<p>儿 in this case indicates the application of 儿化 (er2hua4) or 'r-coloring' to the previous syllable.</p>

<p>To input 哪儿 using a typical Pinyin IME, you would have to type <code>naer</code> or <code>na'er</code>, because <code>nar</code> would be segmented <code>na r</code>, and the IME would then expect further input for a second Pinyin syllable beginning with <code>r</code>.</p>

<p>Outside of keyboard input, however, the correct Pinyin for 哪儿 is <code>nǎr</code>, because 儿 is not being used to represent a full syllable. Where it represents a full syllable, it would be represented as <code>ér</code> in Pinyin.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-20T10:21:00.220Z
Yes, the correct romanization is "-r"; it's incorrect to romanize it as "-er". If you want a more official source, Pinyin.info has a scanned exerpt from "Chinese Romanization: Pronunciation and Orthography" by Yin Binyong confirming this.
Ironfrost
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-20T13:05:16.413Z
Great explanation. With it, I was also able to find this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erhua
金迭戈
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-23T03:40:10.953Z
Here's a [link to the page](http://pinyin.info/readings/zyg/rules.html) @Ironfrost mentioned.
stevendaniels
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-20T03:36:47.180Z
2012-02-20T03:36:47.180Z
jogloran
<p>I've seen both <code>Nǎ'er</code> and <code>Nǎr</code>.</p>

<p>The first form looks more like a literal transcription of each character, while the second one  might be the way it's pronounced (assuming there is a difference)</p>

<p>I do understand pinyin is just a learning / transliteration tool; I'm more interested in the explanation of the cases where this conversion is applied and why.</p>

<pinyin>
What is the correct pinyin for 哪儿?
# What is the correct pinyin for 哪儿?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-02-20)

I've seen both `Nǎ'er` and `Nǎr`.

The first form looks more like a literal transcription of each character, while the second one might be the way it's pronounced (assuming there is a difference)

I do understand pinyin is just a learning / transliteration tool; I'm more interested in the explanation of the cases where this conversion is applied and why.

**Tags:** pinyin

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2012-02-20. Score: 11 | Accepted answer

儿 in this case indicates the application of 儿化 (er2hua4) or 'r-coloring' to the previous syllable.

To input 哪儿 using a typical Pinyin IME, you would have to type `naer` or `na'er`, because `nar` would be segmented `na r`, and the IME would then expect further input for a second Pinyin syllable beginning with `r`.

Outside of keyboard input, however, the correct Pinyin for 哪儿 is `nǎr`, because 儿 is not being used to represent a full syllable. Where it represents a full syllable, it would be represented as `ér` in Pinyin.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Yes, the correct romanization is "-r"; it's incorrect to romanize it as "-er". If you want a more official source, Pinyin.info has a scanned exerpt from "Chinese Romanization: Pronunciation and Orthography" by Yin Binyong confirming this.  
> **username_0**: Great explanation. With it, I was also able to find this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erhua  
> **username_3**: Here's a [link to the page](http://pinyin.info/readings/zyg/rules.html) @Ironfrost mentioned.  

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