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Tibetan transliteration (PRC) - 1 reference result
Tibetan pinyin is the official transcription system for the Tibetan language in the People's Republic of China. It is based on the Lhasa dialect and reflects the pronunciation very accurately, except that it doesn't mark tone. It is used inside of China as an alternative to the Wylie transliteration for writing Tibetan in the Latin alphabet.

Initials

The tone of a syllable depends mostly on its initial consonant. In this table, each initial is given in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) with the vowel a and a tone mark to present tone register (high/low).

IPA Wylie transliteration Tibetan pinyin
p, sp, dp, lp b
rb, sb, db, sbr b
mpà lb, ’b b
pʰá ph, ’ph p
pʰà b p
rm, sm, dm, smr m
m, mr m
w, db w
t, rt, lt, st, tw, gt, bt, brt, blt, bst, bld d
ntá lth d
rd, sd, gd, bd, brd, bsd d
ntà zl, bzl, ld, md, ’d d
tʰá th, mth, ’th t
tʰà d, dw t
rn, sn, gn, brn, bsn, mn n
n n
kl, gl, bl, rl, sl, brl, bsl l
l, lw l
ɬá lh lh
tsá ts, rts, sts, rtsw, stsw, gts, bts, brts, bsts z
tsà rdz, gdz, brdz z
ntsà mdz, ’dz z
tsʰá tsh, tshw, mtsh, ’tsh c
tsʰà dz c
s, sr, sw, gs, bs, bsr s
z, zw, gz, bz s
ʈá kr, rkr, lkr, skr, tr, pr, lpr, spr, dkr, dpr, bkr, bskr, bsr zh
ʈà rgr, lgr, sgr, dgr, dbr, bsgr, rbr, lbr, sbr zh
ɳʈà mgr, ’gr, ’dr, ’br zh
ʈʰá khr, thr, phr, mkhr, ’khr, ’phr ch
ʈʰà gr, dr, br, grw ch
ʂá hr sh
r, rw r
ky, rky, lky, sky, dky, bky, brky, bsky gy
rgy, lgy, sgy, dgy, bgy, brgy, bsgy gy
ɲcà mgy, ’gy gy
cʰá khy, mkhy, ’khy ky
cʰà gy ky
tɕá c, cw, gc, bc, lc, py, lpy, spy, dpy j
tɕà rby, lby, sby, rj, gj, brj, dby j
ɲtɕà lj, mj, ’j, ’by j
tɕʰá ch, mch, ’ch q
tɕʰà j q
tɕʰá phy, ’phy q
tɕʰà by q
ɕá sh, shw, gsh, bsh x
ɕà zh, zhw, gzh, bzh x
ɲá rny, sny, gny, brny, bsny, mny, nyw, rmy, smy ny
ɲà ny, my ny
g.y y
y y
k, rk, lk, sk, kw, dk, bk, brk, bsk g
rg, lg, sg, dg, bg, brg, bsg g
ŋkà lg, mg, ’g g
kʰá kh, khw, mkh, ’kh k
kʰà g, gw k
ŋá rng, lng, sng, dng, brng, bsng, mng ng
ŋà ng ng
ʔá —, db
ʔà
h, hw h

Vowels and final consonants

The seventeen vowels of the Lhasa dialect are represented in Tibetan pinyin as follows:

IPA Tibetan
pinyin
IPA Tibetan
pinyin
i i ĩ in
e ê en
ɛ ai/ä ɛ̃ ain/än
a a ã an
u u ũ un
o o õ on
ɔ o
y ü ün
ø oi/ö ø̃ oin/ön

Syllable-final -r is usually not spoken, but lengthens the preceding vowel. Syllable-final -n of the written forms usually nasalises the preceding vowel. This is how syllable-final consonants are transcribed:

IPA Tibetan
pinyin
p b
ʔ g/—
r r
m m
ŋ ng

Examples

Wylie Tibetan
pinyin
Tournadre other transcriptions
Gzhis-ka-rtse Xigazê Zhikatse Shigatse, Shikatse
Bkra-shis-lhun-po Zhaxilhünbo Trashilhünpo Tashilhunpo, Tashilhümpo, etc.
’Bras-spung Zhaibung Dräpung Drebung
Chos-kyi Rgyal-mtshan Qoigyi Gyaicain Chökyi Gyältshän Choekyi Gyaltsen
Thub-bstan Rgya-mtsho Tubdain Gyaco Thuptän Gyatsho Thubten Gyatso, Thubtan Gyatso, Thupten Gyatso

References

  • Guójiā cèhuìjú dìmíng yánjiūsuǒ 国家测绘局地名研究所 (Institute for Place Names of the State Survey Bureau; ed.). Zhōngguó dìmínglù 中国地名录 / Gazetteer of China. (Beijing, Zhōngguó dìtú chūbǎnshè 中国地图出版社 1997); ISBN 7-5031-1718-4. Contains official spellings for place names.
  • Zàngwén pīnyīn jiàocái - Lāsàyīn 藏文拼音教材•拉萨音 / bod yig gi sgra sbyor slob deb, lha sa'i skad (Course in the transcription of Tibetan, Lhasa dialect; Běijīng 北京, Mínzú chūbǎnshè 民族出版社 1983), ISBN 7-105-02577-8. A modified version of the official transcription, with tone letters.
  • Wylie, Turrell: A Standard System of Tibetan Transcription In: Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 1959, p. 261-267.
  • David Germano, Nicolas Tournadre: THDL Simplified Phonetic Transcription of Standard Tibetan (Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library, December 12th, 2003).
  • Tibetan Transliteration Schemes
  • Romanization of Tibetan Geographical Names - UNGEGN

Footnotes

See also

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