This may seem strange since I don't speak much Chinese, I have no Chinese ancestry, and I've never been to China, but I've been nursing an obsession with Mandarin phonology for several years now, since before I even got into linguistics. It's not like I have a lot of time to kill. Aside from my family life, I'm currently working on my Master's thesis, managing a language acquisition research lab, and preparing to teach my first ESOL course next semester. But I still can't help working on stuff like this, if only to blow off some steam, and I figure it's about time I show my work.
Before I can get on with the Romanization scheme, you'll need a quick overview of Mandarin phonology. To start with, here is a table of all the speech sounds that occur in Standard Mandarin (more or less). Note that /c/ is not purely "palatal" but also involves friction at the gumline. Where two palatal sounds are listed in the same cell below, the second is rounded.
| labial | alveolar | retroflex | palatal | velar | glottal | |
| stops | p | t | k | |||
| nasals | m | n | N | |||
| fricatives | f | s | S | c | H | h |
| voiced fricative | Z | |||||
| lateral | l | |||||
| glides | w | r | y, Y | |||
| close vowels | u | R | i, ü | ï | ||
| close lax vowels | U | I | ||||
| mid vowels | o | e | ë | |||
| mid lax vowels | O | E, Ö | Ë | |||
| open vowels | a | A | ||||
That's a fairly thorough representation of the sounds that come out when someone speaks Mandarin Chinese, but that's not what has to be memorized. Here's a much smaller table of the phonemes of Mandarin in my analysis. Of course, this isn't the only way to analyze the sound system, but it seems pretty concise and explanatory to me.
| lips | gums | back | |
| weak stops | b | d | g |
| strong stops | p | t | k |
| nasals | m | n | N |
| fricatives | f | s | h |
| lateral | l | ||
| glides | w | r | y |
| close vowel | * | ||
| mid vowel | @ | ||
| open vowel | a | ||
The symbols in the preceding table can be strung together to form all the syllables of the language. The pronunciation of these syllables (represented as sequences of sounds from the first table) can be predicted from this phonemic form, which is hypothesized to exist in the mind of any given speaker of Mandarin.
In fact, this table could be reduced even further. For example, /m/ only occurs at the start of a syllable, and /N/ occurs only at the end, so they might be be represented as a single phoneme, say /M/, if syllable divisions are included in the underlying phonemic representation. Also, the aspiration that accompanies what I've called "strong stops" might really be a combination of a stop plus /h/. Rather than keep reducing until I reach a truly minimal inventory of phonemes, I've settled on these 19 for the sake of convenience.
Just to give a quick picture of my Romanization scheme and show how it compares the Hanyu Pinyin, I've split the syllables into "onsets" and "rhymes". This is pretty standard, but it's not perfect. For most of the rhymes, two forms have to be listed: the first stands alone as a complete syllable, and the second combines with an onset.
| Onset Form | Pronunciation | Hanyu | Jones |
| /b/ | [p] | b | |
| /d/ | [t] | d | |
| /ds/ | [ts] | z | ds |
| /dr/ | [tS] | zh | dr |
| /g/ | [k] | g | |
| /gy/ | [tc] | j | dy |
| /p/ | [ph] | p | |
| /t/ | [th] | t | |
| /ts/ | [tsh] | c | ts |
| /tr/ | [tSh] | ch | tr |
| /k/ | [kh] | k | |
| /ky/ | [tch] | q | ty |
| /m/ | [m] | m | |
| /n/ | [n] | n | |
| /f/ | [f] | f | |
| /s/ | [s] | s | |
| /sr/ | [S] | sh | sr |
| /h/ | [H] | h | |
| /hy/ | [c] | x | sy |
| /r/ | [Z] | r | |
| /l/ | [l] | l | |
| Rhyme Form | Pronunciation | Hanyu | Jones |
| /w*/ | [wu] | wu, ~u | |
| /w@/ | [wO] | wo, ~uo, ~o | wo, ~uo |
| /w@n/ | [wËn] | wen, ~un | won, ~un |
| /w@N/ | [wËN, UN] | weng, ~ong | wong, ~ung |
| /w@y/ | [wey] | wei, ~ui | wei, ~uei |
| /wa/ | [wa] | wa, ~ua | |
| /wan/ | [wan] | wan, ~uan | |
| /waN/ | [wAN] | wang, ~uang | |
| /way/ | [way] | wai, ~uai | |
| /y*/ | [yi] | yi, ~i | |
| /y@/ | [yE] | ye, ~ie | |
| /y@n/ | [yin] | yin, ~in | |
| /y@N/ | [yIN] | ying, ~ing | |
| /y@w/ | [yëw] | you, ~iu | you, ~iou |
| /ya/ | [ya] | ya, ~ia | |
| /yan/ | [yEn] | yan, ~ian | |
| /yaN/ | [yAN] | yang, ~iang | |
| /yaw/ | [yAw] | yao, ~iao | yau, ~iau |
| /yw*/ | [Yü] | yu, ~ü | yu, ~iu |
| /yw@/ | [YÖ] | yue, ~üe | yue, ~iue |
| /yw@n/ | [Yün] | yun, ~ün | yun, ~iun |
| /yw@N/ | [YUN] | yong, ~iong | yung, ~iung |
| /ywan/ | [YEn] | yuan, ~üan | yuan, ~iuan |
| /*/ | [ï, R] | i | e |
| /@/ | [ë] | e | o |
| /@n/ | [Ën] | en | on |
| /@N/ | [ëN] | eng | ong |
| /@w/ | [ëw] | ou | |
| /@y/ | [ey] | ei | |
| /a/ | [a] | a | |
| /an/ | [an] | an | |
| /aN/ | [AN] | ang | |
| /aw/ | [Aw] | ao | au |
| /ay/ | [ay] | ai | |
| /ar/ | [Ar] | er | ar |
You may also have noticed that /y/ is listed at the end of some onsets and at the beginning of some rhymes. This really represents a single sound in the syllable. Rather than spell this sound twice, just remember that in the Jones system the sequence "yi" is actually rendered "y" in the middle of a syllable. Hanyu Pinyin is a little weird in this respect. It keeps the "i" after "j", "q", and "x", but it renders "ü" as "u" in this position. (This means that the syllable spelled "quan" in Hanyu is actually pronounced much closer to the Jones spelling "tyuan", something like "chew-ann" or "chwenn".)
Another point of contention between the two systems is the treatment of the schwa-like phonemes that I've designated /*/ and /@/ when they occur alone in a rhyme. Hanyu Pinyin spells these sounds as "i" and "e", but the Jones system uses "e" and "o" respectively. The pronunciation of these vowels, especially /*/, is heavily dependent on the surrounding consonants, so /s*/ sounds like [sï], /r*/ sounds like [rR], /y*/ sounds like [yi], and so on. Since Hanyu Pinyin doesn't really make use of "o" as a rhyme, it's free to shorten existing rhymes down in certain syllables. Following any labial consonant, /w@/ is rendered simply "o".
There's one more syllable that doesn't really fit with the rest of Mandarin phonology. It's spelled "lo" in Hanyu, and its pronunciation is something like [lo]. This is pretty rare, and I think it may be an allomorph of /l@w/. It seems to only occur in the stressless "neutral" tone. I'd really like to spell this syllable as "lou" in the Jones system, but until I'm sure these sounds really are in complementary distribution, I'll go with "loh". (If you have any information to add on this, please leave a comment!)
The following very large table lists all the basic syllables of Mandarin first in the Zhuyin system of representing Chinese sounds (AKA "Bopomofo"), then in a few of the most prominent Romanization schemes to date, and finally in my own original scheme, which I of course feel is the best.
| Zhuyin | Wade-Giles | Yale | Hanyu | Jones |
| ㄅㄚ | pa | ba | ba | ba |
| ㄅㄛ | po | bwo | bo | buo |
| ㄅㄞ | pai | bai | bai | bai |
| ㄅㄟ | pei | bei | bei | bei |
| ㄅㄠ | pao | bau | bao | bau |
| ㄅㄢ | pan | ban | ban | ban |
| ㄅㄣ | pen | ben | ben | bon |
| ㄅㄤ | pang | bang | bang | bang |
| ㄅㄥ | peng | beng | beng | bong |
| ㄅㄧ | pi | bi | bi | bi |
| ㄅㄧㄝ | pieh | bye | bie | bie |
| ㄅㄧㄠ | piao | byau | biao | biau |
| ㄅㄧㄢ | pien | byan | bian | bian |
| ㄅㄧㄣ | pin | bin | bin | bin |
| ㄅㄧㄥ | ping | bing | bing | bing |
| ㄅㄨ | pu | bu | bu | bu |
| ㄆㄚ | p`a | pa | pa | pa |
| ㄆㄛ | p`o | pwo | po | puo |
| ㄆㄞ | p`ai | pai | pai | pai |
| ㄆㄟ | p`ei | pei | pei | pei |
| ㄆㄠ | p`ao | pau | pao | pau |
| ㄆㄡ | p`ou | pou | pou | pou |
| ㄆㄢ | p`an | pan | pan | pan |
| ㄆㄣ | p`en | pen | pen | pon |
| ㄆㄤ | p`ang | pang | pang | pang |
| ㄆㄥ | p`eng | peng | peng | pong |
| ㄆㄧ | p`i | pi | pi | pi |
| ㄆㄧㄝ | p`ieh | pye | pie | pie |
| ㄆㄧㄠ | p`iao | pyau | piao | piau |
| ㄆㄧㄢ | p`ien | pyan | pian | pian |
| ㄆㄧㄣ | p`in | pin | pin | pin |
| ㄆㄧㄥ | p`ing | ping | ping | ping |
| ㄆㄨ | p`u | pu | pu | pu |
| ㄇㄚ | ma | ma | ma | ma |
| ㄇㄛ | mo | mwo | mo | muo |
| ㄇㄜ | me | me | me | mo |
| ㄇㄞ | mai | mai | mai | mai |
| ㄇㄟ | mei | mei | mei | mei |
| ㄇㄠ | mao | mau | mao | mau |
| ㄇㄡ | mou | mou | mou | mou |
| ㄇㄢ | man | man | man | man |
| ㄇㄣ | men | men | men | mon |
| ㄇㄤ | mang | mang | mang | mang |
| ㄇㄥ | meng | meng | meng | mong |
| ㄇㄧ | mi | mi | mi | mi |
| ㄇㄧㄝ | mieh | mye | mie | mie |
| ㄇㄧㄠ | miao | myau | miao | miau |
| ㄇㄧㄡ | miu | myou | miu | miou |
| ㄇㄧㄢ | mien | myan | mian | mian |
| ㄇㄧㄣ | min | min | min | min |
| ㄇㄧㄥ | ming | ming | ming | ming |
| ㄇㄨ | mu | mu | mu | mu |
| ㄈㄚ | fa | fa | fa | fa |
| ㄈㄛ | fo | fwo | fo | fuo |
| ㄈㄟ | fei | fei | fei | fei |
| ㄈㄡ | fou | fou | fou | fou |
| ㄈㄢ | fan | fan | fan | fan |
| ㄈㄣ | fen | fen | fen | fon |
| ㄈㄤ | fang | fang | fang | fang |
| ㄈㄥ | feng | feng | feng | fong |
| ㄈㄨ | fu | fu | fu | fu |
| ㄉㄚ | ta | da | da | da |
| ㄉㄜ | te | de | de | do |
| ㄉㄞ | tai | dai | dai | dai |
| ㄉㄟ | tei | dei | dei | dei |
| ㄉㄠ | tao | dau | dao | dau |
| ㄉㄡ | tou | dou | dou | dou |
| ㄉㄢ | tan | dan | dan | dan |
| ㄉㄣ | ten | den | den | don |
| ㄉㄤ | tang | dang | dang | dang |
| ㄉㄥ | teng | deng | deng | dong |
| ㄉㄧ | ti | di | di | di |
| ㄉㄧㄝ | tieh | dye | die | die |
| ㄉㄧㄠ | tiao | dyau | diao | diau |
| ㄉㄧㄡ | tiu | dyou | diu | diou |
| ㄉㄧㄢ | tien | dyan | dian | dian |
| ㄉㄧㄤ | tiang | dyang | diang | diang |
| ㄉㄧㄥ | ting | ding | ding | ding |
| ㄉㄨ | tu | du | du | du |
| ㄉㄨㄛ | to | dwo | duo | duo |
| ㄉㄨㄟ | tui | dwei | dui | duei |
| ㄉㄨㄢ | tuan | dwan | duan | duan |
| ㄉㄨㄣ | tun | dwen | dun | dun |
| ㄉㄨㄥ | tung | dung | dong | dung |
| ㄊㄚ | t`a | ta | ta | ta |
| ㄊㄜ | t`e | te | te | to |
| ㄊㄞ | t`ai | tai | tai | tai |
| ㄊㄠ | t`ao | tau | tao | tau |
| ㄊㄡ | t`ou | tou | tou | tou |
| ㄊㄢ | t`an | tan | tan | tan |
| ㄊㄤ | t`ang | tang | tang | tang |
| ㄊㄥ | t`eng | teng | teng | tong |
| ㄊㄧ | t`i | ti | ti | ti |
| ㄊㄧㄝ | t`ieh | tye | tie | tie |
| ㄊㄧㄠ | t`iao | tyau | tiao | tiau |
| ㄊㄧㄢ | t`ien | tyan | tian | tian |
| ㄊㄧㄥ | t`ing | ting | ting | ting |
| ㄊㄨ | t`u | tu | tu | tu |
| ㄊㄨㄛ | t`o | two | tuo | tuo |
| ㄊㄨㄟ | t`ui | twei | tui | tuei |
| ㄊㄨㄢ | t`uan | twan | tuan | tuan |
| ㄊㄨㄣ | t`un | twen | tun | tun |
| ㄊㄨㄥ | t`ung | tung | tong | tung |
| ㄋㄚ | na | na | na | na |
| ㄋㄜ | ne | ne | ne | no |
| ㄋㄞ | nai | nai | nai | nai |
| ㄋㄟ | nei | nei | nei | nei |
| ㄋㄠ | nao | nau | nao | nau |
| ㄋㄡ | nou | nou | nou | nou |
| ㄋㄢ | nan | nan | nan | nan |
| ㄋㄣ | nen | nen | nen | non |
| ㄋㄤ | nang | nang | nang | nang |
| ㄋㄥ | neng | neng | neng | nong |
| ㄋㄧ | ni | ni | ni | ni |
| ㄋㄧㄚ | nia | nya | nia | nia |
| ㄋㄧㄝ | nieh | nye | nie | nie |
| ㄋㄧㄠ | niao | nyau | niao | niau |
| ㄋㄧㄡ | niu | nyou | niu | niou |
| ㄋㄧㄢ | nien | nyan | nian | nian |
| ㄋㄧㄣ | nin | nin | nin | nin |
| ㄋㄧㄤ | niang | nyang | niang | niang |
| ㄋㄧㄥ | ning | ning | ning | ning |
| ㄋㄨ | nu | nu | nu | nu |
| ㄋㄨㄛ | no | nwo | nuo | nuo |
| ㄋㄨㄢ | nuan | nwan | nuan | nuan |
| ㄋㄨㄣ | nun | nwen | nun | nun |
| ㄋㄨㄥ | nung | nung | nong | nung |
| ㄋㄩ | nü | nyu | nü | niu |
| ㄋㄩㄝ | nüeh | nywe | nüe | niue |
| ㄌㄚ | la | la | la | la |
| ㄌㄛ | lo | lo | lo | loh |
| ㄌㄜ | le | le | le | lo |
| ㄌㄞ | lai | lai | lai | lai |
| ㄌㄟ | lei | lei | lei | lei |
| ㄌㄠ | lao | lau | lao | lau |
| ㄌㄡ | lou | lou | lou | lou |
| ㄌㄢ | lan | lan | lan | lan |
| ㄌㄤ | lang | lang | lang | lang |
| ㄌㄥ | leng | leng | leng | long |
| ㄌㄧ | li | li | li | li |
| ㄌㄧㄚ | lia | lya | lia | lia |
| ㄌㄧㄝ | lieh | lye | lie | lie |
| ㄌㄧㄠ | liao | lyau | liao | liau |
| ㄌㄧㄡ | liu | lyou | liu | liou |
| ㄌㄧㄢ | lien | lyan | lian | lian |
| ㄌㄧㄣ | lin | lin | lin | lin |
| ㄌㄧㄤ | liang | lyang | liang | liang |
| ㄌㄧㄥ | ling | ling | ling | ling |
| ㄌㄨ | lu | lu | lu | lu |
| ㄌㄨㄛ | lo | lwo | luo | luo |
| ㄌㄨㄢ | luan | lwan | luan | luan |
| ㄌㄨㄣ | lun | lwun | lun | lun |
| ㄌㄨㄥ | lung | lung | long | lung |
| ㄌㄩ | lü | lyu | lü | liu |
| ㄌㄩㄝ | lüeh | lywe | lüe | liue |
| ㄌㄩㄣ | lün | lyun | lün | liun |
| ㄍㄚ | ka | ga | ga | ga |
| ㄍㄜ | ko | ge | ge | go |
| ㄍㄞ | kai | gai | gai | gai |
| ㄍㄟ | kei | gei | gei | gei |
| ㄍㄠ | kao | gau | gao | gau |
| ㄍㄡ | kou | gou | gou | gou |
| ㄍㄢ | kan | gan | gan | gan |
| ㄍㄣ | ken | gen | gen | gon |
| ㄍㄤ | kang | gang | gang | gang |
| ㄍㄥ | keng | geng | geng | gong |
| ㄍㄨ | ku | gu | gu | gu |
| ㄍㄨㄚ | kua | gwa | gua | gua |
| ㄍㄨㄛ | kuo | gwo | guo | guo |
| ㄍㄨㄞ | kuai | gwai | guai | guai |
| ㄍㄨㄟ | kuei | gwei | gui | guei |
| ㄍㄨㄢ | kuan | gwan | guan | guan |
| ㄍㄨㄣ | kun | gwun | gun | gun |
| ㄍㄨㄤ | kuang | gwang | guang | guang |
| ㄍㄨㄥ | kung | gung | gong | gung |
| ㄎㄚ | k`a | ka | ka | ka |
| ㄎㄜ | k`o | ke | ke | ko |
| ㄎㄞ | k`ai | kai | kai | kai |
| ㄎㄠ | k`ao | kau | kao | kau |
| ㄎㄡ | k`ou | kou | kou | kou |
| ㄎㄢ | k`an | kan | kan | kan |
| ㄎㄣ | k`en | ken | ken | kon |
| ㄎㄤ | k`ang | kang | kang | kang |
| ㄎㄥ | k`eng | keng | keng | kong |
| ㄎㄨ | k`u | ku | ku | ku |
| ㄎㄨㄚ | k`ua | kwa | kua | kua |
| ㄎㄨㄛ | k`uo | kwo | kuo | kuo |
| ㄎㄨㄞ | k`uai | kwai | kuai | kuai |
| ㄎㄨㄟ | k`uei | kwei | kui | kuei |
| ㄎㄨㄢ | k`uan | kwan | kuan | kuan |
| ㄎㄨㄣ | k`un | kwen | kun | kun |
| ㄎㄨㄤ | k`uang | kwang | kuang | kuang |
| ㄎㄨㄥ | k`ung | kung | kong | kung |
| ㄏㄚ | ha | ha | ha | ha |
| ㄏㄜ | ho | he | he | ho |
| ㄏㄞ | hai | hai | hai | hai |
| ㄏㄟ | hei | hei | hei | hei |
| ㄏㄠ | hao | hau | hao | hau |
| ㄏㄡ | hou | hou | hou | hou |
| ㄏㄢ | han | han | han | han |
| ㄏㄣ | hen | hen | hen | hon |
| ㄏㄤ | hang | hang | hang | hang |
| ㄏㄥ | heng | heng | heng | hong |
| ㄏㄨ | hu | hu | hu | hu |
| ㄏㄨㄚ | hua | hwa | hua | hua |
| ㄏㄨㄛ | huo | hwo | huo | huo |
| ㄏㄨㄞ | huai | hwai | huai | huai |
| ㄏㄨㄟ | hui | hwei | hui | huei |
| ㄏㄨㄢ | huan | hwan | huan | huan |
| ㄏㄨㄣ | hun | hwen | hun | hun |
| ㄏㄨㄤ | huang | hwang | huang | huang |
| ㄏㄨㄥ | hung | hung | hong | hung |
| ㄐㄧ | chi | ji | ji | dyi |
| ㄐㄧㄚ | chia | jya | jia | dya |
| ㄐㄧㄝ | chieh | jye | jie | dye |
| ㄐㄧㄠ | chiao | jyau | jiao | dyau |
| ㄐㄧㄡ | chiu | jyou | jiu | dyou |
| ㄐㄧㄢ | chien | jyan | jian | dyan |
| ㄐㄧㄣ | chin | jin | jin | dyin |
| ㄐㄧㄤ | chiang | jyang | jiang | dyang |
| ㄐㄧㄥ | ching | jing | jing | dying |
| ㄐㄩ | chü | jyu | ju | dyu |
| ㄐㄩㄝ | chüeh | jywe | jue | dyue |
| ㄐㄩㄢ | chüan | jywan | juan | dyuan |
| ㄐㄩㄣ | chün | jyun | jun | dyun |
| ㄐㄩㄥ | chiung | jyung | jiong | dyung |
| ㄑㄧ | ch`i | chi | qi | tyi |
| ㄑㄧㄚ | ch`ia | chya | qia | tya |
| ㄑㄧㄝ | ch`ieh | chye | qie | tye |
| ㄑㄧㄠ | ch`iao | chyau | qiao | tyau |
| ㄑㄧㄡ | ch`iu | chyou | qiu | tyou |
| ㄑㄧㄢ | ch`ien | chyan | qian | tyan |
| ㄑㄧㄣ | ch`in | chin | qin | tyin |
| ㄑㄧㄤ | ch`iang | chyang | qiang | tyang |
| ㄑㄧㄥ | ch`ing | ching | qing | tying |
| ㄑㄩ | ch`ü | chyu | qu | tyu |
| ㄑㄩㄝ | ch`üeh | chywe | que | tyue |
| ㄑㄩㄢ | ch`üan | chywan | quan | tyuan |
| ㄑㄩㄣ | ch`ün | chyun | qun | tyun |
| ㄑㄩㄥ | ch`iung | chyung | qiong | tyung |
| ㄒㄧ | hsi | syi | xi | syi |
| ㄒㄧㄚ | hsia | sya | xia | sya |
| ㄒㄧㄝ | hsieh | sye | xie | sye |
| ㄒㄧㄠ | hsiao | syau | xiao | syau |
| ㄒㄧㄡ | hsiu | syou | xiu | syou |
| ㄒㄧㄢ | hsien | syan | xian | syan |
| ㄒㄧㄣ | hsin | syin | xin | syin |
| ㄒㄧㄤ | hsiang | syang | xiang | syang |
| ㄒㄧㄥ | hsing | sying | sying | |
| ㄒㄩ | hsü | syu | xu | syu |
| ㄒㄩㄝ | hsüeh | sywe | xue | syue |
| ㄒㄩㄢ | hsüan | sywan | xuan | syuan |
| ㄒㄩㄣ | hsün | syun | xun | syun |
| ㄒㄩㄥ | hsiung | syung | xiong | syung |
| ㄓ | chih | jr | zhi | dre |
| ㄓㄚ | cha | ja | zha | dra |
| ㄓㄜ | che | je | zhe | dro |
| ㄓㄞ | chai | jai | zhai | drai |
| ㄓㄟ | chei | jei | zhei | drei |
| ㄓㄠ | chao | jau | zhao | drau |
| ㄓㄡ | chou | jou | zhou | drou |
| ㄓㄢ | chan | jan | zhan | dran |
| ㄓㄣ | chen | jen | zhen | dron |
| ㄓㄤ | chang | jang | zhang | drang |
| ㄓㄥ | cheng | jeng | zheng | drong |
| ㄓㄨ | chu | ju | zhu | dru |
| ㄓㄨㄚ | chua | jwa | zhua | drua |
| ㄓㄨㄛ | cho | jwo | zhuo | druo |
| ㄓㄨㄞ | chuai | jwai | zhuai | druai |
| ㄓㄨㄟ | chui | jwei | zhui | druei |
| ㄓㄨㄢ | chuan | jwan | zhuan | druan |
| ㄓㄨㄣ | chun | jwen | zhun | drun |
| ㄓㄨㄤ | chuang | jwang | zhuang | druang |
| ㄓㄨㄥ | chung | jung | zhong | drung |
| ㄔ | ch`ih | chr | chi | tre |
| ㄔㄚ | ch`a | cha | cha | tra |
| ㄔㄜ | ch`e | che | che | tro |
| ㄔㄞ | ch`ai | chai | chai | trai |
| ㄔㄠ | ch`ao | chau | chao | trau |
| ㄔㄡ | ch`ou | chou | chou | trou |
| ㄔㄢ | ch`an | chan | chan | tran |
| ㄔㄣ | ch`en | chen | chen | tron |
| ㄔㄤ | ch`ang | chang | chang | trang |
| ㄔㄥ | ch`eng | cheng | cheng | trong |
| ㄔㄨ | ch`u | chu | chu | tru |
| ㄔㄨㄚ | ch`ua | chwa | chua | trua |
| ㄔㄨㄛ | ch`o | chwo | chuo | truo |
| ㄔㄨㄞ | ch`uai | chwai | chuai | truai |
| ㄔㄨㄟ | ch`ui | chwei | chui | truei |
| ㄔㄨㄢ | ch`uan | chwan | chuan | truan |
| ㄔㄨㄣ | ch`un | chwen | chun | trun |
| ㄔㄨㄤ | ch`uang | chwang | chuang | truang |
| ㄔㄨㄥ | ch`ung | chung | chong | trung |
| ㄕ | shih | shr | shi | sre |
| ㄕㄚ | sha | sha | sha | sra |
| ㄕㄜ | she | she | she | sro |
| ㄕㄞ | shai | shai | shai | srai |
| ㄕㄟ | shei | shei | shei | srei |
| ㄕㄠ | shao | shau | shao | srau |
| ㄕㄡ | shou | shou | shou | srou |
| ㄕㄢ | shan | shan | shan | sran |
| ㄕㄣ | shen | shen | shen | sron |
| ㄕㄤ | shang | shang | shang | srang |
| ㄕㄥ | sheng | sheng | sheng | srong |
| ㄕㄨ | shu | shu | shu | sru |
| ㄕㄨㄚ | shua | shwa | shua | srua |
| ㄕㄨㄛ | shuo | shwo | shuo | sruo |
| ㄕㄨㄞ | shuai | shwai | shuai | sruai |
| ㄕㄨㄟ | shui | shwei | shui | sruei |
| ㄕㄨㄢ | shuan | shwan | shuan | sruan |
| ㄕㄨㄣ | shun | shwun | shun | srun |
| ㄕㄨㄤ | shuang | shwang | shuang | sruang |
| ㄕㄨㄥ | shung | shung | shong | srung |
| ㄖ | jih | r | ri | re |
| ㄖㄜ | je | re | re | ro |
| ㄖㄠ | jao | rau | rao | rau |
| ㄖㄡ | jou | rou | rou | rou |
| ㄖㄢ | jan | ran | ran | ran |
| ㄖㄣ | jen | ren | ren | ron |
| ㄖㄤ | jang | rang | rang | rang |
| ㄖㄥ | jeng | reng | reng | rong |
| ㄖㄨ | ju | ru | ru | ru |
| ㄖㄨㄛ | jo | rwo | ruo | ruo |
| ㄖㄨㄟ | jui | rwei | rui | ruei |
| ㄖㄨㄢ | juan | rwan | ruan | ruan |
| ㄖㄨㄣ | jun | rwun | run | run |
| ㄖㄨㄥ | jung | rung | rong | rung |
| ㄗ | tzu | dz | zi | dse |
| ㄗㄚ | tsa | dza | za | dsa |
| ㄗㄜ | tse | dze | ze | dso |
| ㄗㄞ | tsai | dzai | zai | dsai |
| ㄗㄟ | tsei | dzei | zei | dsei |
| ㄗㄠ | tsao | dzau | zao | dsau |
| ㄗㄡ | tsou | dzou | zou | dsou |
| ㄗㄢ | tsan | dzan | zan | dsan |
| ㄗㄣ | tsen | dzen | zen | dson |
| ㄗㄤ | tsang | dzang | zang | dsang |
| ㄗㄥ | tseng | dzeng | zeng | dsong |
| ㄗㄨ | tsu | dzu | zu | dsu |
| ㄗㄨㄛ | tso | dzwo | zuo | dsuo |
| ㄗㄨㄟ | tsui | dzwei | zui | dsuei |
| ㄗㄨㄢ | tsuan | dzwan | zuan | dsuan |
| ㄗㄨㄣ | tsun | dzwen | zun | dsun |
| ㄗㄨㄥ | tsung | dzung | zong | dsung |
| ㄘ | tz`u | tsz | ci | tse |
| ㄘㄚ | ts`a | tsa | ca | tsa |
| ㄘㄜ | ts`e | tse | ce | tso |
| ㄘㄞ | ts`ai | tsai | cai | tsai |
| ㄘㄠ | ts`ao | tsau | cao | tsau |
| ㄘㄡ | ts`ou | tsou | cou | tsou |
| ㄘㄢ | ts`an | tsan | can | tsan |
| ㄘㄣ | ts`en | tsen | cen | tson |
| ㄘㄤ | ts`ang | tsang | cang | tsang |
| ㄘㄥ | ts`eng | tseng | ceng | tsong |
| ㄘㄨ | ts`u | tsu | cu | tsu |
| ㄘㄨㄛ | ts`o | tswo | cuo | tsuo |
| ㄘㄨㄟ | ts`ui | tswei | cui | tsuei |
| ㄘㄨㄢ | ts`uan | tswan | cuan | tsuan |
| ㄘㄨㄣ | ts`un | tswen | cun | tsun |
| ㄘㄨㄥ | ts`ung | tsung | cong | tsung |
| ㄙ | ssu | sz | si | se |
| ㄙㄚ | sa | sa | sa | sa |
| ㄙㄜ | se | se | se | so |
| ㄙㄞ | sai | sai | sai | sai |
| ㄙㄟ | sei | sei | sei | sei |
| ㄙㄠ | sao | sau | sao | sau |
| ㄙㄡ | sou | sou | sou | sou |
| ㄙㄢ | san | san | san | san |
| ㄙㄣ | sen | sen | sen | son |
| ㄙㄤ | sang | sang | sang | sang |
| ㄙㄥ | seng | seng | seng | song |
| ㄙㄨ | su | su | su | su |
| ㄙㄨㄛ | so | swo | suo | suo |
| ㄙㄨㄟ | sui | swei | sui | suei |
| ㄙㄨㄢ | suan | swan | suan | suan |
| ㄙㄨㄣ | sun | swen | sun | sun |
| ㄙㄨㄥ | sung | sung | song | sung |
| ㄚ | a | a | a | a |
| ㄜ | e | e | e | o |
| ㄞ | ai | ai | ai | ai |
| ㄟ | ei | ei | ei | ei |
| ㄠ | ao | au | ao | au |
| ㄡ | ou | ou | ou | ou |
| ㄢ | an | an | an | an |
| ㄣ | en | en | en | on |
| ㄤ | ang | ang | ang | ang |
| ㄦ | erh | er | er | ar |
| ㄧ | i | yi | yi | yi |
| ㄧㄚ | ya | ya | ya | ya |
| ㄧㄝ | yeh | ye | ye | ye |
| ㄧㄠ | yao | yau | yao | yau |
| ㄧㄡ | yu | you | you | you |
| ㄧㄢ | yan | yan | yan | yan |
| ㄧㄣ | yin | yin | yin | yin |
| ㄧㄤ | yang | yang | yang | yang |
| ㄧㄥ | ying | ying | ying | ying |
| ㄨ | wu | wu | wu | wu |
| ㄨㄚ | wa | wa | wa | wa |
| ㄨㄛ | wo | wo | wo | wo |
| ㄨㄞ | wai | wai | wai | wai |
| ㄨㄟ | wei | wei | wei | wei |
| ㄨㄢ | wan | wan | wan | wan |
| ㄨㄣ | wen | wen | wen | won |
| ㄨㄤ | wang | wang | wang | wang |
| ㄨㄥ | weng | weng | weng | wong |
| ㄩ | yü | yu | yu | yu |
| ㄩㄝ | yüeh | ywe | yue | yue |
| ㄩㄢ | yüan | ywan | yuan | yuan |
| ㄩㄣ | yün | yun | yun | yun |
| ㄩㄥ | yung | yung | yong | yung |
When two syllables are strung together there might occasionally be some confusion as to which letters belong to which syllable. Say if the first syllable were "ying" and the next were "on", it might look like the syllables were "yin" and "gon" instead. To avoid this sort of problem, simply insert an apostrophe like so: "ying'on".
In the Beijing dialect, /r/ (spelled simply "r" in both Hanyu Pinyin and the Jones system) may be appended to a given syllable. This has the affect of adding an [R] sound that syllable and deleting a preceding /n/ or /y/ coda if one exists. If this /r/ follows /N/, the /N/ is deleted, but not entirely. The preceding vowel becomes nasalized. One more change to note is that the main vowel of syllables ending in /yan/ and /ywan/ shifts from [E] to [A].
The final issue to tackle in any Chinese Romanization scheme is tone marking. Mandarin makes use of four full tones (high, rising, low, and falling) and one short, neutral tone, sort of like the schwa of tones. If you change the tone, you often change the word in Chinese, so the tones have to be marked somehow. Hanyu Pinyin makes heavy use of diacritic marks. The syllable /ma/ is spelled "ma" (in the neutral tone), "mā" (high), "má" (rising), "mǎ" (low), and "mà" (falling).
This is acceptable in the Jones system, but another method, which makes use of fewer special characters, is also available. You could spell these same syllables as "ma", "máá", "maá", "maa", and "máa". This method might be better to use with those less familiar with Mandarin phonology because it highlights the simplicity of the tones. In each of these syllables "á" is a high pitched [a] sound, and "a" is [a] with a lower pitch. That's really all you need to describe the five tones of Mandarin Chinese.
Overall, the differences between Hanyu Pinyin and most other Romanization systems, including my own, is that Hanyu Pinyin was developed not by Westerners but by the Chinese government. Because of this, you see several attempts at space saving and internal consistency that take away from readability. For example, "qia" is read something like the English "cha", "ca" is something like "tsa", and "xa" is something like "sha" or "hya". In my system, these syllables are spelled "tya", "tsa", and "sya" respectively. You're probably familiar with the term "feng shui" but you may not know it's really more like "fung shrway" in Chinese. In the Jones system, this would be rendered "fong sruei". Neither system is perfect, but I think Jones Pinyin gets a lot closer.