On Fri, 14 Mar 2003 08:43:19 -0800 (PST), Werner LEMBERG wrote: > Some lists of pinyin syllables contain `rua', but I actually can't > find any Chinese character with this name. > > Does it exist at all? Or is it just there for completeness of pinyin?
This is not really a Unicode question, and there are probably other forums which are more qualified to pontificate on the idiosyncrasies of Chinese pronunciation. But, for what its worth, ... There are no characters in the Unihan database that are given a Mandarin pinyin reading of "rua". However, as has previously been pointed out on this list, the Mandarin readings given in the Unihan database are somewhat erratic, and should not be relied on as a definitive authority. According to one pinyin chart on the internet (http://www.cohums.ohio-state.edu/deall/jin.3/c231/refs/p2w.htm) "rua" is an "oral or dialectal syllable", and as such probably does not represent a standard Mandarin pronunciation. The only character that I can find that has a reading of "rua" is U+633C (which is given readings of NUO4 and RUO2 in the Unihan database). See for example the list of pinyin readings for GBK characters given at http://input.foruto.com/gbqpxdm/hpbig5gzl.htm which gives "rua" as one of four readings for U+633C (luo, rua, ruo, sui). No other character in this list is given a reading of "rua". Andrew
