What is "bopomofo"

n. Name for Zhuyin fuhao used by ISO and Unicode.

Zhuyin fuhao, Zhuyin or Bopomofo (, Mandarin IPA: ) is a system of phonetic notation for the transcription of spoken Chinese, particularly the Mandarin dialect. The first two are traditional terms, whereas Bopomofo is the colloquial term, also used by the ISO and Unicode. Consisting of 37 characters and four tone marks, it transcribes all possible sounds in Mandarin. Zhuyin was introduced in China by the Republican Government in the 1910s and used alongside the Wade-Giles system, which used a modified Latin alphabet. The Wade system was replaced by Hanyu Pinyin in 1958 by the Government of the People's Republic of China, and at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1982. Although Taiwan officially abandoned Wade-Giles in 2009, Bopomofo is still the official phonetic notation system of the country and remains widely used as an educational tool and electronic input method in Taiwan.

Bopomofo is a Unicode block containing phonetic characters for Chinese. It is based on the Chinese standard GB 2312. Additional Bopomofo characters can be found in the Bopomofo Extended block.