<p>AFAIK (I'm a native English speaker) the letter v is <strong>never</strong> used in English writing to render the sound represented in pinyin by ü.</p>

<p>However in software that uses pinyin it is standard practice to use the letter v as an alias for ü.</p>

<p>From Wikipedia (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin_input_method#Treatment_of_extended_Latin_characters_(%C3%BC_and_%C3%AA)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">link</a>):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Since the letter "v" is unused in Mandarin pinyin, it is universally used as an alias for ü. For example, typing "nv" into the input method would bring up the candidate list for pinyin: nǚ.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>There are indeed some cases where people mistakenly use v in Pinyin instead of ü. It does seem to be a mistake, probably induced by the IME typing convention.
This <a href="http://pinyin.info/news/2009/v-for-u/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">blog post</a> gives an example in a street sign in Beijing.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-22T23:53:29.107Z
I would second that with the emphasis the Pinyin Romanisation is a regulated _standard_ now (see https://www.iso.org/standard/61420.html), and that although v for ü is attested, it is nonetheless viewed as a mistake (as of early 21st century standards).
Michaelyus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-27T02:54:32.220Z
@Michaelyus Perhaps this *mistake* will become standardized after enough wrong usage. I just came across this: http://www.seeyangzhou.com/ "Lvyang Lake Eco-tourist Resort" - doesn't seem like it's going to go away.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-27T08:20:32.910Z
@user3306356 That does indeed seem likely.
goPlayerJuggler
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-02T08:33:37.637Z
Maybe it would be a good idea to revise the (ISO) standard so that using "v" becomes a valid alternative! There are pros and cons for doing so.
goPlayerJuggler
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-22T13:42:29.013Z
2018-03-22T13:42:29.013Z
goPlayerJuggler
<p>IME's often use <code>v</code> in place of <code>ü</code> for entering pinyin.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>nü can be typed as nv to get 女, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>lüe can be typed as lve to get 略, etc.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Sometimes in English though you will see <code>v</code> in place of <code>ü</code>.</p>

<p>For instance: 吕洞宾 might be rendered as Lv Dongbing.</p>

<p>As far as I know this is totally wrong and is an unacceptable rendering of 吕, I might be totally wrong though.</p>

<p>Is "v" ever an acceptable English rendering of ü?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-22T08:24:02.303Z
Do you mean using *v* as an alternative Romanisation of the Pinyin ü sound? `English rendering of ü` implies the specific situation of rendering Chinese words *in English*.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-22T08:36:33.090Z
I supposed mostly just romanization.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-22T21:49:39.407Z
seems standard Chinese does not have  diphthong ue although it has  üe (9 diphthongs
ai ei ao ou ia ie ua uo üe) ju,qu,yu are read jü,qü,yü anyhow,现代汉语词典 has ３ characters, 略，掠，锊 belonging to initial l and diphthong üe, since no confusion seems possible these can all be entered as lue in IME
user6065
<translation><transliteration>
Is "v" ever an acceptable English rendering of ü?
# Is "v" ever an acceptable English rendering of ü?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-03-22)

IME's often use `v` in place of `ü` for entering pinyin.

* nü can be typed as nv to get 女, etc.
* lüe can be typed as lve to get 略, etc.

Sometimes in English though you will see `v` in place of `ü`.

For instance: 吕洞宾 might be rendered as Lv Dongbing.

As far as I know this is totally wrong and is an unacceptable rendering of 吕, I might be totally wrong though.

Is "v" ever an acceptable English rendering of ü?

**Tags:** translation, transliteration

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Do you mean using *v* as an alternative Romanisation of the Pinyin ü sound? `English rendering of ü` implies the specific situation of rendering Chinese words *in English*.  
> **username_0**: I supposed mostly just romanization.  
> **username_2**: seems standard Chinese does not have  diphthong ue although it has  üe (9 diphthongs ai ei ao ou ia ie ua uo üe) ju,qu,yu are read jü,qü,yü anyhow,现代汉语词典 has ３ characters, 略，掠，锊 belonging to initial l and diphthong üe, since no confusion seems possible these can all be entered as lue in IME  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-03-22. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

AFAIK (I'm a native English speaker) the letter v is **never** used in English writing to render the sound represented in pinyin by ü.

However in software that uses pinyin it is standard practice to use the letter v as an alias for ü.

From Wikipedia ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin_input_method#Treatment_of_extended_Latin_characters_(%C3%BC_and_%C3%AA))):

> Since the letter "v" is unused in Mandarin pinyin, it is universally used as an alias for ü. For example, typing "nv" into the input method would bring up the candidate list for pinyin: nǚ.

There are indeed some cases where people mistakenly use v in Pinyin instead of ü. It does seem to be a mistake, probably induced by the IME typing convention.
This [blog post](http://pinyin.info/news/2009/v-for-u/) gives an example in a street sign in Beijing.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: I would second that with the emphasis the Pinyin Romanisation is a regulated _standard_ now (see https://www.iso.org/standard/61420.html), and that although v for ü is attested, it is nonetheless viewed as a mistake (as of early 21st century standards).  
> **username_0**: @username_4 Perhaps this *mistake* will become standardized after enough wrong usage. I just came across this: http://www.seeyangzhou.com/ "Lvyang Lake Eco-tourist Resort" - doesn't seem like it's going to go away.  
> **username_3**: @user3306356 That does indeed seem likely.  
> **username_3**: Maybe it would be a good idea to revise the (ISO) standard so that using "v" becomes a valid alternative! There are pros and cons for doing so.  

---

