You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in Chinese. (November 2015)Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Chinese article. Machine translation, likeDeepL orGoogle Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consideradding a topic to this template: there are already 378 articles in themain category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. Youmust providecopyright attribution in theedit summary accompanying your translation by providing aninterlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary isContent in this edit is translated from the existing Chinese Wikipedia article at [[:zh:满文]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template{{Translated|zh|满文}} to thetalk page. For more guidance, seeWikipedia:Translation.

Manchu script ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠᡥᡝᡵᡤᡝᠨ manju hergen
18th-century manuscript
Script type	Alphabet
Languages	Manchu Xibe
Related scripts
Parent systems	Egyptian hieroglyphs Proto-Sinaitic alphabet[1] Phoenician alphabet[1][2] Aramaic alphabet Syriac alphabet Sogdian alphabet Old Uyghur alphabet Mongolian script Manchu script
Child systems	Dagur alphabet Xibe alphabet
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Mong(145), ​Mongolian
Unicode
Unicode alias	Mongolian
This article containsphonetic transcriptions in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. For the distinction between[ ],/ / and ⟨ ⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

This article containsManchu text. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofManchu alphabet.

TheManchu alphabet (Manchu:ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠᡥᡝᡵᡤᡝᠨ, Möllendorff:manju hergen, Abkai:manju hergen) is the alphabet used to write the now critically endangeredManchu language. A similar script called Xibe script is used today by theXibe people,whose language is considered either a dialect of Manchu or a closely related,mutually intelligible language. It is written vertically from top to bottom, with columns proceeding from left to right.

TheJurchens of amillennium ago became the ancestors of the Manchus whenNurhaci united theJianzhou Jurchens (1593–1618) and his son subsequently renamed the consolidated tribes as the "Manchu". Throughout this period, theJurchen language evolved into what we know as theManchu language. TheJurchen script has no relation to the Manchu alphabet, as it was derived from theKhitan script, itself derived from Chinese characters. After the collapse of the Jin dynasty, the Jurchen script fell into disuse.

According to theVeritable Records [zh] (Manchu:ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ ᡳᠶᠠᡵᡤᡳᠶᠠᠨᡴᠣᠣᠯᡳ, Möllendorff:manju i yargiyan kooli;Chinese:滿洲實錄;pinyin:Mǎnzhōu Shílù), in 1599 theJurchen leaderNurhaci decided to convert theMongolian alphabet to make it suitable for the Manchu people. He decried the fact that while illiterate Han Chinese and Mongolians could understand their respective languages when read aloud, that was not the case for the Manchus, whose documents were recorded by Mongolian scribes. Overriding the objections of two advisors named Erdeni and G'ag'ai, he is credited with adapting the Mongolian script to Manchu. The resulting script was known astongki fuka akū hergen (Manchu:ᡨ᠋ᠣᠩᡴᡳᡶ᠋ᡠᡴᠠᠠᡴᡡᡥᡝᡵᡤᡝᠨ) — the "script without dots and circles".

In 1632,Dahai addeddiacritical marks to clear up a lot of the ambiguity present in the original Mongolian script; for instance, a leadingk,g, andh are distinguished by the placement of no diacritical mark, a dot, and a circle, respectively. This revision created the standard script, known astongki fuka sindaha hergen (Manchu:ᡨ᠋ᠣᠩᡴᡳᡶ᠋ᡠᡴᠠᠰᡳᠨ᠋ᡩ᠋ᠠᡥᠠᡥᡝᡵᡤᡝᠨ) — the "script with dots and circles". As a result, the Manchu alphabet contains little ambiguity. Recently discovered manuscripts from the 1620s make clear, however, that the addition of dots and circles to Manchu script began before their supposed introduction by Dahai.

Dahai also added thetulergi hergen ("foreign/outer letters"): ten graphemes to facilitate Manchu to be used to write Chinese, Sanskrit, and Tibetan loanwords. Previously, these non-Manchu sounds did not have corresponding letters in Manchu.^[4]Sounds that were transliterated included the aspirated sounds k' (Chinese pinyin: k,ᠺ), k (g,ᡬ), x (h,ᡭ); ts' (c,ᡮ); ts (ci,ᡮ᠊ᡟ); sy (si,ᠰ᠊ᡟ); dz (z,ᡯ); c'y (chi,ᡱᡟ); j'y (zhi,ᡷᡟ); and ž (r,ᡰ).^[5]

By the middle of the nineteenth century, there were three styles of writing Manchu in use: standard script (ginggulere hergen), semi-cursive script (gidara hergen), and cursive script (lasihire hergen). Semicursive script had less spacing between the letters, and cursive script had rounded tails.^[6]

The Manchu alphabet was also used to write Chinese. The way in which this was done is explained inManchu: a Textbook for Reading Documents, which has a comparative table of romanizations of Chinese syllables written in Manchu letters,Hànyǔ Pīnyīn andWade–Giles.^[7] Using the Manchu script to transliterate Chinese words is a source of loanwords for theXibe language.^[8] Several Chinese-Manchu dictionaries contain Chinese characters transliterated with Manchu script. The Manchu versions of theThousand Character Classic andDream of the Red Chamber are actually the Manchu transcription of all the Chinese characters.^[9]

In theImperial Liao-Jin-Yuan Three Histories National Language Explanation (欽定遼金元三史國語解Qinding Liao Jin Yuan sanshi guoyujie) commissioned by theQianlong Emperor, the Manchu alphabet is used to writeEvenki (Solon) words. In thePentaglot Dictionary, also commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor, the Manchu alphabet is used to transcribeTibetan andChagatai (related toUyghur) words.

Characters					Transliteration	Notes
isolated	initial	medial	final
Vowels[10][11][12]
ᠠ	ᠠ᠊	᠊ᠠ᠊	᠊ᠠ		a[a]	A second final form is used afterb (᠊ᠪᠠba) andp (᠊ᡦᠠpa).
ᡝ	ᡝ᠊	᠊ᡝ᠊	᠊ᡝ		e[ə]	A second final form is used afterb (᠊ᠪᡝbe) andp (᠊ᡦᡝpe).
		᠊ᡝ᠋᠊	᠊ᡝ᠋			The undotted medial form is used afterk, g, h and befored andt. The final form is used aftert (᠊ᡨᡝte).A second final form is used afterk (᠊ᡴᡝka),g (᠊ᡤᡝga), andh (᠊ᡥᡝha).[13]
ᡳ	ᡳ᠊	᠊ᡳ᠊	᠊ᡳ		i[i]	The second isolated form serves asgenitive case marker. The second medial form is used after vowels.
ᡳ⟨⟩		᠊ᡳ᠌᠊
ᠣ	ᠣ᠊	᠊ᠣ᠊	᠊ᠣ		o[ɔ]	The bow-less final form is used in single-syllable words only.
			᠊ᠣ᠋
ᡠ	ᡠ᠊	᠊ᡠ᠊	᠊ᡠ		u[u]	The dotless medial form is used afterk, g, h, d, t. The bow-less final form is used in single-syllable words only.
		᠊ᡠ᠋᠊	dotted᠊ᠣ᠋
ᡡ	ᡡ᠊	᠊ᡡ᠊	᠊ᡡ		ū/uu/v[ʊ]	Denotesu afterk [qʰ],g [q],h [χ].
		᠊ᡟ᠊	᠊ᡟ		y/y/i'[ɨ]	Used in Chineseloanwords.
ᡳᠣᡳ	ᡳᠣᡳ᠊⟨?⟩	᠊ᡳᠣᡳ᠊⟨?⟩	᠊ᡳᠣᡳ		ioi[y]	Used in Chinese loanwords.
Consonants[14][15][16]
—	ᠨ᠊	᠊ᠨ᠋᠊	᠊ᠨ		n[n]	The dotted form is used before vowels; undotted form before consonants. A dotted final form is used in some words of chinese origin.
		᠊ᠨ᠊
—	—	᠊ᠩ᠊	᠊ᠩ		ng[ŋ]	The medial form is used before consonants.
—	ᡴ᠊	᠊ᡴ᠊	᠊ᡴ		k[qʰ]	The undotted medial form is used beforea, o, ū; dotted form before consonants.
		᠊ᡴ᠋᠊
		᠊ᡴ᠌᠊	᠊ᡴ᠋		k[kʰ]	Initial and medial forms are used beforee, i, u.
—	ᡤ᠊	᠊ᡤ᠊	—		g[q]	Used beforea, o, ū.
			—		g[k]	Used beforee, i, u.
—	ᡥ᠊	᠊ᡥ᠊	—		h[χ]	Used beforea, o, ū.
			—		h[x]	Used beforee, i, u.
—	ᠪ᠊	᠊ᠪ᠊	᠊ᠪ		b[p]
—	ᡦ᠊	᠊ᡦ᠊	—		p[pʰ]
—	ᠰ᠊	᠊ᠰ᠊	᠊ᠰ		s[s],[ɕ] before[i]
—	ᡧ᠊	᠊ᡧ᠊	—		š[ʃ],[ɕ] before[i]
—	ᡨ᠋᠊	᠊ᡨ᠋᠊	—		t[tʰ]	Used beforea, o, ū, i.
	—	᠊ᡨ᠌᠊	᠊ᡨ			Medial form is used before consonants.
	ᡨ᠌᠊	᠊ᡨ᠍᠊	—			Used beforee, u.
—	ᡩ᠊	᠊ᡩ᠋᠊	—		d[t]	Used beforea, o, ū, i.
	ᡩ᠋᠊	᠊ᡩ᠊				Used beforee, u.
—	ᠯ᠊	᠊ᠯ᠊	᠊ᠯ		l[l]	Initial and final forms usually exist in foreign words.
—	ᠮ᠊	᠊ᠮ᠊	᠊ᠮ		m[m]
—	ᠴ᠊	᠊ᠴ᠊	—		c/ch/č/q[t͡ʃʰ],[t͡ɕʰ] before[i]
—	ᠵ᠊	᠊ᠵ᠊	—		j/zh/ž[t͡ʃ],[t͡ɕ] before[i]
—	ᠶ᠊	᠊ᠶ᠋᠊⟨⟩	—		y[j]
—	ᡵ᠊	᠊ᡵ᠊	᠊ᡵ		r[r]	Initial and final forms exist mostly in foreign words.
—	ᡶ‍	‍ᡶ‍	—		f[f]	First initial and medial forms are used beforea, e; second initial and medial forms are used beforei, o, u, ū.
	ᡶ᠋‍	‍ᡶ᠋‍
—	ᠸ᠊	᠊ᠸ᠊	—		v (w)[w],[v]-
—	ᠺ᠊	᠊ᠺ᠊	—		k'/kk/k‘/k’[kʰ]	Used for Chinese k [kʰ]. Used beforea, o.
—	ᡬ᠊	᠊ᡬ᠊	—		g'/gg/ǵ/g’[k]	Used for Chinese g [k]. Used beforea, o.
—	ᡭ᠊	᠊ᡭ᠊	—		h'/hh/h́/h’[x]	Used in Chinese h [x]. Used beforea, o.
—	ᡮ᠊	᠊ᡮ᠊	—		ts'/c/ts‘/c[tsʰ]	Used in Chinese c [t͡sʰ].
—	ᡯ᠊	᠊ᡯ᠊	᠊ᡯ		dz/z/dz/z[t͡s]	Used in Chinese z [t͡s].
—	ᡰ᠊	᠊ᡰ᠊	—		ž/rr/ž/r’[ʐ]	Used in Chinese r [ʐ].
—	ᡱ᠊	᠊ᡱ᠊	—		c'/ch/c‘/c’[tʂʰ]	Used in Chinese ch [tʂʰ] and chi/c'y [tʂʰɨ]
—	ᡷ᠊	᠊ᡷ᠊			j/zh/j̊/j’[tʂ]	Used in Chinese zh [tʂ] and zhi/j'y [tʂɨ]

Despite its alphabetic nature, the Manchu "alphabet" was traditionally taught as asyllabary to reflect itsphonotactics. Manchu children were taught to memorize the shapes of all the syllables in the language separately as they learned to write^[17] and say right away "la,lo", etc., instead of saying "l,a —la"; "l,o —lo"; etc. As a result, the syllables contained in their syllabary do not contain all possible combinations that can be formed with their letters. They made, for instance, no such use of the consonantsl,m,n andr as English; hence if the Manchu letterss,m,a,r andt were joined in that order, a Manchu would not pronounce them as "smart".^[18]

Today, it is still divided among experts on whether the Manchu script is alphabetic or syllabic. In China, it is considered syllabic, and Manchu is still taught in this manner, while in the West it is treated like an alphabet. The alphabetic approach is used mainly by foreigners who want to learn the language, as studying the Manchu script as a syllabary takes longer.^[19][20]

The syllables in Manchu are divided into twelve categories calleduju (literally "head") based on theirsyllabic codas (finalphonemes).^[21][22][23] Here lists the names of the twelveuju in their traditional order:

a, ai, ar, an, ang, ak, as, at, ab, ao, al, am.

Eachuju contains syllables ending in the coda of its name. Hence, Manchu only allows nine final consonants for its closed syllables, otherwise a syllable is open with a monophthong (auju) or a diphthong (aiuju andaouju).The syllables in anuju are further sorted and grouped into three or two according to their similarities in pronunciation and shape. For example,a uju arranges its 131 licit syllables in the following order:

a, e, i; o, u, ū; na, ne, ni; no, nu, nū;

ka, ga, ha; ko, go, ho; kū, gū, hū;

ba, be, bi; bo, bu, bū; pa, pe, pi; po, pu, pū;

sa, se, si; so, su, sū; ša, še, ši; šo, šu, šū;

ta, da; te, de; ti, di; to, do; tu, du;

la, le, li; lo, lu, lū; ma, me, mi; mo, mu, mū;

ca, ce, ci; co, cu, cū; ja, je, ji; jo, ju, jū; ya, ye; yo, yu, yū;

ke, ge, he; ki, gi, hi; ku, gu, hu; k'a, g'a, h'a; k'o, g'o, h'o;

ra, re, ri; ro, ru, rū;

fa, fe, fi; fo, fu, fū; wa, we;

ts'a, ts'e, ts; ts'o, ts'u; dza, dze, dzi, dzo, dzu;

ža, že, ži; žo, žu; sy, c'y, jy.

In general, while syllables in the same row resemble each other phonetically and visually, syllables in the same group (as the semicolons separate) bear greater similarities.

The Manchu alphabet has two kinds of punctuation: two dots (᠉), analogous to a period; and one dot (᠈), analogous to a comma. However, with the exception of lists of nouns being reliably punctuated by single dots, punctuation in Manchu is inconsistent, and therefore not of much use as an aid to readability.^[24]

The equivalent of the question mark in Manchu script consists of somespecialparticles, written at the end of the question.^[25]

The Manchu alphabet is included in the Unicode block for Mongolian.

• Mongolian script
• Transliterations of Manchu
• Clear Script

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of:Manchu

• Abkai — Unicode Manchu/Sibe/Daur Fonts and KeyboardsArchived 2016-09-14 at theWayback Machine
• Manchu alphabet
• Manchu script generator (Romanization → Manchu script (also for download))Archived 2023-01-27 at theWayback Machine
• ManchuFont — anOpenType font for Manchu writing
• Jurchen Script

• Alphabets
• Manchu language
• 1590s introductions
• 1599 beginnings
• Letters with final form

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles needing translation from Chinese Wikipedia
• Scripts with ISO 15924 four-letter codes
• Pages with plain IPA
• Articles containing Manchu-language text
• Articles containing Chinese-language text
• Webarchive template wayback links