Teochew Romanization Systems(Peng-Im)

At first glance Teochew romanization can be confusing. Commonly, you will see two main romanization systems for Teochew. The official one is the Guangdong romanization system, and the other one is the Gaginang system, which is essentially a modified version of the Guangdong system.

The Guangdong system can be quite difficult to figure out. If you know Mandarin pinyin, the readings will make a little more sense to you. As it is the official romanization system, it is used in dictionaries and learning materials in Chaozhou. For more info on this system, please go here.

The Gaginang system takes the Guangdong system but simplifies it to make a little more sense to English users. Take 潮州 Teochew for example. In the Gaginang system, 潮州 Teochew actually sounds like how it is written (with an English "J" sound for "Jiu"). In the Guangdong system, you would read the "Ziu" in Dio Ziu like a Mandarin "Z." This site uses the Gaginang system, but if there is enough demand, I'm willing to create a Guangdong romanization version of the lessons.

Here are some examples of the differences:

Gaginang system (Guangdong system)

潮州 Teochew = Dio Jiu (Dio Ziu)
青 green = Che (Cên)
走 to go = Keu (Ke)
六 six = Lak (Lag)
十 ten = Jap (Zab)
热 hot = Yuat (Ruah)
Nazalization = ` (n)

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