Standard Romanization is a system of romanization for Cantonese developed by Christian missionaries in southern China in 1888, particularly relying upon the work of John Morrison Chalmers. By 1914, it had become well established in Canton and Hong Kong (there being no other system of significance in published literature, and publications using it having been issued by the British and Foreign Bible Society, the China Baptist Publication Society, and the Pakhoi Mission Press from as early as 1906). It is the foundation of the current system of Romanisation used by the Hong Kong Government.

Initials

Note that the following initials are left unspelt: preceding '('/'/'/'/') or '('/'), preceding '('/'/), and zero-initial (which only occurs preceding finals other than these just-mentioned ones where the accompanying or is not written).

Finals

Tones

Tones are indicated using diacritic marks. Note: In the following table, “x” stands for whatever letter bears any tonal diacritic, that letter being the syllable’s final vowel or (if no vowel is present, then) its final letter (in the major dictionary of 1965 by Cowles).