Pinyin • Writing Conventions
How to Write Pinyin — Spacing, Capitalisation, and Tone Mark Placement Rules
Writing pinyin correctly involves more than knowing the sounds. There are specific conventions for how syllables group into words (spacing), when to use capital letters, and which vowel in a compound final receives the tone mark. These rules are codified in the Basic Rules for the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet Orthography (汉语拼音正词法基本规则, GB/T 16159-2012), the official national standard.
Whether you are writing study notes, labelling flashcards, or typesetting a Chinese textbook, these rules ensure your pinyin is unambiguous and consistent.
Word Spacing Rules
The most fundamental difference from English: spaces in pinyin mark word boundaries, not syllable boundaries.
Words are written as single units (no spaces between syllables within a word)
A word consists of one or more syllables. All syllables belonging to the same word are written together without spaces.
ZhōngguóChina (中国) — two syllables, one word, no spacepéngyoufriend (朋友) — two syllables, one wordxuéxiàoschool (学校) — two syllables, one wordSpaces appear between words, not between characters
In Chinese characters there are no spaces at all. Pinyin adds spaces at word boundaries — which requires knowing where one word ends and another begins.
Wǒ ài Zhōngguó.我爱中国。(I love China.) — three words, two spacesTā shì lǎoshī.他是老师。(He is a teacher.) — three wordsQǐng jìn.请进。(Please come in.) — two wordsSeparable verb-object compounds: written as one word or two depending on unity
Some verb-object compounds (离合词, líhécí) are typically written as one word in pinyin; others that are clearly separable are written as two words. When in doubt, follow a standard pinyin dictionary.
chànggēsing (唱歌) — typically one word in pinyinshuōhuàspeak (说话) — typically one wordkāi chēdrive a car (开车) — often written as twoApostrophe before a-, e-, or o-initial syllables within a word
Within a multi-syllable word, if a syllable starting with a, e, or o follows another syllable and no space separates them, an apostrophe marks the boundary.
Xī'ānXi'an (西安) — the city; apostrophe prevents reading as 'Xiān'nǚ'érdaughter (女儿) — 'ér' is a separate syllablemíng'équota (名额) — 'é' begins the second syllableCapitalisation Rules
Pinyin capitalisation broadly mirrors English conventions, with the addition of rules for Chinese proper nouns.
Capitalise the first word of a sentence
Just as in English, pinyin sentences begin with a capital letter on the first syllable of the first word.
Capitalise proper nouns (names, places, titles)
Personal names, place names, and titles are capitalised. Each syllable of a proper noun starts with a capital letter — or alternatively, the first syllable only, depending on house style. Chinese names are typically written as one word per name component.
Titles of works: capitalise principal words
For book titles, film titles, and similar works written in pinyin, capitalise the first letter of each principal word (similar to English title case). Particles and short prepositions are typically lowercase.
Tone Mark Placement
When a final contains more than one vowel, which one receives the tone diacritic (ā á ǎ à)? Apply these rules in order — stop at the first one that matches.
Mnemonic: “A and E always; O in ou; last vowel in ui/iu; otherwise a-e-i-u-ü priority.”
If the final contains a or e, the tone mark goes on it — regardless of position.
māojiěgāoxuěIn the compound final -ou, the mark goes on the o.
gǒuhòulóu-ui (= -uei) gets the mark on i. -iu (= -iou) gets the mark on u.
duìguìliújiǔIf none of the above apply, use this left-to-right priority to choose which vowel takes the mark.
xiānyuánduānWhen to Write ü vs u
The vowel ü (the rounded front vowel) has different spelling rules depending on context. Getting this right is critical for both correct writing and correct input method typing.