zhuyin]]
|ㄅ'''ㄛ'''||ㄆ'''ㄛ'''||ㄇ'''ㄛ'''||ㄈ'''ㄛ'''||ㄉ'''ㄨㄛ'''||ㄊ'''ㄨㄛ'''||ㄋ'''ㄨㄛ'''||ㄌ'''ㄨㄛ'''||ㄍ'''ㄜ'''||ㄎ'''ㄜ'''||ㄏ'''ㄜ'''||ㄓ'''ㄨㄛ'''||ㄔ'''ㄨㄛ'''||ㄖ'''ㄨㄛ'''||ㄗ'''ㄨㄛ'''||ㄘ'''ㄨㄛ'''||ㄙ'''ㄨㄛ'''||'''ㄜ'''||'''ㄨㄛ'''
|-
![[Pinyin]]
|b'''o'''||p'''o'''||m'''o'''||f'''o'''||d'''uo'''||t'''uo'''||n'''uo'''||l'''uo'''||g'''e'''||k'''e'''||h'''e'''||zh'''uo'''||ch'''uo'''||r'''uo'''||z'''uo'''||c'''uo'''||s'''uo'''||'''e'''||'''wo'''
|}

Zhuyin and Pinyin write {{IPA|[wo]}} as ㄛ ''-o'' after ㄅ ''b'', ㄆ ''p'', ㄇ ''m'' and ㄈ ''f'', and as ㄨㄛ ''-uo'' after all other initials.

===Tones===
[[Standard Chinese phonology#Tones|Tones]] are indicated in Wade–Giles using superscript numbers (1–4) placed after the syllable. This contrasts with the use of diacritics to represent the tones in Pinyin . For example, the Pinyin ''qiàn'' (fourth tone) has the Wade–Giles equivalent ''ch{{wg-apos}}ien<sup>4</sup>''.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Tone
!Sample text
([[Simplified Chinese characters|s]]; [[Traditional Chinese characters|t]]; [[Literal translation|lit]])
!Hanyu Pinyin
!Wade–Giles
|-
|1. high
|{{Lang-zh|c=|s=妈|t=媽|l=mom|labels=no}}
|mā
|{{Lang-zh|c=|s=|t=|w=ma1|labels=no}}
|-
|2. rising
|{{Lang-zh|s=麻|labels=no}}; {{Lang-zh|t=麻|l=hemp|labels=no}}
|má
|{{Lang-zh|c=|s=|t=|w=ma2|labels=no}}
|-
|3. low (dipping)
|{{Lang-zh|c=|s=马|t=馬|l=horse|labels=no}}
|mǎ
|{{Lang-zh|c=|s=|t=|w=ma3|labels=no}}
|-
|4. falling
|{{Lang-zh|c=|s=骂|t={{linktext|罵}}|l=scold|labels=no}}
|mà
|{{Lang-zh|c=|s=|t=|w=ma4|labels=no}}
|-
|5. neutral{{Efn|See [[neutral tone]] for more.|group=tones}}
|{{Lang-zh|c=|s=吗|t={{linktext|嗎}}|labels=no}}; ([[Interrogative word|interrogative]])
|ma
|{{Lang-zh|c=|s=|t=|w=ma|labels=no}}
|}
{{notelist}}

===Punctuation===
Wade–Giles uses [[hyphen]]s to separate all syllables within a word (whereas Pinyin separates syllables only in specially defined cases, using hyphens or closing (right) single quotation marks as appropriate).

If a syllable is not the first in a word, its first letter is not [[Majuscule|capitalized]], even if it is part of a [[proper noun]]. The use of apostrophe-like characters, hyphens, and capitalization is frequently not observed in place names and personal names. For example, the majority of [[overseas Taiwanese|overseas]] [[Taiwanese people]] write their [[given name]]s like "Tai Lun" or "Tai-Lun", whereas the Wade–Giles is actually "Tai-lun". (See also [[Chinese name]]s.)

==Comparison with other systems==

==={{Anchor|Pinyin}}Pinyin===
*Wade–Giles chose the [[French language|French]]-like {{Grapheme|j}} (implying a sound like IPA's {{IPAblink|ʒ}}, as in '''''s''''' in English ''mea'''s'''ure'') to represent a Northern Mandarin pronunciation of what is represented as {{Grapheme|r}} in pinyin (Northern Mandarin {{IPAblink|ʐ}}/ Southern Mandarin {{IPAc-cmn|r}}; generally considered [[allophone]]s).
*''Ü'' (representing {{IPAslink|y}}) always has an [[Diaeresis (diacritic)|umlaut]] above, while pinyin only employs it in the cases of {{Transliteration|zh|pinyin|nü}}, ''{{Transliteration|zh|pinyin|nüe}}'', {{Transliteration|zh|pinyin|lü}}, ''{{Transliteration|zh|pinyin|lüe}}'' and ''{{Transliteration|zh|pinyin|lüan}}'', while leaving it out after ''j'', ''q'', ''x'' and ''y'' as a simplification because {{Grapheme|[[u]]}}/{{IPAblink|u}} cannot otherwise appear after those letters. (The vowel {{Grapheme|[[u]]}}/{{IPAblink|u}} can occur in those cases in pinyin where the diaeresis are indicated {{Grapheme|[[ü]]}}/{{IPAblink|y}} or {{IPAblink|ɥ}}; in which cases it serves to distinguish the [[front vowel]] {{IPAblink|y}} from the [[back vowel]] {{IPAblink|u}}. By contrast it is always present to mark the front vowel in Wade–Giles.) Because {{Transliteration|zh|pinyin|yü}} (as in {{Lang|zh-Hani|玉}} "jade") must have an umlaut in Wade–Giles, the umlaut-less {{Transliteration|zh|wadegile|yu}} in Wade–Giles is freed up for what corresponds to {{Transliteration|zh|pinyin|you}} ({{Lang|zh-Hani|{{linktext|有}}}} "have"/"[[Existential clause|there is]]") in Pinyin.
*The Pinyin cluster {{Grapheme|-ong}} is {{Grapheme|-ung}} in Wade–Giles, reflecting the pronunciation of {{IPAblink|ʊ}} as in English ''b'''oo'''k'' {{IPAc-en|b|U|k}}. (Compare ''[[Kung fu|kung<sup>1</sup>-fu]]'' to {{Transliteration|zh|pinyin|gōngfu}} as an example.)
*After a consonant, both Wade–Giles and Pinyin use {{Grapheme|-iu}} and {{Grapheme|-un}} instead of the complete syllables: {{Grapheme|-iou}} and {{Grapheme|-uên}}/{{Grapheme|-uen}}.

===Chart===
{{Pinyintable}}
Note: In Hanyu Pinyin, the so-called neutral tone is written leaving the syllable with no diacritic mark at all. In Tongyong Pinyin, a ring is written over the vowel.

==Adaptations==
There are several adaptations of Wade–Giles.

===''Mathews''===
The Romanization system used in the 1943 edition of ''[[Mathews' Chinese–English Dictionary]]'' differs from Wade–Giles in the following ways:<ref>''[[Mathews' Chinese–English Dictionary]]''.</ref>

*It uses the right apostrophe: <span style="font-family: serif; font-size:larger;">''p{{r-apos}}'', ''t{{r-apos}}'', ''k{{r-apos}}'', ''ch{{r-apos}}'', ''ts{{r-apos}}'', ''tz{{r-apos}}ŭ'';</span> while Wade–Giles uses the left apostrophe, similar to the aspiration [[diacritic]] used in the [[History of the International Phonetic Alphabet|International Phonetic Alphabet before the revisions of the 1970s]]: <span style="font-family: serif; font-size:larger;">''p{{wg-apos}}'', ''t{{wg-apos}}'', ''k{{wg-apos}}'', ''ch{{wg-apos}}'', ''ts{{wg-apos}}'', ''tz{{wg-apos}}ŭ''.</span>
*It consistently uses ''i'' for the syllable {{IPA|[i]}}, while Wade–Giles uses ''i'' or ''yi'' depending on the character.
*It uses ''o'' for the syllable {{IPA|[ɤ]}}, while Wade–Giles uses ''ê'' or ''o'' depending on the character.
*It offers the choice between ''ssŭ'' and ''szŭ'', while Wade–Giles requires ''ssŭ''.
*It does not use the spellings ''chio'', ''ch{{wg-apos}}io'', ''hsio'', ''yo'', replacing them with ''chüeh'', ''ch{{wg-apos}}üeh'', ''hsüeh'', ''yüeh'' in accordance with their modern pronunciations.
*It uses an underscored ''<sup>3</sup>'' to denote a second tone which comes from an original third tone, but only if the following syllable has the neutral tone and the [[Tone sandhi#Mandarin Chinese|tone sandhi]] is therefore not predictable: ''hsiao<u><sup>3</sup></u>•chieh''.
*It denotes the neutral tone by placing a dot (if the neutral tone is compulsory) or a circle (if the neutral tone is optional) before the syllable. The dot or circle replaces the hyphen.

==Table==
{{main|Wade–Giles table}}

==Gallery==
Examples of Wade–Giles derived English language terminology:
<gallery mode="packed" heights="160">
File:Sign of Buddhist Tzu Chi University at the main entrance.JPG|[[Tzu Chi University]], Hualien
File:Lienchiang County Health Bureau and Lienchiang County Hospital 20140405.jpg|[[Lienchiang County]] Hospital and Health Bureau
File:Emblem of Pingtung County.svg|Emblem of [[Pingtung County]]
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Taiwan|China|Languages}}
*[[Comparison of Chinese transcription systems]]
*[[Simplified Wade]]
*[[Daoism–Taoism romanization issue]]
*[[Legge romanization]]
*[[Romanization of Chinese]]
*[[Cyrillization of Chinese]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Wade, Thomas Francis. ''A progressive course designed to assist the student of Colloquial Chinese'' (Yü Yen Tzǔ Êrh Chi) in two volumes. Third edition Shanghai: Hong Kong: Singapore: Yokohama: London: Kelly & Walsh, Limited, 1903.
* Giles, Herbert A.  ''A Chinese–English Dictionary''.  2-vol. & 3-vol. versions both.  London: Shanghai: Bernard Quaritch; Kelly and Walsh, 1892.  [https://archive.org/details/b31352583 Rev. & enlarged 2nd ed.] in 3 vols. ([https://archive.org/details/chineseenglishdi01gile/page/n9/mode/2up Vol. I: front-matter & ''a''-''hsü''], [https://archive.org/details/chineseenglishdi02gile Vol. II: ''hsü''-''shao''], and [https://archive.org/details/chineseenglishdi03gile Vol. III: ''shao''-''yün'']), Shanghai: Hong Kong: Singapore: Yokohama: London: Kelly & Walsh, Limited; Bernard Quaritch, 1912.  Rpt. of the 2nd ed. but in 2 vols. and bound as 1, New York: Paragon Book Reprint Corp., 1964.

==Further reading==
* "[https://www.loc.gov/catdir/pinyin/difference.html Library of Congress Pinyin Conversion Project Frequently Asked Questions What's the difference between Wade–Giles and Pinyin?]" – [[Library of Congress]]

==External links==
{{Commons category|Wade–Giles}}
{{Wiktionary|Wade–Giles|Category:English terms derived from Wade–Giles}}
*[http://www.mandarintools.com/pyconverter.html Chinese Romanization Converter] – Convert between Hanyu Pinyin, Wade–Giles, Gwoyeu Romatzyh and other known or (un-)common Romanization systems.
*[https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/china.html A conversion table of Chinese provinces and cities from Wade–Giles to Pinyin]
*[http://pinyin4j.sourceforge.net/ Pinyin4j: Java library supporting Chinese to Wade–Giles] – Support Simplified and Traditional Chinese; Support most popular Romanization systems, including Hanyu Pinyin, Tongyong Pinyin, Wade–Giles, MPS2, Yale and Gwoyeu Romatzyh; Support multiple pronunciations of a single character; Support customized output, such as ü or tone marks.
*[https://archive.org/details/ch00inesewithouttegilerich ''Chinese without a teacher'', Chinese phrasebook by Herbert Giles with Romanization]
*[http://ctext.org/pinyin.pl?if=en Chinese Phonetic Conversion Tool] – Converts between Wade–Giles and other formats
*[http://mandarinspot.com/annotate?phs=wadegiles Wade–Giles Annotation] – Wade–Giles pronunciation and English definitions for Chinese text snippets or web pages.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100714072949/http://www.cybertranslator.idv.tw/pinyin/bopomofo.htm 國語拼音對照表] {{in lang|zh}}
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=s0HjAAAAMAAJ Key to Wade–Giles romanization of Chinese characters: November 1944] ([[Army Map Service]])

{{Chinese language}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wade-Giles}}
[[Category:Romanization of Chinese]]
[[Category:Writing systems introduced in 1892]]