LIST OF CONTENTS

Introduction by the Editor-in-Chief

The Basics
 Principles
 Rules

A to Z

List of Chinese ministries and administrations

Guide to Pinyin
 People
 Places

The Sports Guide

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the 12th edition of the China Daily Stylebook.

This guide, compiled by the Style Council and overseen by the Editorial
Board, is for reporters and editors working on all print and online editions,
and is an essential tool to ensure the accuracy, consistency and quality of
China Daily products.

As we continue to expand our global audience, our ability to engage with

and be understood by international audiences is even more important.

Listed within these pages are our preferred styles and spellings, as well as
general guidance on how reporters and editors should write and edit
stories to meet our high editorial standards.

In this latest edition, you will find a revised A to Z and a new section
listing China’s ministries and administrations.

This guide has been updated to keep pace with current affairs and new
trends. When changes are made to our stylebook, staff members will be
alerted via email. Copies of Webster’s New World College Dictionary,
our go-to dictionary, have also been made available in our newsrooms.

Please take time to read and digest this stylebook. Any questions and
suggestions about style can be sent to style@chinadaily.com.cn

Zhou Shuchun

Editor-in-Chief and Publisher

China Daily
THE BASICS
Principles

Always remember: Every story needs to include the four Ws: Who, What, Where,
When. The Why or the How may be the reason for the story, but these basic criteria
should never be forgotten.

Strive for clarity. Avoid long-winded sentences that require multiple subordinate
clauses. Journalistic writing should be clear and concise.

Help a reader to understand. The old maxim stands, “Tell the story as if you are
telling a friend over a cup of coffee.” Explain things naturally, in a simple and logical
way. Do not fall into the trap of using jargon-filled quotes or explanations; if you
don’t understand what it means, a reader won’t. However, be careful not to state the
obvious — saying “the English playwright William Shakespeare”, for example.

Do not assume the reader has been following the news. Each story should stand alone,
bringing the reader up to date with the latest developments as well as explaining, as
briefly as possible, what has previously happened.

Use only credible sources. To ensure accuracy, journalists must strive to obtain
firsthand accounts — people directly involved in or knowledgeable on an issue.
Reporters should also provide appropriate information about a source to show their
credibility. Wikipedia and other such websites are not credible sources, so verify all
information they offer with someone who is.

Always attribute. Clearly credit the source of all information, data and quotes. If
information is taken from another media outlet, state the source: “According to a
Xinhua report …” or “was quoted as saying by Xinhua”. The same goes for data, so
clearly state the source and date of statistics. Identifying data as “official statistics”
without any details as to which agency released them or when is unhelpful to a reader.

Plagiarism is unacceptable in all forms. Journalists should never cut and paste large
tracts of information directly from other media or reports published by governments,
organizations or academics. It is lazy and unprofessional. Journalists may use short
passages from earlier China Daily reports to explain background, but only on
condition they verify the factual accuracy and use them within the correct context.

Transparency is essential to credibility, so question the need for anonymity. Chinese

people tend to be unwilling to give their full names to journalists, resulting in the use
of “surnamed Zhang” in copy, effectively rendering them anonymous. Reporters
should use this construction only if the information or quote given could not feasibly
be obtained from another person willing to use their name. Anonymity should be
provided only to people providing crucial and reliable information (fact, not opinion
or speculation) that cannot be obtained any other way and whose life or livelihood, or
that of their family, could be affected should it be known they were the source.

Check, check, check. China Daily journalists work across several languages, with
information, data and quotes regularly translated into English. Reporters must ensure
that all translated material is accurate and keeps faith with the original source. Copy
editors should double-check any suspect details in copy with the author(s) or, when
possible, carry out secondary research to verify information. Use your judgment, but
if it looks or sounds wrong, it probably is.

Do not editorialize the news. Unless an article is intended as an opinion piece, all
reports should be fair, balanced and unbiased. Reporters should not use stories to
express personal opinion or prejudice. Beware of “causal discrimination” such as
portraying a rural resident as uneducated or a disabled person as helpless.

Avoid cliches in copy and headlines. For example, the “so-and-so never expected that
one day they …” intro is tired and seldom appropriate. Also, while a pun in an intro or
headline may be amusing in the newsroom, it may do little to attract a reader to a
story, or even worse, it may confuse them. Aim to be descriptive.

Rules

Reporters should add a note at the top of a story or within a story to flag up
information they know to be accurate but may look incorrect to the news desk or to a
copy editor — odd spellings of names or places, for example. This will save editors a
lot of time by avoiding the need for unnecessary secondary research.

Be aware that reporters are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the names
(people, places, agencies, companies, etc) used in their story.

Use pinyin only when necessary. Often, including a Chinese word or phrase in copy
requires a lengthy explanation that could be avoided. Also, pinyin in a headline may
confuse readers unfamiliar with China and its culture. See A Guide to Pinyin.

Reporters: Be careful with quotes. If you don’t know what a subject is saying, ask
him or her to clarify, either during an interview or afterward.

Avoid using “told China Daily” after quotes. Readers will assume a person is talking
to us, so replace with “said” or an appropriate alternative. Use of the “told China
Daily” construction is acceptable if quotes or data in preceding paragraphs have been
attributed to another media.

China Daily uses metric measurements, so convert as appropriate. Imperial or

Chinese measurements are acceptable only in direct quotes, in which case they should
be followed by a metric conversion in parentheses. See measurements in A to Z.

Companies, groups and organizations are singular, so they require “that” or

“which” depending on the syntax, and “its” not “their”. They also require a singular
verb. Also see The Sports Guide.

By sticking to these basics and our style guide, you can help to ensure stories for
China Daily’s print and online editions are consistent and meet the high standards to
which we aspire.

The printed White Book and the “Custom Stylebook” section of the online stylebook
should be the first port of call for questions on style. If they do not provide an answer,
questions can be emailed to the Style Council on style@chinadaily.com.cn.
A to Z
A

Abbreviations and acronyms

A few universally recognized abbreviations are acceptable and some are acceptable
depending on context, but in general avoid alphabet soup. This stylebook has several
entries identifying when an abbreviation or acronym is acceptable on first or
subsequent references. Do not use abbreviations or acronyms that the reader would
not quickly recognize. Some general principles:
BEFORE A NAME: Do not use abbreviations before names. Spell out in full if
necessary, lowercase unless at the start of a sentence. Example: doctor Liu Fangli,
professor Wan Li. The only exception is St (see Saint/St.) and initials (see initials).
This goes for courtesy, legislative, military and religious titles. Note: The US editions
can use periods to indicate that the word is an abbreviation.
AFTER A NAME: Abbreviate company, corporation, incorporated and limited when
used after the name of a corporate entity: Co, Corp, Inc, Ltd.
WITH DATES OR NUMERALS: No periods. Use the abbreviations AD, BC, am, pm,
No, and abbreviate certain months when used with the day of the month. Correct
examples: In 450 BC; at 9:30 am; in room No 6; Beijing No 2 High School; on Sept
16. Note: These abbreviations are to be used only alongside figures.
ADDRESSES: Do not abbreviate avenue, boulevard, road, street: No 21 Main Street.
ACCEPTABLE: Some organizations and agencies are widely recognized by their
initials: CIA, FBI, NGO, for example. See individual entries in this book for acronyms
acceptable on first reference.
AVOID AWKWARD CONSTRUCTIONS: Do not follow an organization’s full
name with an abbreviation or acronym in parentheses, or set off by dashes. If an
abbreviation or acronym would not be clear on second reference without this
arrangement, do not use it.
CAPS, PERIODS: Caps, no periods in copy or headlines: US, UN, UK, BC. In
headlines, North, South, East and West may be abbreviated in place names by using
the initial letter followed by a period: S. Korea; W. Virginia.
ARTICLE: Use an article with an acronym if the organization would require one
when spelled full out: Hu at the National Bureau of Statistics; Hu at the NBS. The
exception is when the acronym is pronounced as a word: UNESCO, UNICEF.

academic degrees
If mention of a degree is necessary to establish someone’s credentials, try to avoid an
abbreviation. Instead, use a phrase such as: John Jones, who has a doctorate in
psychology. Bachelor’s and master’s degrees take apostrophes, but it is Bachelor of
Arts or Master of Science. Also, associate degree (no apostrophe).
Use abbreviations such as BA, MA, LLD and PhD only when the need to identify
many individuals by degree on first reference would make the preferred form
cumbersome. Use abbreviations only after a full name, never just a last name.
An academic abbreviation should be set off by commas: John Snow, PhD, spoke at
the conference. Do not precede a name with a courtesy title for an academic degree
and follow it with the abbreviation for the degree in the same reference.
See doctor, titles
academic departments
Lowercase a general reference to a school at a university, but uppercase the official
title. Examples: He is a professor in the history department; she is a professor with
the School of Political History at Peking University.
When quoting a university professor, include his or her area of expertise: Liu Wang, a
professor of economics at Nanjing University.

academic titles
Capitalize and spell out formal titles such as chancellor, chairman, etc, when they
precede a name: Chancellor George Kahn, Chairman of Admissions Liu Peng.
Lowercase elsewhere. See doctor, professor

accuse
Someone is accused of a crime until he or she has been convicted. See allege. Always
include who is accusing a person: The authorities accuse him of corruption. Do not
say “accused murderer”. Someone can only be charged with or convicted of murder,
not accused. Instead: Police accuse him of killing four people.
See arrest, charge, convicted, libel, suspect

acre
Always convert to hectares by dividing by 2.47. See measurements

acting
Don’t capitalize before a title, although capitalize the title if applicable: acting
Minister of Commerce Liu Peng. See titles

adjectives
See comma and hyphen for how to punctuate a series of adjectives.

administration
Lowercase. Example: the Obama administration. Do not abbreviate to admin.

advice (noun), advise (verb), adviser, advisory

affect, effect
The verb “affect” means to change or influence. The noun “effect” is often a better
choice than “impact”. Do not use impact as a verb.

after-
No hyphen after this prefix if it used to form a noun: aftershock, aftereffect. Use a
hyphen if used to form a compound modifier: after-dinner drink.

ages
Always use figures unless at the start of a sentence: She is 15 years old; the law is 8
years old; and Fifty-year-old director Jia Jiangke. When context does not require
years or years old, the figure is presumed to be years.
Use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a
noun. Examples: A 5-year-old boy, the boy is 5 years old. The boy, 7, has a sister, 10.
The woman, 26, has a daughter who is 2 months old. The race is for 3-year-olds. The
woman is in her 30s. See numbers
air-condition (v), air-conditioned (adj), air conditioner (noun), air conditioning

AIDS
see HIV/AIDS

aircraft
singular and plural; do not use “aircrafts”

Air Force One

Capitalize the name of the plane used for travel by the US president

allege
Be clear on who is making an allegation; be careful not to make it seem China Daily
is making an allegation. Different laws apply in different countries where this
newspaper is read, so use caution. See accuse, charge, libel

All-England Club
Venue for the Wimbledon Tennis Championships

all right
Do not use alright

al-Qaida

al-Shabaab
A jihadist terrorist group based in Somalia; lowercase al unless at start of a sentence

American
US citizen is preferred. “American” is acceptable only in a direct quote by a native
English speaker or in casual reference when it has already been established the subject
is a resident of the US, as the Americas comprise many countries.
See Western Hemisphere

am, pm
Am covers from midnight to 11:59 (one minute to noon); pm lasts from noon to 11:59.
No periods, lowercase. Example: He began the race at 10:55 am and reached the
finish line at 1:05 pm. Note: It is redundant to say “6 am in the morning”.

amid, among
Not amidst or amongst

among / between
“Among” means more than two of something, “between” is two individuals or two
groups of something: He had to choose among blue, white and purple. The idea was
shared among the leaders of all provinces and autonomous regions.

Antarctic, Antarctica, Antarctic Ocean

anti-
The prefix generally takes a hyphen: anti-war. Some exceptions: antifreeze, antibiotic,
antihistamine, antimatter, antitrust. If unsure, consult Webster’s New World College
Dictionary.

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC

Spell out on first reference, except in intros; the acronym is acceptable thereafter.
Refer to APEC members as economies, not countries, as the Hong Kong and Taiwan
are members.

apostrophe
Used to form possessives. For singular and plural nouns not ending in s, add
apostrophe s: the boy’s mother, Joe Smith’s car, women’s rights. For singular and
plural nouns ending in s, add just an apostrophe: the witness’ answer, Davis’ job, the
mothers’ jobs, the companies’ workers.
Use an apostrophe for contractions: isn’t, wasn’t, can’t.
Apostrophes are also used to form the plural of single letters of the alphabet: She got
all A’s and B’s on her report card.
Do not use apostrophes for multiple letter combinations or for multiple numbers: the
1980s. See rock ’n’ roll

air quality index

Abbreviation AQI is acceptable on second reference, and in headlines and graphics

“Arab Spring”
Capitalize and in quotation marks on first reference. Do not use the quotation marks
in subsequent references. The “Arab Spring” was a wave of demonstrations, protests
and civil uprisings across the Arab world – North Africa and the Middle East – that
started in December 2010.

Arctic
Lowercase as an adjective, but capitalize as part of a title or for the North Pole region.
Examples: arctic temperatures, Arctic Ocean.

Army, navy, air force

Uppercase only if part of a military’s name. Examples:
People’s Liberation Army
United States Army, United States Navy, United States Air Force
Japanese Self-Defense Forces
British Army, but British navy and British air force (correct names are Royal Navy
and Royal Air Force)
Also see People’s Liberation Army

arrest
Do not say someone was arrested “for” something; it is correct to say someone was
arrested on a charge or charges “of” something. See libel, accuse

artifacts, artworks
Examples: Archaeologists recovered 13 ancient artifacts; his new exhibition includes
eight artworks, or eight pieces of art.
A shares, A-share market

Ashkhabad
The capital of Turkmenistan; do not use Ashgabat

Asia-Pacific
Do not use Asian-Pacific

association
Do not abbreviate

at
Before the words hospital and university, always use “the”: at the hospital, at the
university, but “at college” is fine when referring in the general sense to higher
education or an institute of higher education.
Use on the weekend, during the weekend or over the weekend, not “at the weekend”.

attribution (credit)
It is China Daily policy to credit sources for information or quotes not directly
obtained by our reporters. Clearly identify the source. If the information is from
another news outlet, credit that outlet: According to a Beijing News report. When
crediting a newspaper, indicate a city in parenthesis if the location is not included in
the title: The New York Times, The (London) Guardian.

ATM
This acronym for automated teller machine is acceptable on first reference.

automaker, autoworker

autonomous region
Always lowercase. China has five autonomous regions: Tibet autonomous region,
Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, Xinjiang
Uygur autonomous region, Inner Mongolia autonomous region.
See geography of China
Do not use pinyin to spell the names of people and places in Tibet, Inner Mongolia or
Xinjiang. See A Guide to Pinyin
B

baby boomers
Lowercase; refers to a generation of US residents born between 1946 and 1964

Baidu Inc
Refers to the company listed on Nasdaq; its services and products include the
Chinese-language search engine, websites and online application software. When
referring only to the search engine, use Baidu.

Beida
Nickname for Peking University; do not use because international readers are unlikely
to be familiar with it.

Beidou Navigation Satellite System

China's domestically developed navigation satellite system. It is the fourth such
system in the world, joining GPS, developed by the US; GLONASS, developed by
Russia; and Galileo, developed by the European Union.

the Belt and Road Initiative

Includes the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
Spell out on first reference and shorten to BRI or the initiative thereafter. BRI is
acceptable in headlines, but use sparingly; using Belt and Road, or Belt, Road in
headlines is preferred if space allows. Important notes:
 Do not refer to the initiative as a strategy.
 Avoid the term “countries along the Belt and Road Initiative”. Instead, say
involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, or taking part in, or similar. The term
“countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk
Road” is acceptable.
 When referring to development, be clear to state whether that development relates
to the initiative as a concept (connectivity, global trade) or to the physical Belt
and Road routes. Examples: The policy aims to develop the initiative by
increasing people-to-people exchanges; Developing the Belt and Road will
shorten travel times between the two nations.

best-seller, best-selling

the Big Four banks

Refers to Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank
of China, and Agricultural Bank of China. Use the term on first reference only if all
four are named at some point in the story.

billion
Always spell out and use a figure with billion, with a maximum two decimal places
(round up from five). Example: 5.436 billion becomes 5.44 billion. Do not abbreviate
in stories, but OK in headlines: 5b, $5b (no space)
the Bird’s Nest stadium
Nickname for Beijing National Stadium, the main venue for the Beijing 2008
Olympics. Use on first reference but identify at some point as the National Stadium or
the main stadium of the Beijing Games.

birth control
Use only in direct quotes related to family planning, but use “family planning” to
describe China’s national policy. Do not use when referring to the contraceptive pill.
See family planning

BJ
Do not use this abbreviation for Beijing

black
Do not capitalize when referring to the race of people (also, do not capitalize white)

boy
A male aged under 18

Britain
Acceptable for Great Britain, the island that comprises England, Wales and Scotland,
but not Northern Ireland. Residents are British or Britons; do not use Brits.
See Great Britain

brownfield
A site or piece of land that has been built on before. See greenfield

byline
Chinese reporters cannot use their English names in bylines. Exception: reporters
based in Hong Kong.
C

cafe
No accent on the e. See diacritical marks

cancel, canceled, canceling, cancellation

cannot

capitalization
In general, avoid unnecessary capital letters. Use caps only if it fits one of the
principles listed here. Some words and phrases are listed separately in this guide. If
there is no listing, consult Webster’s New World College Dictionary. Basic principles:

PROPER NOUNS: Capitalize the names of people and places: John, Mary, the United
States, Shanghai, England. Lowercase province, municipality, county, township and
autonomous region after Chinese place names, except Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region. For other countries,
capitalize county or province when it is part of a legally recognized name: San Diego
County in California. Also see geography of China
Common nouns receive proper noun status when they are used as the name of a
particular entity: General Electric, Gulf Oil.

PROPER NAMES: Capitalize common nouns such as party, river and street when
they are part of the name for a person, place or thing: Communist Party of China;
Wangfujing Street; Yangtze River; Tian’anmen Square; Great Hall of the People;
Palace Museum. Lowercase when they stand alone in later references: the hall; the
river; the square. Exception: Always capitalize Party when referring to the CPC.
Lowercase common noun elements of names in plural uses: the Taihu and Poyang
lakes, the Yangtze and Yellow rivers.

FLIP-FLOPPED NAMES: Cap names of government entities when inverted: the

Ministry of Railways, the Railways Ministry; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the
Foreign Ministry. When shortened on later reference to single, generic nouns,
lowercase: the Railway Ministry, the ministry. Lowercase in plural uses: the
ministries of education and public security. NOTE: Cap ministries and agencies at
national level and provincial level only, not below.

LAWS: Capitalize the proper name: Criminal Law. Do not capitalize laws that are
still at the draft stage.

DERIVATIVES: Capitalize words that are derived from a proper noun and still
depend on it for their meaning: English, French, Marxism, Shakespearean. Lowercase
words that are derived from a proper noun but no longer depend on it for their
meaning: french fries, quixotic, venetian blind.

SENTENCES: Capitalize the first word in a statement that stands as a sentence.

entry continues over page …
capitalization (continued)
COMPOSITIONS: Capitalize the titles of books, movies, plays, poems, operas, songs,
radio and television programs, works of art, as well as magazine and newspaper
names. See composition titles

TITLES: Capitalize formal titles when used immediately before a name. Lowercase
formal titles when used alone or in constructions that set them off from a name by
commas: President Xi Jinping; or Li Wei, managing director. Always lowercase job
descriptions that are formal titles.
Plurals of formal titles with full names are not capitalized: presidents Jiang Zeming
and Hu Jintao. Also lowercase when used with former: former premier Wen Jiabao.
See titles, former, acting

ABBREVIATIONS: See abbreviations and acronyms

OTHER EXAMPLES:
Formal names for railway and ships: the Qinghai-Tibet Railway; the aircraft carrier
CNS Liaoning (italicize names of vessels, see italics)
Formal names of events and meetings: the fourth Exhibition on the Textile Industry
Days of the week, months
Brand names
Formal name of an organization formed by a city. Example: Beijing officials have
launched the Happy Neighborhoods Council to advise on recent changes.

Schools, intra-departments: Capitalize official names of university schools: the Peking

University’s School of Economics. Lowercase intra-departments. Example: Wang
from the investment research department of Bank of China.

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor

Spell out full on first reference and use Lam thereafter. She is the fourth chief
executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, taking office on July 1,
2017, and the first woman to hold the position.

cellphone

Celsius
Uses Celsius for all temperatures: between -10 C and 22 C. Use “degrees” only in a
general context: Temperatures are forecast to fall by 10 degrees. Temperatures in
Fahrenheit should be converted to Celsius unless in a direct quote, in which case they
should be followed by the Celsius conversion in parentheses.

Central Commission for Discipline Inspection

The Communist Party of China’s top anti-corruption body. Spell out on first reference,
but CCDI acceptable on second reference and in headlines

Central Military Commission

China’s highest military organ, which commands the entire armed forces; it is headed
by a chairman and consists of vice-chairmen and members. The commission is elected
for a term of five years and can stand for re-election. See People’s Liberation Army
charge
If a person is charged with a crime, identify the authority making the charge.
See accuse, libel

chat room

chengguan
Always in italics; explain on first reference they are urban patrol officers (not urban
management officers)

China (geography)
China includes the Chinese mainland (never mainland China), Taiwan, Hong Kong
and Macao. Only when it is essential use “the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong”.
See Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and geography of China

China Central Television

Spell out on first reference, but CCTV is acceptable on second reference, and in
headlines and graphics. Hyphenate the name of a specific channel and explain its
focus if necessary. Example: CCTV-6, the State broadcaster’s movie channel.

China Coast Guard

Formerly the China Marine Surveillance

China’s education system

The system has four components: basic education, occupational or polytechnic
education, higher education, and adult education.
- Basic education: preschool, primary school (six years), junior middle school (three
years) and senior middle school (three years).
- Medium-level occupational and polytechnic education: mainly professional schools,
polytechnics, occupational middle schools and short-term occupational and technical
training programs.
- Higher education: junior college; bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs.
- Adult education: adult schools, anti-illiteracy education and other programs for adult
groups. Adult schools include education institutes, correspondence colleges, TV
education via satellite and the system of examinations for self-taught students.

Chinese holidays
Capitalize the proper names of Chinese holidays and festivals: including Lunar New
Year’s Eve and Lunar New Year. But occasions such as li chun, the first solar term of
the lunar calendar, should be lowercase.
Do not use an article before a Chinese festival’s name unless it is followed by
“holiday”. Example: She will return home for Spring Festival; She will return home
for the Spring Festival holiday.
Most Chinese festivals fall according to the lunar calendar:
 Lunar New Year, the start of Spring Festival, first day of the first lunar month
 Lantern Festival, 15th day of the first lunar month
 Duanwu Festival (aka Dragon Boat Festival), fifth day of the fifth lunar month
 Mid-Autumn Festival, 15th day of eighth lunar month
 Tomb Sweeping Day, fourth or fifth day of fourth lunar month
 National Day falls annually on Oct 1
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference
Capitalized on first reference but “the conference” (no caps) or the CPPCC thereafter.
The nation’s top political advisory body. Led by the Communist Party of China, it
comprises representatives from other political parties, mass organizations and people
of various social circles. For more information, visit english.gov.cn and search for
“CPPCC”. People who attend are called members. Example: Members of the CPPCC
Fujian Committee have dismissed the idea. See two sessions; National People’s
Congress; people’s congress; governmental bodies

the Chinese University of Hong Kong

Chinese words
More are now entering the English language, and many can be found in Webster’s
New World College Dictionary. Follow the dictionary’s spelling, italicizing when the
dictionary does. The following words do not need to be italicized: kung fu, yin and
yang, feng shui, tai chi, wonton, chow mein, dim sum and tofu.
One Chinese word we italicize is qipao (the traditional Chinese dress for women).
Although English uses the word cheongsam from Cantonese for the same style of
dress, it’s still primarily Cantonese and the language of choice in China is Mandarin.
Foreigners in China or abroad learning Chinese would definitely be learning
Mandarin, and thus qipao would work well.

cleft lip, cleft palate

Do not use hare lip

coal mine

colon
A colon (:) is often used to introduce lists. Example: He usually carried four items in
his wallet: a picture of his son, his subway card, her scented handkerchief and a 100-
yuan note. A colon is used to list time and legal citations, and for Q&As. Example:
Q: Did your company benefit from doing business in China?
A: Yes, and for many reasons.
Colons in stories are often overused. A better option usually is to break a long
sentence into two sentences.
In headlines, use colons (sparingly) to attribute a statement. Always put the attribution
first, then the colon, and then the headline, which always begins with a cap letter.
Example: Obama: Unemployment is too high.

Communist Party of China

Spell out on first reference and use the Party or CPC thereafter (both short forms are
acceptable in headlines). Always capitalize Party when referring to the CPC.
Examples: the Party chief of Shanghai; the Party School; she spoke on Party
discipline; he was dismissed from the Party.

The Communist Party of China was founded in 1921 and has been the ruling party
since the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct 1, 1949.
The Party’s highest authorities are the National Congress, which meets every five
years, and the CPC Central Committee. The most senior figure is the general secretary
entry continues over page …
Communist Party of China (continued)
of the Central Committee. For a complete guide on the Party structure, visit
english.cpc.people.com.cn

PARTY NAMES: Reporters and editors should avoid long titles for Chinese officials
and bodies in intros, photo captions and pullout quotes. For example:

Preferred: Zhang San, a member of the Party’s top leadership body, spoke at a news
conference.
Rather than: Zhang San, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau
of the CPC Central Committee, spoke at a news conference.

On the rare occasion when it is essential to use a formal title of a government or Party
body on first reference, always follow with an explanation appropriate to the context,
preferably one of these suggested alternatives:

 Xi Jinping (other than president, of course): China’s top leader, or Party leader
if he is attending a Party conference, or head of the country’s military if he is
attending a Central Military Commission event
 Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee:
the Party’s/China’s highest body, the Party’s/China’s top political authority,
the Party’s/China’s highest decision-making authority
 Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee: the Party’s core leadership
 CPC Central Committee: the Party’s central leadership, the Party’s central
decision-making body
 Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress: China’s top
legislative body/legislature
 Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress:
China’s top legislator
 National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference:
China’s top political advisory body
 Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political
Consultative Conference: China’s top political advisor, head of the top
political advisory body
 Central Commission for Discipline Inspection: the Party’s/China’s top anti-
graft body, the Party’s/China’s top discipline watchdog
 Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC: the
Party’s/China’s anti-graft chief
 State Council: China’s Cabinet

TITLES: For those in charge of departments and institutions under the CPC Central
Committee, use head or deputy head. (Never use minister, commissioner or director.)
Examples:
Song Tao, head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee
Guo Yezhou, deputy head of the CPC Central Committee’s International Department
Also see Party secretary

PARTY THEORIES: Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, The Thought of
Three Represents, Scientific Outlook on Development
company names
Be precise. Check a company’s website to confirm the correct spelling and grammar
usage: McDonald’s.
In stories for the business section, use a company’s name in full on first reference, and
then a shortened version on second reference. Example: Qantas Airways Ltd, then
Qantas. Do not use ampersands (&) unless a formal part of a company’s name.
In stories for news, features and sports sections, Co Ltd is not needed after a company
name. Also, do not use .com after web company names: Taobao, Google, Baidu, etc.
Instead, describe what the company does. Example: Taobao, the online marketplace.
See web companies

CAPITALIZATION: Do not use all caps for a company’s name unless it is an

acronym, even if a company does. Examples: Ikea, not IKEA; Otis, not OTIS; but
AT&T is correct. Also, cap the first letter of a company’s name even if it doesn’t.
Examples: Adidas, Ofo.

ARTICLES: Do not capitalize unless a formal part of a company name, such as The
Associated Press, The Walt Disney Co.

GENERAL POINTS: Identify what a company does, and make clear in the story
where the company is headquartered (the country, at least). Do not describe a
company as “leading” or “a market leader” without stating the terms: Acme Corp, the
market leader in terms of revenue. Avoid using adjectives outside of quotations.

composition titles
Capitalize and italicize titles of books, movies, radio and television shows, computer
games, operas, plays, poems, albums and songs, lectures, speeches, works of art, and
tours and exhibitions.
Cap every word except interior articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (and, but, or) and
prepositions of two of three letters when they are used as prepositions and not adverbs.
Cap prepositions of four or more letters, or those of any length when they are used as
adverbs. Examples: A Tale of Two Cities, Happy End of the World, Shakespeare in
Love, The God of Small Things, War and Peace, American Idol and Gone With the
Wind (four-letter preposition), Take Me Out to the Ball Game (“out” is used as an
adverb, answering the question “where?”).
Capitalize but do not italicize titles of official reports, white papers, news articles,
academic studies, surveys, awards, festivals and programs (e.g. education program).
See capitalization
Translate a foreign title into English unless a work is generally known by its foreign
name. Italicize only the original title, not the translation. Examples:
Xu Fan sings about lost love in her new single, Gei Wo Ai (Give Me Love).
Xin Xin De Hua, or the Star That Shines Brightest, is the new play from Gu Fangfang.

comrade
Capitalize when used before the name of a member of the Communist Party of China.
Example: Comrade Xi Jinping

conjoined twins
Do not use Siamese twins
constitution
Capitalize whenever it is clear which nation’s constitution is being referred to.
Examples: The US Constitution has 27 amendments; having won re-election,
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa now has the right to amend the
Constitution. As an adjective, lowercase: constitutional amendment.

convicted
Found guilty in a court of law. Do not uses phrases such as “he murdered” or “she
robbed” until that person has been convicted. See libel
convince / persuade
You convince someone of a fact; you persuade someone to do something

cop
Do not use when referring to a police officer except in some colloquially written
features stories or in a direct quote.

Cote d’Ivoire
Do not use Ivory Coast. This is at the country’s request.

county
See geography of China, capitalization

courtesy titles
Do not use. Refer to a person by their given name and family name on first reference
and then use their family name on subsequent references: Joe Bloggs, Sun Yang,
William Gray, and then Bloggs, Sun, Gray. When it’s necessary to distinguish
between two people with the same last name, as in married couples or siblings, use
the first and last name.
In cases where a person’s gender is not clear from the first name or from the story’s
context, indicate the gender by using he or she in a subsequent reference.

courts
Capitalize the first letters only in a formal title: Chaoyang District People’s Court. Do
not use “people’s” on second reference. Just write the court, no caps. Do not use the
terms First or Second Court. See people’s court

credit
It is our policy to clearly credit a source of information or quotes not directly obtained
by China Daily. If information is from another news outlet, credit that outlet: The
Times of London reported. Note: Indicate a city in parenthesis if the location is not
included in the title of the newspaper: The New York Times, the (London) Guardian.

cricket
See The Sports Guide

cross-Straits
See Taiwan

cross-talk
cubic meters
Write out on first reference and abbreviate to cu m thereafter. Can be abbreviated in
charts and graphs. See measurements

“cultural revolution” (1966-76)

Always lowercase and in quotation marks. Include the years indicated in parentheses
on first reference. (Note the omission of 19 in 1976)

currency conversion
Currencies other than US dollars, including yuan, should be followed on first
reference by a US dollar conversion in parentheses. Examples: They spent 10,000
euros ($12,800) on holiday. He paid just HK$300 ($40) for a plate of lamb.
Convert ranges if they occur on first reference: The meal cost 300 to 500 yuan ($22 to
$44). Thieves stole between HK$10,000 and HK15,000 ($1,300 and $2,000).
Rarely do conversions require cents. However, when it is necessary, there should be
two digits after the decimal point: $30.20, not $30.2.
China Daily’s preferred online converter is XE.com. Do not use bank conversion
tables because they change several times a day.
As with all numerals, round money up or down. For example, $10,541 becomes
$10,540, and $788 becomes $790. With millions, billions or trillions, round up or
down to avoid more than two numerals following the decimal point: $10.546 million
becomes $10.55 million, and $10.682 billion becomes $10.68 billion. See dollar
In headlines or charts, billion can be shortened to b and millions to m (no space): $5b
seized in drugs raid; 600m yuan found by airport cleaner. See millions, billions
In the European Weekly, currencies should be converted to dollars and euros on first
reference, separated by a semicolon: ($300; 268 euros)

cyber-
In general, the prefix does not require a hyphen unless the adjoining word begins with
a capital letter: cyberspace, cyberattack, cybersecurity. See hyphen

czar
Do not use tsar
D

dashes
Use dashes to set off a side comment, clarify an appositive or essential phrase, or to
introduce a list at the end of a sentence. Examples: The movie − and it certainly
deserved the award − was filmed in China. The movie was nominated for three
awards − writing, sound and cinematography.

data
A plural noun

date of news
To avoid confusion, use days of the week instead of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
For dates within seven days of publication date, use the day. The present or past tense
used will let the reader know whether a “Tuesday” mentioned was yesterday or next
week. Examples: He visited the city on Tuesday. He will visit the province on Tuesday.
Do not use “last Tuesday” or “last September”. Instead, use the date of last Tuesday if
it is more than seven days before the publication date.

WEBSITE, MOBILE NEWS STORIES: Use tonight, this morning, tomorrow,

tomorrow night and yesterday when appropriate.

March, April, May, June and July must be spelled out in stories. January, February,
August, September, October, November and December are abbreviated when used
with a specific date. Examples: Sept 3, Nov 4, Jan 15 (no periods after abbreviations).
Do not include a year if the event took place or is taking place this year, or if an event
is clearly taking place next year. For example, if today is Dec 25, 2016, and you want
to report on an event on Jan 25, 2017, just say the event will take place on Jan 25. If
today is Jan 25, 2017, and an event took place the previous December, there is no
need to write Dec 25, 2016.

dates and times

Use figures: 10:30 pm on Jan 14, 1958. Use a comma after the day and before the
year, but no comma when using only a month and year: Sept 25, 2007, but September
2007. See date of news. For a span of years: 1849-1949 (over centuries), and 1953-72,
1983-86 (over decades)
datelines
Datelines are incorporated into bylines and should contain a city name, unless the
report was written in Beijing or in the case of multiple bylines from multiple locations.
Examples: By MA LIAO in New York, By XU LIN, By LI WENFANG in
Guangzhou and XU LIN in Beijing.

DOMESTIC DATELINES: Municipalities and capitals of provinces and autonomous

regions do not require identifiers other than the name. Cities that stand alone:

BEIJING (北京) HOHHOT (呼和浩特) SHENYANG (沈阳)

CHANGCHUN (长春) HONG KONG (香港) SHIJIAZHUANG
CHANGSHA (长沙) JINAN (济南) (石家庄)
CHENGDU (成都) KUNMING (昆明) TAIYUAN (太原)
CHONGQING (重庆) LANZHOU (兰州) TAIPEI
FUZHOU (福州) LHASA (拉萨) TIANJIN (天津)
GUANGZHOU (广州) MACAO (澳门) URUMQI (乌鲁木齐)
GUIYANG (贵阳) NANCHANG (南昌) WUHAN (武汉)
HAIKOU (海口) NANNING (南宁) XI’AN (西安)
HANGZHOU (杭州) NANJING (南京) XINING (西宁)
HARBIN (哈尔滨) SHANGHAI (上海) YINCHUAN (银川)
HEFEI (合肥) ZHENGZHOU (郑州)

For a list of provinces and their capitals, see geography of China. Stories from other
cities should have the city/county and then the province or autonomous region.
Example: By XU LIN in Yueyang, Hunan

NORTH AMERICA: The following US cities require no additional identifier:

Chicago, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and
Washington (no DC). For other US cities, list the city and state (not country). The
following Canadian cities require no additional identifier: Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec
City, Toronto and Vancouver. Other Canadian locations require the city name and
“Canada”, with a reference in the story to the province or territory. In Mexico, only
Mexico City requires no identifier. Other cities are identified by city and “Mexico”,
with a reference in the story to the state. For island territories, use the community
name and the island name: San Juan, Puerto Rico; Nuuk Town, Greenland.

UNITED KINGDOM: The following cities require no additional identifier: London,

Cardiff and Edinburgh. Others require the addition of the country: England, Scotland,
Wales or Northern Ireland. Cities in the Republic of Ireland, which is not part of the
UK, can be followed by Ireland, unless the story also mentions Northern Ireland, in
which case use Republic of Ireland. Dublin stands alone.

COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES: Moscow is the only city that

requires no additional identifier.

INTERNATIONAL DATELINES: These international locations stand alone in

datelines: Amsterdam, Baghdad, Bangkok, Beirut, Berlin, Bogota, Brussels, Cairo,
Copenhagen, Djibouti, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, Guatemala City, Hamburg, Hanoi,
Havana, Helsinki, Ho Chi Min City, Istanbul, Jakarta, Jerusalem, Johannesburg,
Kabul, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait City, Luxembourg, Madrid, Manila, Milan, Monaco,
Munich, New Delhi, Oslo, Panama City, Paris, Phnom Penh, Prague, Pyongyang, Rio
de Janeiro, Rome, San Marino, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney,
Tokyo, Vatican City, Vienna, Zurich.

SPELLING AND CHOICE OF NAMES: In most cases, the name of the nation in a
dateline is the conventionally accepted short form of its official name: Argentina, for
example, rather than Republic of Argentina.
EXCEPTION: Use the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for cities other than
Pyongyang, and Republic of Korea (not South Korea) for cities other than Seoul when
the story also mentions the DPRK.
Note: Use an article only with El Salvador. For all others, use just a country name:
Gambia, Netherlands, Philippines.

days of the week

Capitalize and do not abbreviate except when needed in a tabular format: Sun, Mon,
Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat.

decimal
As a general rule, express fractions in decimals: 3.5 million, not 3 1/2 million. Instead
of 1/2 million, use 500,000. For numbers less than one, use a zero before the decimal
unit: 0.2 percent, 0.09 percent. Exception: firearm calibers (.22, .45) and blood-
alcohol content (.08 percent). If using a fraction is absolutely necessary, put a space
between the numeral and fraction: 1 1/2. See numerals

decision-makers, decision-making

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Spell out on first reference and then abbreviate to DPRK. Do not use North Korea
unless in a direct quote from a native English speaker.
See Korea, Korean Peninsula

Democratic Republic of Congo

DR Congo acceptable on second reference, in headlines; see Republic of Congo

deputy
See vice / deputy

diacritical marks
Do not use accents, umlauts and other diacritical marks that modify the sound of
letters. See umlauts (German)

Didi Chuxing Technology Co

A technology company based in Beijing that offers a range of mobile transportation
options, which users book and pay for through its mobile app.
For news stories, Didi is acceptable on all references. Business stories should use the
full name on first reference but the short form is acceptable in headlines. Cap the
proper names of its services: Hitch, Premium, Luxe, Express, etc (no quote marks).
Note: When referring generally to services offered by the likes of Didi, Uber or Lyft,
use ride-hailing or ride-booking services, not ride-sharing services.
director-general

district people’s court

Capitalize a formal title: Chaoyang District People’s Court but Chaoyang district
court. See people’s court

district
Do not use an article before the name of a district in a Chinese city; do not capitalize
“district”. Example: Traffic is heavy throughout Chaoyang district in Beijing.

dimensions
See measurements

disabled
Avoid using the term unless essential to a story. If used, describe the disability. Do
not say that someone “suffers” from an illness or disability; instead, say he or she
“has” an illness or disability.
Do not use the term “confined to a wheelchair”; instead, say he or she uses a
wheelchair and explain why. See handicapped

discharged, released
Patients are discharged from a hospital; prisoners are released

disputed territories
Many areas are “disputed”, meaning two or more countries claim the right to these
areas, which often are located near or at the border of two or more countries or
regions. In areas in which China has sovereignty, there is no need in most cases to
refer to them as “the disputed territory of …”.
Kashmir is disputed by India and Pakistan, so it can be referred to as the disputed
territory of Kashmir. See Kashmir

Some Asian nations dispute the northern part of Baekudu Mountain, but China and
the DPRK recognize the northern part of this mountain as a territory of China. Do not
call it Baekudu Mountain; call the northern part of this mountain Changbai Mountain.
The Spratly Islands are also China’s territory.

Some border disputes resolved in the past decade could result in the wrong (earlier)
titles being used. For example, Yinlong Island (once known as Tarabarov Island in
Russian when disputed) and half of Heixiazi Island (once known as Bolshoi
Ussuriysky in Russian) are Chinese territories. Do not use the Russian names.

While India terms one territory Arunachal Pradesh, the correct term is Southern Tibet.
You can discuss the dispute, however, if it is germane to a story. Please consult your
editors. In such cases, it is helpful to readers to place the additional name accorded to
the disputed area inside quotation marks if it is not China’s name for the territory.
Example: India is attempting to extend its control over a Chinese border area long
claimed by India, experts said in response to reports that New Delhi was deploying
troops to parts of Southern Tibet, which India calls “Arunachal Pradesh”.
entry continues over page …
disputed territories (continued)
Different Asian countries dispute territories. It is not necessary (except in some cases
where it is important to the story) to list which countries dispute a territory. But it is
necessary to refer to these territories on first or second reference as “the disputed
territory of …” or “the disputed territory”.

distances
See measurements, The Sports Guide

doctor
Doctor (spelled out) can be used on first reference as a formal title only before the
name of a medical physician: Doctor Li Xing. Use doctors for a plural construction:
doctors Wei Li and Jonas Salk. Do not use the abbreviation Dr on second reference
unless there is a need to distinguish from someone else in the story with the same
family name. See academic degrees, titles
dollar
When the $ sign is used alone, it is assumed to be US dollars. Other regions’ dollars
must be stated: HK$ for Hong Kong dollars, S$ for Singapore dollars, C$ for
Canadian dollars, A$ for Australian dollars, and NT$ for Taiwan dollars.
When an amount is less than one dollar, use cents with numerals to denote the amount:
5 cents, 75 cents. Two numerals must follow the decimal point when listing exact
dollars and cents: $1.50, not $1.5.
With large amounts, round up (5 and over) or down (less than 5). Exception: do not
round up share prices. See currency conversion

dotcom
Not dot.com

the dotted line

The dotted line is the preferred term for the demarcation line used by the People’s
Republic of China to define its sovereign territory in the South China Sea.
Lowercase; use in stories only when necessary.
On first reference, point out that it is also known as the nine-dash line. The nine-dash
line is acceptable in a direct quote from a native English speaker.

drug test

drunken driving
Under Chinese law, a driver who has 20 or more milligrams of alcohol per 100
milliliters of blood is considered over the legal alcohol limit. Drivers with more than
80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood are subject to criminal punishment and can be
held in detention for one to six months.
dynasty
Capitalize dynasty when used with a title and give the dates in parenthesis: the Wei
Dynasty (220-265). When two or more are combined, lowercase: the Song and Liao
dynasties. Here is a chronological list of China’s dynasties (dates AD unless stated):

Xia Dynasty (c.21st century-16th century BC)

Shang Dynasty (c.16th century-11th century BC)
Western Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-771 BC)
Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BC)
Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC)
Warring States Period (475-221 BC)
Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC)
Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24)
Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220)
Three Kingdoms (220-280)
Wei Dynasty (220-265)
Shu Dynasty (221-263)
Wu Dynasty (222-280)
Western Jin Dynasty (265-316)
Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420)
Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-581)
Southern Dynasty (420-589)
Song Dynasty (420-479)
Qi Dynasty (479-502)
Liang Dynasty (502-557)
Chen Dynasty (557-589)
Northern Dynasty (386-581)
Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534)
Eastern Wei Dynasty (534-550)
Western Wei Dynasty (535-556)
Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577)
Northern Zhou Dynasty (557-581)
Sui Dynasty (581-618)
Tang Dynasty (618-907)
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-960)
Song Dynasty (960-1279)
Liao Dynasty (916-1125)
Jin Dynasty (1115-1234)
Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368)
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)
E

each
Takes a singular verb

Earth, sun, moon

Capitalize the planet, but lowercase earth when used to mean soil. Lowercase sun and
moon unless part of a proper noun.

Eastern Hemisphere
Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe

East Turkestan Islamic Movement

A terrorist and separatist organization founded by Uygur militants in western China.
Write out on all references, do not abbreviate (note spelling: not Turkistan)

ecology, environment
Ecology is the study of the relationship between organisms and the environment.
Planting trees does not benefit ecology. Planting trees benefits the environment.
See green

e-commerce, e-book
Lowercase e unless at the start of a sentence

electric vehicles, e-vehicles, electric cars, e-cars

email

embassy
Lowercase, even when following the name of a country: the Israeli embassy, the
French embassy. Capitalize ambassador when it precedes someone’s name: US
Ambassador Gary Locke.

emigrate
To leave one’s own country, as opposed to immigrate, which is to come as a
permanent resident to another country

emoticon
Such as writing : ) as a smiley face. Often included in emails, instant messages, texts
and tweets

ensure / insure
Ensure is to guarantee something will be done; insure relates to insurance

era
Capitalize the Bronze Age, the Renaissance. Lowercase “ages” when writing about
multiple eras: the Bronze and Iron ages. See dynasty
ethnic groups, minorities
Do not use “nationality” when referring to China’s ethnic groups. Example: the Miao
ethnic group. On second reference, you can say the Miao people. Note: The term
ethnic minority, or simply minority, is acceptable only when pertinent to the story.
China has 56 ethnic groups, including Han. Not all ethnic groups or the names of
people from ethnic groups (especially Tibetan, Inner Mongolian and Uygur) are
spelled in pinyin. See geography of China, A Guide to Pinyin

Ethnic groups in China:

Achang (阿昌族), inhabiting Yunnan
Bai (白族), inhabiting Yunnan
Blang (布朗族), inhabiting Yunnan
Bonan (保安族), inhabiting Gansu
Bouyei (布依族), inhabiting Guizhou
Dai (傣族), inhabiting Yunnan
Daur (达斡尔族), inhabiting Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang
De’ang (德昂族), inhabiting Yunnan
Dongxiang (东乡族), inhabiting Gansu
Dong (侗族), inhabiting Guizhou, Hunan and Guangxi
Derung (独龙族), inhabiting Yunnan
Ewenki (鄂温克族), inhabiting Heilongjiang
Gaoshan (高山族), inhabiting Taiwan
Gelao (仡佬族), inhabiting Guizhou
Hani (哈尼族), inhabiting Yunnan
Hezhe (赫哲族), inhabiting Heilongjiang
Hui (回族), inhabiting mainly Ningxia, Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai, Henan and Hebei
Jing (京族), inhabiting Guangxi
Jingpo (景颇族), inhabiting Yunnan
Jino (基诺族), inhabiting Yunnan
Kazak (哈萨克族), inhabiting Gansu, Xinjiang and Qinghai
Kirgiz (柯尔克孜族), inhabiting Xinjiang
Korean (Chosen) (朝鲜族), inhabiting Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang
Lahu (拉枯族), inhabiting Yunnan
Lhoba (珞巴族), inhabiting Tibet
Li (黎族), inhabiting Hainan
Lisu (傈僳族), inhabiting Yunnan
Manchu (Man) (满族), inhabiting Liaoning, Jilin, Hebei, Beijing and Inner Mongolia
Maonan (毛难族), inhabiting Guangxi
Miao (苗族), inhabiting Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan and Guangdong
Monba (门巴族), inhabiting Tibet
Mongolian ethnic group (蒙古族), inhabiting Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Heilongjiang
and Hebei (Note: Never use “Mongol” to describe this group)
Mulam (仫佬族), inhabiting Guangxi
Naxi (纳西族), inhabiting Yunnan
Nu (怒族), inhabiting Yunnan
Oroqen (鄂伦春族), inhabiting Heilongjiang
Pumi (普米族), inhabiting Yunnan
Qiang (羌族), inhabiting Sichuan
Russian ethnic group (俄罗斯族), inhabiting Xinjiang
Salar (撒拉族), inhabiting Qinghai and Gansu
She (舍族), inhabiting Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Guangdong
Sui (水族), inhabiting Guizhou
Tajik (塔吉克族), inhabiting Xinjiang
Tatar (塔塔尔), inhabiting Xinjiang
Tibetan (Zang) ethnic group (藏族), inhabiting Tibet
Tujia (土家族), inhabiting Hunan and Hubei
Tu (土族), inhabiting Qinghai
Uygur (维吾尔族), inhabiting Xinjiang
Uzbek ethnic group (乌孜别克族), inhabiting Xinjiang
Va (佤族), inhabiting Yunnan
Xibe (锡伯族), inhabiting Xinjiang and Liaoning
Yao (瑶族), inhabiting Guangxi, Yunnan, Guangdong and Guizhou
Yi (彝族), inhabiting Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangxi
Yugur (裕固族), inhabiting Gansu
Zhuang (壮族), inhabiting Guangxi

euro
Lowercase the currency: euro (single), euros (plural). Do not use the symbol; write as
50 euros. See currency conversion

European Union
Abbreviate to EU on second reference. Its 28 members are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the
Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the
United Kingdom. The European Council and the European Commission are subsets of
the EU.

eurozone
Collective term for the countries that use the euro as their currency: Austria, Belgium,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,
Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands.

every day, everyday

As two words, it is an adverb. Example: The group will meet every day in January.
As one word, it is an adjective: Traffic jams are an everyday event in Beijing.

executive director
Capitalize both if part of a title before a name, but after a name: IBM Executive
Director John Doe; but John Doe, the executive director of IBM. See titles

expiration
Use the word expiry only in a direct quote from a native English speaker
F

Fahrenheit
See Celsius, measurements

family planning
Use this term instead of “birth control” to describe the national policy.

famous
Often redundant. If someone is truly famous, it’s unnecessary to say it.

farther, further
Farther refers to physical distance; further refers to time or degree: The city is farther
away than I thought; but He explained further.

FBI
Acceptable on first reference for Federal Bureau of Investigation, but state that it is a
US agency if context does not make it obvious.

Federal Reserve
Spell out on first reference, with US in front (exceptions are stories by writers with
US bylines). Write as Fed on subsequent references.

fewer / less
Fewer means smaller in number: fewer dollars. Less means smaller in quantity: less
money. Use fewer with countable nouns, less with uncountable nouns.

fiance (male), fiancee (female)

figures
See numbers

firefighter
Do not use fireman or firewoman

firm
A business partnership: law firm. If it is incorporated, it is a company. For brevity,
firm can be used in headlines to mean company, but in stories do not confuse them.

firstly, secondly
Do not use; first and second is correct

First World War

Do not use, World War I is correct

fiscal year
The 12-month period a company (or government) uses to collect information for tax
or accounting purposes. The period can vary, so ask specifically when the fiscal year
begins or ends.
Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope
The abbreviation FAST is acceptable on second reference, but as early as possible
make clear in the story that it is the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope.

Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence

The five principles are mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual
non-aggression, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual
benefit, and peaceful coexistence.

Flight MH17
Refers to the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 flight that crashed on July 17, 2014, after
being shot down over Ukraine, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew members on
board. The plane had been en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
Uppercase Flight on all references. In stories directly related to the flight or the
investigation into the disaster, use the flight code either in the label, headline or deck.

Flight MH370
Refers to the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 flight that disappeared on March 8, 2014,
with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board. The plane had been en route
from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing Capital International Airport.
Uppercase Flight on all references. In stories directly related to the flight or the
investigation into the disaster, use the flight code either in the label, headline or deck.

fixed assets
Fixed-asset investment, but a fixed asset or fixed assets

flaunt / flout
To flaunt is to make an ostentatious display of something, while to flout is to ridicule
or show contempt for something: He flaunted his wealth; she flouted the law.

flounder / founder
To flounder is to move clumsily or jerkily; to founder is to become disabled or sink.

flutist

foot
Always convert the measurement to meters (divide feet by 3.2). See measurements

forecast
Verb or noun; the past and present tense of the verb are both written as forecast

foreman, forewoman

former
Lowercase titles of preceded by former: former president Bill Clinton. Do not use
former before a title if a person held the position at the time of the events described in
a story. Examples: In 1979, US President Jimmy Carter opened his first peanut farm,
but former US president Jimmy Carter visited Beijing recently.
former Soviet republics
Armenia, adjective Armenian
Azerbaijan, adjective Azerbaijani
Belarus, adjective Belarusian
Estonia, adjective Estonian
Georgia, adjective Georgian
Kazakhstan, adjective Kazakh
Kyrgyzstan, adjective Kyrgyz
Latvia, adjective Latvian
Lithuania, adjective Lithuanian
Moldova, adjective Moldovan
Russia, adjective Russian
Tajikistan, adjective Tajik
Turkmenistan, adjective Turkman or Turkmen
Ukraine, adjective Ukrainian (not “the Ukraine”)
Uzbekistan, adjective Uzbek

fortnight
Use only in a direct quote from a native English speaker. Otherwise, say two weeks.

forego, forgo
Forego is to go before, as in a foregone conclusion; forgo means to abstain from.

Fourth of July
Cap when referring to the United States national holiday

fractions and mixed numbers

Spell out: two-thirds, three-fourths (do not write three-quarters). Also acceptable: two
and a half, 2 1/2. See numbers

french fries, french kiss

front-runner

freekick, spotkick
See more in The Sports Guide

full time, full-time

Hyphenate the compound modifier: He teaches full time; he is a full-time teacher.
Same applies for part time and part-time.

Fuwa
Singular and plural for the five mascots of the 2008 Beijing Olympics; make clear in
the story what it refers to.
G

G8
No hyphen; acceptable on all references to Group of Eight, the world’s leading
industrialized nations: the United Kingdom, United States, Japan, Italy, France,
Germany, Canada and Russia.

G20
No hyphen; acceptable on all references to the Group of 20, which is made up of the
leaders, finance ministers and central bank governors of 19 countries, plus a
representative of the European Union. Use G20 members, not G20 nations
The 19 countries are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany,
India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South
Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, while the EU is represented by the
rotating council presidency and the European Central Bank.

G77
No hyphen; acceptable in all references to the Group of 77, which was founded in
1964 to represent 77 developing countries, including China. Although its members
have increased to 130 countries, the original name was retained. See g77.org for a list
of member states.

gallon
Always convert to liters by multiplying by 3.8. See measurements

gas field

gay
Preferred to homosexual outside of scientific settings; lesbians are a gay women.

Games
Capitalize only in second and subsequent references to the Olympic Games and Asian
Games. See The Sports Guide.

GDP
Acceptable in all references to gross domestic product, the total value of goods and
services produced by an economy over a period of time. See GNP

geography of China
There are 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities and two special
administrative regions. Capitalize “special administrative region” only when used
after Hong Kong or Macao. (For other countries, capitalize county or province only
when part of the official name: Los Angeles County.)
Capitalize North China, Northeast China, East China and South China, but lowercase
northern, southern, eastern, western, etc. Capitalize the names of rivers. See
capitalization and rivers, mountains, lakes, seas
entry continues over page …
geography of China (continued)
Provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities are located in these geographical
areas (provincial capitals in parentheses):

NORTH: Anhui province (Hefei)

Inner Mongolia autonomous region Zhejiang province (Hangzhou)
(Hohhot) Fujian province (Fuzhou)
Hebei province (Shijiazhuang) Jiangxi province (Nanchang)
Shanxi province (Taiyuan) Shanghai municipality (Use Shanghai
Beijing municipality municipality only when referring to the
Tianjin municipality (Use Beijing or city government)
Tianjin municipality only when
referring to the city governments) SOUTHWEST:
Sichuan province (Chengdu)
NORTHEAST: Guizhou province (Guiyang)
Heilongjiang province (Harbin) Yunnan province (Kunming)
Jilin province (Changchun) Tibet autonomous region (Lhasa)
Liaoning province (Shenyang) Chongqing municipality (Use
Chongqing municipality only when
NORTHWEST: referring to the city government)
Shaanxi province (Xi’an)
Ningxia Hui autonomous region SOUTH:
(Yinchuan) Guangdong province (Guangzhou)
Gansu province (Lanzhou) Hainan province (Haikou)
Qinghai province (Xining) Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region
Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region (Nanning)
(Urumqi)
CENTRAL:
EAST Henan province (Zhengzhou)
Shandong province (Jinan) Hubei province (Wuhan)
Jiangsu province (Nanjing) Hunan province (Changsha)

Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are not identified with any geographical area.
Autonomous regions require an article except when used to break down a location.
Examples: Jack lives in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, but Jack lives in
Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Write the full names of places, rivers, mountains, etc, that are expressed in an
abbreviated way in Chinese. Examples: 云贵高原 should be Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau;
陇海线 should be Lanzou-Lianyungang Railway; 江淮流域 should be Yangtze-
Huaihe River Valley.

girl
A female aged under 18

gigabyte
A unit of storage in a computer system equal to 1 billion bytes. Abbreviate to GB on
second reference. See measurements
Global Positioning System, GPS
GPS acceptable on all references; do not say “GPS system”

GMT
The abbreviation for Greenwich Mean Time, see time zones

GNP
Abbreviation for gross national product acceptable from second reference. GNP is
distinguished from GDP by the inclusion of income from investments abroad.

go-west campaign

Golden Triangle
The triangular area comprising parts of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. The term is
usually used in reference to drug-trafficking. Do not make any reference to China.

Golden Week
Caps, no quotation marks. Refers to two holiday periods in the Chinese calendar:
Spring Festival and National Day. See Chinese holidays

Google
Use (a trademark) when referring to the US-based internet search engine. The
company is Google Inc, a subsidy of Alphabet Inc.

Gothenburg

Government Work Report

Report made by the premier to the annual session of the National People’s Congress

governmental bodies
FULL NAME: Capitalize proper names of governmental agencies, departments and
offices only at national or provincial level: Ministry of Education; Zhejiang Education
Commission, National Bureau of Statistics, Shanghai People’s Congress. (Note:
Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Tianjin municipalities are equal to provincial level.)
For lower authorities, lowercase: Wuhan bureau of statistics, Nanjing education
commission.
WITHOUT JURISDICTION: Do not capitalize when referring to a specific body if
context makes the name of a Chinese province, county, city, etc, unnecessary. For
guidance, see people’s congress and Supreme People's Court
FLIP-FLOPPED NAMES: Retain capitalization: Ministry of Education, the
Education Ministry.
PLURALS, NONSPECIFIC REFERENCES: All words that are capitalized when part
of a proper name should be lowercase when they are used in the plural or do not refer
to a specific, existing body. Examples: All provinces have a bureau of statistics;
Beijing has a fire department; the president will address the people’s congresses of
Jiangsu and Jiangxi.

govt
Can be used in a headline or standfirst as a last resort, but in general be specific about
the agency or department named in the story
grassroots

Great Britain
The island than comprises England, Wales and Scotland (not Northern Ireland)
See Britain

Greater China
Avoid using this term unless it is part of the formal name of a company, organization
or job title.

great-grandfather, great-great-grandmother

green
A term that (in addition to the color) means an individual, group, program or building
that represents the effort to protect, enhance or sustain the environment. Examples: A
green activist, the green movement, a green business strategy. Do not use without
explaining at some point why it’s green. Capitalize when referring to so-named
political parties such as the German Greens.

green belt
Designated areas around cities subject to strict planning controls, but not open
countryside in general.

“green card”
A green card is a permanent resident’s permit or visa (note: resident’s) issued by
China. Use quotation marks on first reference only, drop on subsequent references.

greenfield
A site or piece of land that has not been built on before. See brownfield

Growth Enterprise Board

Shenzhen Stock Exchange launched the board in 2009 to help small and medium-
sized enterprises by lowering the requirements for IPOs by startup companies.

Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

Bay Area acceptable from second reference (note capitalization)

guesthouse

Guinness World Record

It is acceptable to say someone set a Guinness World Record

Gulangyu Island
Use the pinyin name of this island off the coast of Xiamen, but mention on second or
third reference that it is known in the local dialect as Kulangsu in stories that make
more than a passing reference to its UNESCO World Heritage status.
H

The Hague

halo (s), halos (pl)

handpicked

hajj
The annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca; in stories, explain what it is

handicapped
Do not use in reference to people with disabilities or learning difficulties. Do not use
deaf-mute, slow learner or retarded. See disabled

hard landing

hare lip
Do not use; correct is cleft lip or cleft palate

Hassan Rouhani
The president of Iran, who took office in 2013

hat-trick
A deviation from Webster’s New World College Dictionary; see The Sports Guide

hazard / risk
Use hazard to mean a potential for harm, and risk to mean the probability of harm
occurring

headlines
Use active verbs when possible. For example, “Editors publish new style guidelines”
is better than “New style guidelines published”.
AVOID: Slang and puns; they can backfire in an international newspaper as some
readers may not understand or could even be offended.
AVOID: Ending the first and last lines with a preposition, such as in, on, over.
Use quotation marks only for directly quoted material, not paraphrased or suggested
material. Headlines use single quotation marks.

healthcare
Do not use Medicare unless referring to those specific healthcare systems in the
United States, Canada and Australia.

heat wave

hectares
Convert mu and acres to hectares. See measurements

height
Always express in meters. See measurements, The Sports Guide
here
Deleted in international stories or replace with the location’s name: an official said in
Pretoria, not an official said here. “Here” can be used a direct quote if the location
has already been established; if it isn’t clear, insert the location in parentheses.

high people’s court

Provincial level court; capitalize only in a formal title: Zhejiang High People’s Court.
See people’s courts

high-tech
Use hi-tech only if part of a proper name

hijack
Use only for movable objects. Buildings, such as schools or embassies, are forcibly
occupied.

historic / historical
A historic event is an important occurrence that will go down in history; any event
that took place in the past is historical.

HIV/AIDS, HIV-positive
AIDS is acceptable in all references to acquired immune deficiency syndrome; HIV is
acceptable in all references to human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS.
People who test positive are HIV-positive.

Ho Chi Minh City

A major city in Vietnam, formerly Saigon

Holland
Do not use in reference to the Netherlands, but OK in reference to the Dutch national
soccer team, which is conventionally known as Holland.

homebuyer, homeowner

homeland, home page, hometown

homemade
Not a synonym for made in China. It means “made at home”, such as in a basement.

Hong Kong
It is acceptable to refer to this area simply as Hong Kong unless the story deals with
its administration or government, in which case it should be referred to as the Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region on first reference.
In headlines, the abbreviation HK is acceptable, but do not break Hong Kong over
two decks. In stories, do not use “Hong Kongers”; say Hong Kong residents. And do
not say Hong Kong returned to the Chinese mainland; say it returned to China.

honorifics
See academic degrees, doctor
hope
A journalist can only report what a person says he or she hopes: The president said he
hopes to reduce the deficit by next spring, not the president hopes to cut the deficit.

hotline

hot spot

hotpot

hush-hush

hyphen
Check with Webster’s New World College Dictionary for usage, but in general only
use when the omission of a hyphen would result in ambiguity.
TWO-PART ADJECTIVES: Used usually when the second part ends in -ed or -ing.
Examples: blue-eyed, nice-looking. Also, hyphenate two-part adjectives or noun
modifiers that contain the sense of “between” or a combination: gray-green, the
London-Paris flight, the Scotland-France match, an Anglo-American agreement. Also,
companies with two people’s names: Rolls-Royce, Harley-Davidson.
PHRASES USED AS ADJECTIVES: Use in a phrase as an adjective before a noun:
an out-of-work miner (he’s out of work), a shoot-to-kill policy (order to shoot to kill).
PREFIXES: In general, do not hyphenate a prefix before a word starting with a
consonant. Always use a hyphen:
 When prefix ends with a vowel and the following word starts with the same
vowel, such as pre-emptive, re-entry. Exceptions: cooperate and coordinate.
 When following word starts with a capital: trans-Atlanic, un-American.
 For doubled prefixes: great-great-grandfather.
 To avoid unusual or misleading combinations: re-creation, re-sign
See self-, multi-
TWO-PART NOUNS: If the nouns can stand alone without the word they modify, do
not use a hyphen: environmental protection effort, real estate industry, flood control
headquarters.
COMPOUND MODIFIERS: When two or more words are used to express a single
concept before a noun, use a hyphen: A know-it-all attitude, a bluish-green dress.
NUMERALS: Use a hyphen to separate figures in odds, ratios, scores and some vote
tabulations: The odds were 5-4; the ratio was 2-to-1; a 230-205 vote. Do not
hyphenate money or percent: a 2 billion yuan investment, a 5 percent increase.
ADVERBS: Generally, use a hyphen on short and common adverbs: ill-conceived
notion, hard-bitten hack, much-needed grammar lessons, well-established principle.
Do not use hyphens to create puns, especially for headlines (“eggs-actly”) and do not
hyphenate adverbs ending in -ly: a politically naive statement.
TITLES: When a hyphenated compound is part of a title or name of an organization
or entity, both words should be uppercase: Vice-Premier Wang Yang, the Beijing
Housing and Urban-Rural Development Commission.
I

ice age
Refers to a series of cold periods rather than a single one

iMac, iPad, iPod, iPhone

immigrate
To come as a permanent resident to another country, as opposed to emigrate, which is
to leave one’s own country

immune
A person is immune to something, not immune from

impact
Do not use as verb; “affect” is preferred. As a noun, be aware that it means “forceful
contact, collision”. In most cases, use “effect” as the noun.

inch
Convert to centimeters (multiply by 2.54). See measurements

including
Avoid misuse. It means a partial list, not a complete list. Correct: He ate all five
dishes on the menu, including the fish and lamb. (It would be incorrect to list all five
items.)

India
Jammu and Kashmir should be referred to as Kashmir because they are disputed areas.
Arunachal is another disputed area and should never be referred to as a state in India.
Instead, write Southern Tibet. See Kashmir, Sikkim, disputed territories

index
The plural is indexes, except for scientific and economic indices

infer / imply
To infer is to deduce something from evidence; to imply is to hint at something (and
wait for someone to infer it)

initials
Use a period after an initial in a name; do not place a space between two initials.
Examples: W.H. Smith, I.M. Pei, John F. Kennedy

initial public offering

IPO is acceptable in all references; no need to spell out in business stories, but do so
on first or second reference in general news stories.

Inner Mongolia autonomous region

Use full name on first reference. Do not use pinyin to spell ethnic Mongolian names
or places. For a list of names, see A Guide to Pinyin. Also see geography of China
instant message
Abbreviation IM acceptable on second reference

intermediate people’s court

Capitalize only as part of a formal title: Beijing No 2 Intermediate People’s Court.
See people’s courts

internet

internet of things
Acronym IoT acceptable on second reference, but avoid in headlines, graphics and
captions. The term refers to a network of devices, vehicles, buildings and other
objects that contain software or sensors that allow them to connect and exchange data.

Internet Plus
China’s strategy to integrate mobile internet, cloud computing and big data with
traditional industries. The strategy, which aims to turn the nation into a digital
powerhouse, was unveiled in 2015 and is in the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20).

Interpol
Acceptable in all references to the International Criminal Police Organization

intl
Abbreviation for international; use only in headlines (sparingly) or charts

ironically
Avoid when what you mean is strangely, coincidentally, paradoxically or amusingly.
There are times when ironically is right (usually for unexpected elements that make a
bad situation worse), but too often it is misused.

italics
Chinese words in pinyin are italicized but should be followed by an explanation or
translation. Translations should not be italicized, even if it is a title. Examples: qigong,
a Chinese breathing exercise; yangko, a popular folk dance; erhu, a two-stringed
bowed musical instrument; quyi, folk art forms including ballad singing, storytelling,
cross-talk; and bangzi, or clapper opera, a general term for local Chinese opera from
Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and Hebei. See traditional Chinese operas.
Do not italicize Chinese words that have become accepted English words, such as
pinyin, kung fu, tai chi and dim sum. Check with Webster’s New World College
Dictionary; also see A Guide to Pinyin
TITLES: Italicize titles of books, plays, operas, paintings, recordings, songs, radio
and TV programs, and works of art: The True Story of Ah Q, American Idol, Don
Giovanni, Mona Lisa, The East Is Red. Note: Punctuation and articles are not
italicized unless part of the title. See composition titles
Names of tours, exhibitions and shows should be capped and italicized. Although they
are not permanent, they are considered to represent a body of work. Examples: Fire
and Ice, the new show from Cirque du Soleil; U2 took their Zoo TV tour around the
world; Damien Hurst’s latest exhibition, Pain Within, opens on Monday.
entry continues over page …
italics (continued)
VEHICLES, VESSELS: Names of sea-faring vessels, aircraft and trains are italicized.
Examples: the Liaoning aircraft carrier, Captain Cook’s Endeavour, the Mao Zedong
locomotive, Lindbergh’s The Spirit of St. Louis, and Enola Gay. Use numerals if there
is a number in the name: QE2 not QEII. Do not italicize naval prefixes: CNS Liaoning,
USS Arizona, HMS Ark Royal. Spacecraft do not follow these rules. See spaceship
GENUS, SPECIES: Use italics for scientific names. Cap the first letter of the first
word: Homo sapiens, Tyrannosaurus rex.

Islamic State, IS
Islamic militant group that has taken control in parts of Iraq and Syria and declared a
caliphate. Abbreviation IS acceptable on second reference, in headlines. See Raqqa

Ivy League
A group of US universities: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth College, Harvard,
Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale.
J, K

jail / prison
The words are not interchangeable. Jail is normally used to confine people serving
sentences for misdemeanors, people awaiting trial or sentencing and people confined
for civil matters. Prisons are long-term detention facilities.

jargon
In general, avoid using jargon in stories. When it is essential to use a complex term in
a story, always explain what it means. If you don’t understand what something means,
it’s unlikely a reader will.

jihad
Used by Muslims to describe three different kinds of struggle: an individual’s internal
struggle to live out the Muslim faith as well as possible; the struggle to build a good
Muslim society; and the struggle to defend Islam, with force if necessary (holy war).

Kashmir
The adjective is Kashmiri, but cashmere fabric. Full name is Jammu and Kashmir, but
China does not recognize Jammu. Correct: India-controlled Kashmir (capital Srinagar)
or Pakistan-controlled Kashmir (capital Muzaffarabad).

Kathmandu
Capital of Nepal

Kilogram, kg
Equal to 1,000 grams. See measurements

Kilometer, km
Equal to 1,000 meters. See measurements

Kilovolt, kV
Equal to 1,000 volts. See measurements

Kilowatt, kW
Equal to 1,000 watts. See measurements

kilowatt-hour, kWh
Measure of electrical energy equivalent to a power consumption of 1,000 watts per
hour. See measurements

knots
Measure of speed in nautical miles per hour, so do not use “knots per hour”. Use
knots for the speed of seafaring vessels.

koala
Do not say koala bear

Kolkata
Indian city formerly known as Calcutta
Korea
Use the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on first reference, then DPRK. Do
not use North Korea unless in a direct quote from a native English speaker.
South Korea is acceptable in most stories that do not mention the DPRK or the
Chinese embassy in Seoul. If the DPRK is mentioned, the south must be called the
Republic of Korea on first reference, and then ROK. If the Chinese embassy is
mentioned, the Republic of Korea is preferred.
For the names of Korean people, hyphenate the given name: Kim Jong-un.

Korean Peninsula

kung fu

Kuomintang
Do not use Goumindang
L

labor
The British political party is the Labour Party; the one in Australia is the Labor Party

lady
Use woman instead

landmine

latest
Use with caution, a specific time is preferred. Example: Data released on Aug 1 show
trade has risen; Data released in 2013, the latest available, show trade has risen.

Latin names
Italicize words in Latin. For scientific genus and species, in general, capitalize the
genus (first word) only. Put a Latin name in parentheses after its common name: a
black-necked crane (Grus nigricollus)

latitude, longitude
Example: 149 degrees 18 minutes east longitude

laws
Capitalize when using the full name of a Chinese law: Criminal Law. Do not
capitalize laws in draft form. See capitalization

lawmaker

Learn From Lei Feng Day

Celebrated every year in China on March 5

libel
Although government laws on libel differ, it is absolutely necessary to avoid
unnecessarily damaging someone’s reputation. This is especially true for newspapers
with a readership in countries with different laws and interpretations. Some guidelines:
 Ensure any accusation in a story is based on an official authority or document
 Avoid any hint of opinion about what happened
 Give full details of what happened, based on an official authority or document;
do not assume the readers know what happened
 Instead of using “reportedly”, it is always better to say who or which entity
reported it. See allege, accuse, charge
 Use “according to” so readers know China Daily is not making the allegation.
Do not use adjectives outside quotations about a suspect or defendant
 Do not assume guilt until a person admits a crime or a court determines guilt
 You must be as sure as possible that what you write is the truth, that you have
obtained facts from reliable sources, NOT gossip or opinion about a person’s
innocence or guilt
These rules apply to headline writing, too. Always consult an editor when writing
such stories, as the above guidelines do not apply in all situations.
license (noun and verb)

Li Ning, Li-Ning
Li Ning is the name of the former Chinese gymnast, but his sportswear company is
called Li-Ning (note hyphen)

liquefy

liter
See measurements

Living Buddha
Always capitalize: Jamyang Losang is a Living Buddha in a Tibetan lamasery.

lunar calendar
The traditional Chinese calendar. See Chinese holidays

lyu
pinyin, do not use lv or lü
M

Macao
Do not spell as Macau (despite this being the spelling on the special administrative
region’s official website) as it is based on the Portuguese spelling, not pinyin. China
resumed its exercise of sovereignty over Macao in December 1999.
It is OK to refer to this area simply as Macao unless the story deals with the area’s
administration or government. In that case, referred to it as the Macao Special
Administrative Region.
Do not call the people as “Macanese”; use Macao residents or Macao people.

Made in China 2025

The State Council’s 10-year action plan to upgrade and transform Chinese
manufacturing, introduced in May 2015. The strategy identifies priority tasks:
improving manufacturing innovation, integrating information technology and industry,
strengthening the industrial base, fostering Chinese brands, enforcing green
manufacturing, promoting breakthroughs in 10 key sectors, advancing restructuring of
the manufacturing sector, promoting service-oriented manufacturing and
manufacturing-related service industries, and internationalizing manufacturing.
The 10 key sectors are information technology, numerical control tools and robotics,
aerospace equipment, ocean engineering equipment and high-tech ships, railway
equipment, energy saving and new energy vehicles, power equipment, new materials,
biological medicine and medical devices, and agricultural machinery.

mahjong

-maker
For words not listed in this stylebook, check Webster’s New World College
Dictionary for guidance on hyphenation. Examples: policymaker, drugmaker,
decision-maker, coffee maker, PC maker

Malaysian names
Generally, the surname comes first, so Mahathir Mohamad becomes Mahathir on
second reference. Chinese Malaysian names, like Singaporean names, are in three
parts: Ling Liong Sik.

Mandarin
Capitalize when referring to the Chinese language, but lowercase when referring to a
high-ranking official. See Putonghua

Maori
Singular and plural

master’s degree
See academic degrees

May Fourth Movement

Refers to a political, anti-imperialist movement that stemmed from student
demonstrations in Beijing on May 4, 1919
measurements
Spell out on first reference. China Daily uses the metric system so convert all
nonmetric measurements unless in a direct quote from a native English speaker, in
which case it should be followed by a metric conversion in parentheses.
For sports, see The Sports Guide

METERS: Spell out meter on all references, although “m” is acceptable in graphics.
Abbreviations of cubic meters (cu m), square meters (sq m), kilometers (km),
centimeters (cm) and millimeters (mm) are acceptable on second reference. Note: All
abbreviations are offset from the number by a space: 200 km.
This is a list of some abbreviations that can be used from second reference onwards
(note: all are acceptable in graphics and headlines):
 Blood-lead level: mcg for micrograms
 Blood-alcohol level: mg for milligrams
 Digital storage: MB for megabyte, GB for gigabyte; TB for terabyte,
Mb for megabit
 Electric current: A for ampere
 Electromotive force: V for volt, kV for kilovolt
 Energy: J for joule
 Force: N for Newton
 Frequency: Hz for hertz, kHz for kilohertz
 Mass: g for gram, kg for kilogram (note: 1,000 kg is 1 metric ton; spell out
metric ton on first reference and use ton thereafter)
 Power: for watt, mW for milliwatt, MW for megawatt, kW for kilowatt, kWh
for kilowatt-hour, GW for gigawatt, GWh for gigawatt-hour
Pressure: Pa for pascal, mb for millibar
 Revolutions per minute: rpm
 Speed: m/s for meters per second, km/h for kilometers per hour
 Temperature: C for Celsius, F for Fahrenheit
 Volume: ml for milliliter, cc for cubic centimeter, cu m for cubic meter,
kl for kiloliter

meetings
Capitalize the formal name of a meeting: the second session of the Eighth National
People’s Congress, the National Working Conference on Environmental Protection.

megabyte, MB
A unit of digital storage equal to 1 million bytes. See measurements

megawatt, mW
Equal to 1 million watts. See measurements

memorandum of understanding
The plural is memorandums of understanding

Memorial Hall for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders
Dec 13 is annually recognized as the national memorial day for victims of the Nanjing
Massacre
mental handicap, mentally handicapped, mentally retarded
Do not use; instead, say a person has learning disabilities. Avoid using “the mentally
ill” as a noun; instead, say mentally ill people, mental health patients or people with
mental health problems. Only use these terms if they are essential to the story.
See disabled

meter
Always spell out, either in reference to an instrument that measures and records or the
metric distance. See measurements, The Sports Guide

metric ton
Equal to 1,000 kilograms. Use metric ton on first reference, and ton thereafter.
See measurements

micro blog, micro-blogger, micro-blogging

A limited-character, internet-message service; a user of that service; and the action of
using that service See Twitter and Weibo, weibo

Micrograms, mcg
Abbreviate on second reference. See measurements

mid-
Hyphenate with a number, such as with decades, ages or temperatures.
Examples: mid-1990s, or mid-’90s; in his mid-60s; the heat was mid-40s

Middle East
Do not use Mideast (except in headlines), since other countries use that term to define
other regions. The Middle East applies to the countries on the Arabian Peninsula:
Yemen, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman; Iran,
Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Turkey in West Asia; and
Egypt, Sudan and Libya in North Africa.

MiG
A type of Russian fighter plane

mile
Do not use for an exact measure; convert to kilometers. See measurements

military titles
Spell out before a name; do not abbreviate. Military titles for the PLA:
ARMY, AIR FORCE, ROCKET FORCE: General, Lieutenant General, Major
General, Senior Colonel, Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major, Captain, Lieutenant,
Second Lieutenant
NAVY: Admiral, Vice-Admiral, Rear Admiral, Senior Captain, Captain, Commander,
Lieutenant Commander, Lieutenant, Lieutenant Junior Grade, Ensign.
See army, navy, air force
million
Always spell out and use a figure with million, with a maximum two decimal places
(round up from five). Example: 5.436 million becomes 5.44 million. Do not
abbreviate in stories, but OK in headlines: 5m, $5m (no space)
mimic, mimicked, mimicking

mini-
Generally, no hyphen: minibus, minicab, miniskirt, minivan. Check with Webster’s.

minister
Capitalize before a name of a government official, lowercase after: Defense Minister
Liu Weifang, and Peng Xijing, the minister of commerce. Cap both words in vice-
minister before a name: Vice-Minister of Health Li Wei.

minority
Use the term ethnic minority only when pertinent to the story. See ethnic groups

minuscule

money
See currency conversion, dollar, euro

months
Capitalize in all uses, with no periods, and abbreviate when used to make a specific
date: Jan 1, Feb 2, Aug 3, Sept 6, Oct 7, Nov 8 and Dec 25. Spell out when used alone
or with only a year: February 2012.
Note comma usage: January 2011 was the coldest month on record (no comma), but
Jan 2, 2011, was the coldest day on record (comma).
In tabular material, use these three-letter forms without a period: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr,
May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.

mooncake
A Chinese cake traditionally eaten during Mid-Autumn Festival

mosquito (s), mosquitoes (pl)

MP3

Mount Everest
See Qomolangma

mu
Chinese measurement of area; always convert to hectares. See measurements

Muammar Gadhafi
Muhammad
This is the spelling of the prophet’s name and for most Muhammads living in Arab
countries, though a preferred spelling should be respected (Mohamed Al Fayed,
Mohamed El Baradei). The spelling Mohammed (or variants) is considered archaic
and disrespectful.

multi-
Generally not hyphenated unless the next word begins with a vowel: multimillion,
multibillion, multi-ethnic. If unsure, check with Webster’s

Mumbai
Indian city formerly known as Bombay

municipal
Although the official names of government agencies in China’s four municipalities −
Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing − include the word municipal, omit it.
Example: Beijing Bureau of Statistics, not Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics.

Museum of the War of Chinese People’s Resistance Against Japanese Aggression

Muslim
N

names
In general, use a person’s family name on second reference, unless an individual
requests otherwise. When it’s necessary to distinguish between two people with the
same family name − married couples, siblings − use a person’s first and last name.
JUVENILES: Refer to them on second reference by their surname if they are 16 or
older and by their first name if under 16. Exceptions: If they are involved in a serious
crime, or are athletes or entertainers.
ARTICLES, PREPOSITIONS: The French (or French origin) le or de, the Italian di
and the Dutch van are all lowercase: Graeme le Saux, Roberto di Matteo, Pierre van
Hooijdonk; but when written without forenames are capitalized: Le Saux, Di Matteo,
Van Hooijdonk. The same principle applies to Arabic names: Osama bin Laden, then
Bin Laden with no given name.
HONG KONG, TAIWAN: Do not use pinyin for the names of people from these two
places. The three-character names are given as surname and then given name
hyphenated. Examples: Tung Chee-hwa, Koo Chen-fu, Kai Fu-li. Be aware that some
people have westernized their names, mentioning given names or initials first.
Examples: C.N. Liu, Henry Wang, Donald Tsang.
See Korea, Malaysian names, Vietnam

NASA
Acceptable on all references for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Nasdaq
Acceptable in all references for what used to be known as the National Association of
Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, but is now the computerized trading
network in the US.

National People’s Congress

Capitalized on first reference, but use the congress or the NPC thereafter.
The NPC is the highest organ of state power, and the Standing Committee of the NPC
is the permanent organ. The NPC and the Standing Committee serve a term of five
years and are empowered with the rights of legislation, decision, supervision, election
and removal. For more info, visit english.gov.cn and view “State Structure”.
People who sit on the congress are called deputies: Deputies to the NPC roundly
dismissed the idea; Li Hao, a deputy to the NPC, was not present.
See two sessions, Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, people’s
congress, governmental bodies

NATO
Acceptable in all references for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

nautical mile
Equal to 1,852 meters

the Netherlands
The adjective is Dutch. Do not refer to the county as Holland, but Holland can be used
in reference to the Dutch national soccer team.
netizen

new energy vehicle

No hyphen. Also see electric vehicles

the new normal

Refers to the economic conditions in China that differ from the former high-growth
period.

news conference
Preferred to press conference

New Year’s Day, New Year’s Eve

Capitalize only when referring to the holidays or observances, but: The new year is
approaching, or What is your plan for the new year?

NGO
Acceptable in all references to nongovernmental organization

Nobel Prize
There are five: Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel Prize in chemistry, Nobel Prize in literature,
Nobel Prize in physics, Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. Someone who
receives a prize is a Nobel laureate.

non-Communist parties of China

Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang (中国国民党革命委员会)
China Democratic League (中国民主同盟)
China National Democratic Construction Association (中国民主建国会)
China Association for Promoting Democracy (中国民主促进会)
Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party (中国农工民主党)
China Zhi Gong Dang (中国致公党)
Jiu San Society (九三学社)
Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League (台湾民主自治同盟)

none
Takes a plural verb only if the sense is no two or no amount: None of the consultants
agreed on the approach; none of the taxes have been paid.

non-
Generally not hyphenated, but beware of odd constructions: non-interference,
nonprofit, non-nuclear. Check with Webster’s New World College Dictionary.

North Pole, South Pole

number, No
Abbreviate number to No (no period unless in US editions) when followed by a figure;
the plural is Nos. Examples: No 1 and No 56, and Nos 75 to 87
numerals
Use numerals for currencies, votes, ages, percentages, measurements, speeds and
degrees. In general, for other uses, spell out the numbers one to nine. Examples: $20,
he won by 300 votes, she is 3 years old, trade rose by 50 percent, the road is 6 meters
wide, he traveled at 5 km/h, the temperature is 5 C, there are five names on the list.
See measurements, million, billion, ages, The Sports Guide
Spell out a number at the start of a sentence: Five people were on the flight. Fifty
people had dinner. However, avoid starting sentences with large numbers by
rephrasing: On the flight were 423 people. The exception is starting a sentence with a
year: 2015 was a good year.

Nur Bekri
Use his full name on all references. An ethnic Uygur politician, he is director of the
National Energy Administration and a former chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur
autonomous region.
O

observances and international days

Check any sponsoring website for an official title, spelling or background information.

oceans
There are five. From largest to smallest: Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean,
Antarctic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. Lowercase ocean as a stand-alone or in plural uses:
the ocean scenery, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans

OECD
Acceptable for all references to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development

offshore, offside

oilfield

OK, OKs, OK’d, OK’ing

Olympics
Capitalize all references to the international athletic contests: the Olympics, the
Winter Olympics, the Olympic Games, an Olympic-size pool (50 meters by 25
meters). See Games, Sports Guide

“one country, two systems”

Quote marks, lowercase. The principle or policy under which Hong Kong and Macao
retain different political, legal and economic systems from the rest of China

only
Be careful that “only” is placed correctly according to the meaning. Examples:
Only I hit him in the eye (no one else did)
I only hit him in the eye (I didn’t poke or gouge)
I hit only him in the eye (I didn’t hit anyone else)
I hit him only in the eye (that was the only part of his body)
I hit him in the eye only (ambiguous, as it could mean more than one of the above)

onshore, onside

opening-up
The policy adopted at the Third Plenary of the 11th Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China in 1978, together with the decision to reform the Chinese
economy away from centralized planning. Often referred to as reform and opening-up.
Acceptable as a noun or adjective: reform and opening-up, China’s opening-up policy.
Do not use “open-door policy” as it’s too narrow and has a historical connotation
linked with the 19th century imperialist policy to forcibly open China’s doors.

opera
Capitalize when part of the name of traditional Chinese opera: Peking Opera, Yuju
Opera. Do not italicize.
P

Pak
Do not use as a short form of Pakistan. It is unacceptable to many readers. Also, do
not use Paki, which is an extremely derogatory term.

palate, palette, pallet

The palate is the roof of the mouth; a palette is an artist’s paint board; a pallet is a bed

paper-cut, paper cut

Hyphenate when referring to the art form: paper-cut, paper-cutting. A paper cut is the
injury.

parentheses
Capitalize complete sentences in parentheses; periods go inside: The heat in Jakarta is
oppressive. (Temperatures regularly hit 40 C.) Do not capitalize parenthetical phrases
inserted in a sentence: The heat in Jakarta (regularly 40 C) is oppressive.

Parliament
The national legislative bodies of the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand,
Canada and Scotland. Capitalize their usages as those formal bodies. Also capitalize
national legislatures referred to by their names in the relevant language: Knesset, Diet,
Folketing, Duma. Do not capitalize when the word is used to describe the function of
an organization (the Knesset, Israel’s parliament) or the adjective “parliamentary”.

part time, part-time

Hyphenate the compound modifier: He teaches part time; he is a part-time teacher.

party
Capitalize the full names of political parties, but cap “Party” as a stand-alone only in
reference to the Communist Party of China. Example: Liu joined the Party in 2004.
See Communist Party of China

Party secretary
Acceptable on first reference for the secretary of a local committee of the Communist
Party of China, and Party chief can be used thereafter. Examples:
Zhang San, Chongqing’s Party secretary, was present at the meeting.
Li Si, secretary of the Hebei Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Zhang San, secretary of the CPC Wuhan committee.
Note: Cap only committees at State and provincial levels.

passer-by (s), passers-by (pl)

PC maker

Peace Ark
Preferred name for the Chinese Navy’s Type 920 hospital ship, which has been in
service since 2007. Place the name in italics. Use the official name, CNS Daishandao,
only if essential to the story or in a direct quote from a member of the Chinese Navy.
If both names are used in a story, italicize both.
the People’s Bank of China
The central bank; abbreviation PBOC acceptable on second reference

people’s congress
Capitalize when preceded by “national”, or the name of a province or municipality
(Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Tianjin). Thereafter use “the congress”. Do not
abbreviate, except for the National People’s Congress. Lowercase in all other cases:
Wuhan people’s congress, Chaoyang district people’s congress, Fengying county
people’s congress, Huixin community people’s congress (rare, only in municipalities)
Those who sit on a people’s congress are called deputies. Example: Deputies to the
Fengtai district people’s congress have dismissed the idea of unisex toilets.
See National People’s Congress, governmental bodies
people’s court
Capitalize the first letters only in a formal title: Beijing No 2 Intermediate People’s
Court. Do not say First or Second Court, and do not use “people’s” after first
reference except for the Supreme People’s Court.
Here’s a list of China’s courts, from highest to lowest:
 Supreme People’s Court
 high people’s court (provincial level)
 intermediate people’s court (prefecture level)
 county or district people’s court

people’s government
Capitalized when using the formal name: Sichuan Provincial People’s Government,
but generally “people’s” can be omitted.

People’s Liberation Army

PLA is acceptable on second reference and in headlines. The army has five branches
(cap on all references): Ground Force; Navy; Air Force; Rocket Force; and Strategic
Support Force. See army, navy, air force. The People’s Armed Police Force is not
part of the PLA, but comes under the Central Military Commission.

percent
Use the % symbol only in headlines and charts

percentage / percentage points

An increase from 3 percent to 5 percent is not an increase of 2 percent; it is an
increase of two percentage points, or two points. A sentence saying “such and such
rose or fell by x percent” should be considered and checked carefully.

period
Periods should be placed at the end of:
 a declarative sentence: The stylebook is finished.
 a mild imperative sentence: Shut the door.
 some rhetorical questions, especially if the statement is more a suggestion than
a question: Why don’t we go.
 an indirect question: He asked what the score was.
Also use with initials in names: John F. Kennedy, T.S. Eliot (note the spacing); and
with some abbreviations in headlines: S. Africa; S. Korea. Do not use periods with
abbreviations: Dec, Co, No, Ltd. See abbreviations and acronyms
Persian Gulf
The internationally recognized name, but there may be sensitivities of some countries
that border the gulf. In that case, “the Gulf” is sufficient. Never use the Arabian Gulf.

persons
Do not use; the term is people

persuade or convince
You convince someone of a fact; you persuade someone to do something

PhD
See academic degrees
phenomenon (s), phenomena (pl)

the Philippines
Inhabited by Filipinos (male) and Filipinas (female); the adjective Filipino for both
sexes, but Philippine for, say, a Philippine island or the Philippine president. Note: As
a country, it takes a singular verb, like the United States.

photocopy

PIN
Acceptable on all references for personal identification number

ping-pong
but table tennis is preferred

pinyin
See A Guide to Pinyin

plan, project, program

Capitalize (no quotation marks) the names of those launched by the government or
nongovernmental institutions to work toward certain goals. Examples: Project Hope,
South-to-North Water Diversion Project, Belt and Road Initiative. Note: Do not use
“scheme” to describe a plan or project because of its negative connotations.

planets
Capitalize proper names of planets: Earth, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn,
Uranus, Venus (Pluto was demoted in August 2006). Capitalize nouns and adjectives
derived from proper names of planets: Martian, Venusian, but lowercase adjectives
referring to other heavenly bodies: solar, lunar.

playoff

pm
See dates and times

PM2.5
Short for particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less; refers to air
pollutant particles that can invade even the smallest airways
possessives
See apostrophe

post-1980 generation
Translation of a Chinese term that refers to people born 1980-89

post-1990 generation
Translation of a Chinese term that refers to people born 1990-99

pound
For the unit of weight, convert to grams or kilograms. See measurements. For the
British currency, write out after the number: 50 pounds. See currency conversion

prefixes
See hyphen for general rules, after-, multi-, non-, sub-, trans-

presently
It means soon, not at present. Use “now” if that’s what you mean.

press conference
News conference is preferred.

preventive
Do not use preventative

price-earnings ratio (P/E)

prison / jail
They are not interchangeable. A jail is normally used to confine people serving
sentences for misdemeanors, people awaiting trial or sentencing, and people confined
for civil matters. Prisons are long-term detention facilities.

procuratorate
The people’s procuratorates are the legal supervision organs of the state. The
prosecution system consists of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, local people’s
procuratorates and special people’s procuratorates, such as the military procuratorate.
Capitalize only when preceded by “Supreme”, or the name of a province or one of
China’s four municipalities (Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Tianjin). Examples:
Hunan Provincial People’s Procuratorate, Shanghai People’s Procuratorate, Xicheng
district people’s procuratorate. See Supreme People’s Procuratorate

professor
Never abbreviate, but capitalize when used before a name as a title: Professor Liu
Wang of the School of Economics at Peking University. Do not use the title on
subsequent references unless as part of a quotation or to distinguish from someone
else in the story with the same family name. See academic titles and titles

province
See geography of China
purchasing managers index
PMI acceptable on second reference in stories and in headlines

Putonghua
Capitalize, no italics. See Mandarin
Q

QDII, QFII
QDII is short for qualified domestic institutional investor, and QFII is short for
qualified foreign institutional investor. Spell out on first reference in news stories, but
in business stories both abbreviations are acceptable in all references.

qigong
A Chinese system of prescribed physical exercises or motions performed in a
meditative state

Qomolangma
The highest peak in the world, which lies on the border of China and Nepal, is also
known as Mount Everest. Use the name Qomolangma on first reference and, as early
as possible, explain that it is known as Mount Everest in the West

queue, queuing
Don’t use; instead, use wait in line or waiting in line

quotation marks
Use double quotation marks at the start and end of a direct quote, and for quotes
within a quote, use single quote marks. Place periods and commas inside quote marks
when the quote is a full sentence, and outside when it is a partial quotation. Examples:
 “I was right,” Zhang said.
 Gu said Zhang was “completely wrong”.
 “I know Gu said I was ‘completely wrong’ about this style, but he says that
about everybody,” Zhang said.
Introductions to full quotes are set off with a comma unless they consist of two or
more sentences, in which case use a colon. Example: The prime minister said, “To
scrap the plan would be nonsense, and it won’t happen in my lifetime.”
Avoid direct quotes that are not profound statements.
To break a quote into two paragraphs, end the first paragraph with a period but no
quotation mark and begin the new paragraph with a quotation mark. (Note: This
applies only when the quote in the first paragraph is a grammatically complete full
sentence. If it is a partial quote, use a quotation mark.)
Always use single quotation marks in headlines, but use double quotation marks in
captions. For mobile news reports, try to avoid quotes; instead paraphrase to keep
sentences short.
ATTRIBUTION: Most quotes in China Daily are translated from Chinese and our
readers should be confident that words appearing in quotation marks accurately
represent the words of the speaker. If you aren’t sure of the exact wording, paraphrase.

Quran
Holy book of Islam
R

Ramadan
Month of fasting for Muslims

ratable
Not rateable

Raqqa
A city in Syria and the self-declared capital of the Islamic State group

re-
Use re- with a hyphen when the adjoining words starts with an e or or when confusion
with another word would arise: re-entry, re-examine, re-cover (to distinguish from
recover), re-form (reform), re-creation (recreation), re-sign (resign).

record holder, world record holder

reform and opening-up

Use a hyphen to indicate you are referring to the official government policy.
See opening-up

regarding, with regard to, in regard to

Regard is to make reference to someone or something. Examples: Regarding last
week’s policy change, the minister said he was pleased; with regard to China’s fiscal
policy, the minister said he was pleased; the minister said the terms agreed in regard
to tariffs were satisfactory
Regards is a greeting: Give my regards to your family

released
See discharged

relevant
The word is usually redundant, so use only when essential to the story. Do not say
“relevant authorities”. Instead, specify the authority or authorities in questions. Usage
is acceptable in a direct quote from a native English speaker.

renminbi
The Chinese currency; lowercase unless at the start of a sentence. The abbreviation
RMB is acceptable from second reference and in headlines. When referring to an
exact monetary figure in renminbi, use yuan: the book cost 50 yuan

reportedly
Don’t use outside direct quotations. Report who or what media source or government
agency is reporting something. Don’t use it for lazy journalism: Instead of saying a
company is reportedly the largest in the world, find out for sure.

Republic of Congo
Spell out full on all references. Also see Democratic Republic of Congo
respectively
Use only when separating two elements. Example: The number of inbound tourists to
China and the UK last year was 20 million and 15 million respectively. In a longer list
of data, always spell out: China won 12 medals at the event, the US won 10, the UK
won nine, and France won eight.

Reunion Island
A French territory in the Indian Ocean

Rio de Janeiro
Use the full name when referring to the Brazilian city; use Rio only in headlines and
decks. Do not abbreviate to RDJ.

risk
See hazard

rivers, mountains, lakes, seas

If official English designations exist for the Chinese names, use them: Yangtze River,
Yellow River, Pearl River, Yellow Sea, East China Sea, South China Sea.
In other cases, if a proper name in Chinese consists of only one character alongside
shan (mountain), jiang (river), hu (lake) or hai (sea), retain shan, jiang, hu or hai.
Examples: Taishan Mountain, not Tai Mountain; Lijiang River, not Li River; Taihu
Lake, not Tai Lake, Bohai Sea, not Bo Sea.
If a name is composed of three Chinese characters, shan, jiang, hu or hai should be
omitted. Examples: Song Hua Jiang should be written as Songhua River, not
Songhuajiang River; Poyang Lake, not Poyanghu Lake.

road names
Never abbreviate avenue, boulevard, road and street. See A Guide to Pinyin

rock ’n’ roll

roller coaster

Roman numerals
The system uses seven letters, shown here with their Arabic number equivalents:
I equals one, V is five, X is 10, L is 50, C is 100, D is 500, and M is 1,000. When a
letter follows one of equal or greater value it is added: CX equals 110. When a
smaller number precedes a larger one, the smaller value is subtracted: IV equals four.

rouble
Russian currency

rupee
Indian currency

rupiah
Indonesian currency
S

said
Features and sports may have different policies, but said is the word of choice when
quoting or referring to sources on business and news stories. Occasionally, use
“added” or “explained”. But 99 percent of the time, make it “said”.

Saint, St.
For names of towns, churches, etc, abbreviate as St. with a period: St. Louis, St.
Paul’s Cathedral

SARS
Severe acute respiratory syndrome; use SARS in all references, but at some point in
the story spell out

Scandinavia
Includes the countries Norway, Sweden, Denmark, but not Finland or Iceland

scheme
Use plan, initiative or program instead because “scheme” has a negative connotation;
Webster’s defines it as “a crafty plot”. If it’s used in a quotation, put (plan) in
parentheses behind to the word.

schoolboy, schoolgirl, schoolchildren

Avoid; instead, use student or students. Other school-related spellings: classroom,
schoolteacher, school board, school bus, school day, school district, school year.

Scotland
The adjective is Scottish. Its people are referred to as Scots, not Scotch.

the Sea of Japan

If used, follow with (called the East Sea by South Korea) in parentheses.

seasons
Lowercase spring, summer, fall or autumn, and winter, but capitalize when part of a
title: Summer Olympics, Winter Olympics. See The Sports Guide

season (sport)
Hyphenate: By the end of the 2012-13 NBA season, Miami Heat had run out of steam.
See The Sports Guide

second-child policy
The preferred term for the policy introduced in January 2016 that allows all couples in
China to have a second child. Do not refer to it as the two-child policy.

Second World War

Do not use. See World War II is correct

secretary-general
self-
Generally hyphenate: self-control, self-defense, self-esteem, self-respect

semiannual, semiyearly
Both mean twice a year, as does biannual. Biennial means every two years.

semicolon
In general, a semicolon is used to separate major sentence elements. However, a
period can often be a better option to prevent an unnecessarily long sentence.
The following sentence demonstrates how to use a semicolon: Some children were
well-behaved; others were less so. Yet it would also be correct to write: Some
children were well-behaved. Others were less so.
Semicolons should be used in lists with internal commas. Example: In attendance
were Jimmy Carter, former president; Janet Reno, former attorney general; and
Madeline Albright, former secretary of state. See colon

semifinal

semimonthly
Means twice a month, while bimonthly means every two months.

Sept 11
Refers to the terrorist attacks against the United States on Sept 11, 2001. Include the
year on first reference, but 9/11 is acceptable once context is established. It is
acceptable to us 9/11 in headlines for stories about the attacks.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization

A political, economic and military group founded in 2001 comprising China,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan

Shanghai Stock Exchange

See stock exchange

shall / will
Unless in a direct quote, use will

Shenzhen Stock Exchange

See stock exchange, Growth Enterprise Board

Shi Yongxin
The abbot of Shaolin Temple; use his full name on all references

Sikkim
A state of India recognized by China. See Kashmir, India and disputed territories

silicon, silicone
Silicon refers to a computer chip, silicone to breast implants

Singaporean names
Write as three words: Lee Kuan Yew
Singles Day
An annual online shopping day in China, which falls on Nov 11

Sino, Sino-
Always capitalize: Sinology, the study of the Chinese; and Sinologist

Six-Party Talks
The participants are China, the DPRK, the ROK, Japan, the United States and Russia.

Sloviansk
Preferred spelling for Ukrainian city, a focal point of the Russian separatist movement

small and medium-sized business

Spell out on first reference, with abbreviation SME (plural SMEs) acceptable
thereafter

so-called
Do not place the words following in quotation marks: the so-called Big Bang Theory

socioeconomic

sources
Reporters should make every effort to identify everyone they quote; anonymous
sources, or sources with only a surname, harm our credibility. If you must use an
anonymous source, identify them in another way and give as much information as
possible to show why they are credible: a veteran of Beijing’s technology sector.
In general, learn and share information about a source with the reader. Has he or she
lived somewhere for many years? Has she led research on the economy since 1995?
Has he owned many businesses, or one specializing in the topic that you are writing
about? Extra information adds richness and authenticity to your story.
Ask your source to explain a theory or practice in simple terms. If you don’t
understand, how can you explain it to a reader? Importantly, respect every source by
accurately writing down information and comments for your story. See attribution

South America
See Western Hemisphere

spaceship
Capitalize but do not italicize proper names of unmanned space vessels, satellites,
rockets, etc, and use Arabic numbers: the Mao 1 satellite, the Long March 3 rocket.
For manned spacecraft, use Roman numerals: Shenzhou VI, Tiangong II space lab.

special drawing rights

Spell out on first reference; abbreviation SDR can be used thereafter and in headlines.
In stories other than for business, explain what the term means. It refers to
supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets defined and maintained by the
International Monetary Fund. It is often referred to as a basket of currencies. On Nov
30, 2015, the IMF included China’s renminbi as the fifth currency in the basket,
effective from Oct 1, 2016. Other currencies in the basket: dollar, yen, euro and pound.
species / specimen
A species (singular and plural) is a group of living organisms. A specimen (plural
specimens) is an individual or part taken as an example of a class or whole.

speed
See measurements

spokesman, spokeswoman
Avoid spokesperson. If we do not know the person’s gender, use a word such as
representative

sports-
sports car, sports editor, sports medicine, sports page; but sportsman, sportswoman,
sportswear, sportscast, sportswriter

Spring Festival
See Chinese holidays

Spring Rush
Refers to the annual travel peak that coincides with Spring Festival, the Chinese New
Year holiday. The peak lasts for roughly 40 days. See Chinese holidays

square meters
See measurements

staff members
Do not use only staff; it is staff members or employees

state
Capitalize when referring to China or the Chinese central government: The newspaper
is State-owned. (Exception: lowercase in European edition.) Do not cap state visit.

state-controlled enterprise
A company in which a state holds a controlling share. Capitalize the word state when
referring to Chinese companies. See state-owned enterprise

State Council
Capitalize and use out full on all references. Can be referred to as China’s Cabinet.
The State Council, or the central government, is the highest executive agency of State
power, as well as the highest agency of State administration. It is composed of a
premier, vice-premiers, State councilors, ministers in charge of ministries and
commissions, the auditor-general and the secretary-general. A single term of each
office is five years, and incumbents cannot be reappointed after two successive terms.

state-owned enterprise
Refers to a company whose sole investor is a state; spell out on first reference and use
SOE (plural SOEs) thereafter. Capitalize state when referring to Chinese SOEs: CNG
is a State-owned company. See state-controlled enterprise
stock exchange
China’s exchanges are in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Taiwan. Cap when
part of a proper name: Shanghai Stock Exchange. See Growth Enterprise Board

straightforward

stratum (s), strata (pl)

sub-
In general, no hyphen with this prefix: substandard, subzero, subtotal. If unsure, check
with Webster’s New World College Dictionary

subpoena, subpoenaed

Supreme People’s Court

Capitalize on first reference and use “the court” (no cap) thereafter.
See people’s court

Supreme People’s Procuratorate

Capitalize on first reference and use “the procuratorate” (no cap) thereafter.
See procuratorate
T

table
Do not use as a verb to mean to take action on a piece of legislation as it has opposite
meanings in British and US English. In the UK, it means to bring an item forward for
discussion; in the US, it means to not bring an item forward for discussion.

tai chi

Taiwan
Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. It should never be referred to in any way that
may suggest it is an independent country, or that there is one China and one Taiwan.
Here are some important styles and rules:
 Do not refer to Taiwan as Formosa
 Do not refer to Taiwan people as Taiwanese; instead, use Taiwan resident or
Taiwan people
 Put quotation marks around the titles of Taiwan government officials,
including president, premier and minister, and do not capitalize them unless
they begin the sentence: Taiwan “president” Tsai Ing-wen.
 Lowercase names of Taiwan government departments
 Lowercase and place in quotation marks the names of the five branches of the
Taiwan government, called “yuan”. Example: the “legislative yuan”
 When reporting events involving the leaders of the central government and
Taiwan dignitaries, do not use Chinese president, Chinese premier or Chinese
foreign minister; instead, say President Xi Jinping met with leaders …
 Taiwan is referred to as Chinese Taipei by international organizations such as
the International Olympic Committee and the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation Forum
 The Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits based in Beijing and
the Straits Exchange Foundation based in Taipei are semiofficial organizations
responsible for handling cross-Straits relations in the absence of official links.
 The currency of Taiwan is dollars and is written as NT$
 The one-China policy, but: Leaders reiterated their consensus on one China
 The “two states” theory
 The 1992 Consensus
 Taiwan question, not Taiwan issue
NAMES: Areas and cities in Taiwan are not necessarily spelled in pinyin. Check with
your editor or an authoritative book for the correct spelling.
Major cities and areas: Taipei 台北; Taichung 台中; Tainan 台南; Kaohsiung 高雄;
Hualien 花莲; Taoyuan 桃园; Keelong 基隆; Jinmen 金门; Matsu 马祖
The names of Taiwan people are not necessarily spelled in pinyin. Common names
include: Koo Chen-fu 辜振甫; Lee Teng-hui 李登辉; Lien Chan 连战; Ma Ying-jeou
马英九; James Soong 宋楚瑜; Chen Shui-bian 陈水扁; Annette Lu 吕秀莲; Su
Tseng-chang 苏贞昌, Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文, Hsieh Chang-ting 谢长廷

Taiwan Straits
Not Strait. Also note cross-Straits
Taiwan Stock Exchange
See stock exchange

Taliban
Always plural

takeoff (n), take off (v)

Taoism
Do not use Daoism

teammate

teaspoon
Equal to 5 milliliters. Other than in recipes, convert to milliliters

teenage, teenager
Use teenage before a noun, not teenaged: her teenage daughter. Do not use teen as a
noun unless in a headline or in a direct quote from a native English speaker.

Teflon
A trademark, so say nonstick pan unless writing specifically about Teflon

Teheran
Preferred spelling for the capital of Iran

telephone numbers
Separate the area or city code from the rest of the number with hyphens. Example:
010-6499-5000. If there is an extension: 010-6499-5000 Ext 599. For cell phones:
131-4458-9171.

temperature
Always use Celsius unless in a direct quote from a native English speaker, in which
case follow with a conversion in parenthesis. See Celsius, measurements

tense
In most stories, “said” is preferred. If writing before the fact, use “was expected to”,
“was planned to”, “was scheduled for” or “was set to” in case an event or proposal
does not materialize.

Terracotta Warriors
Capitalize when referring to the ornamental guards unearthed near Xi’an, Shaanxi
province. Otherwise, lowercase terracotta

text, texting
Used as a verb or adjective: He was texting his family; she sent him a text message

thangka
Lowercase and italicize. A thangka is a traditional style of Tibetan painting on silk or
cotton, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene or mandala
that / which
That defines, but which informs. Examples: China Daily, which I read every day, is
the paper that I admire above all others.

theater
Use the British spelling, theatre, only when part of a proper name

think tank

three-dimensional / 3D

the Thucydides Trap

Refers to when a rising power causes fear in an established power, which escalates
toward war. The term was coined by Harvard academic Graham Allison.

Tian’anmen Square

Tibet autonomous region

Use full name on first reference, then Tibet, although Tibet is OK in headlines. Do not
use pinyin to spell Tibetan names, see A Guide to Pinyin. See geography of China

tie-up
Do not use in stories or headlines as it can be misconstrued

time elements
Do not place time elements immediately in front of a verb:
AWKWARD: Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday met with his Russian counterpart.
PREFERRED: Premier Li Keqiang met with his Russian counterpart on Wednesday;
or Premier Li Keqiang met on Wednesday with his Russian counterpart; or On
Wednesday, Premier Li Keqiang met with his Russian counterpart.

titles
Never abbreviate a title. In general, confine capitalization to formal titles used directly
before an individual's name. The basic guidelines:

LOWERCASE: Lowercase and spell out titles when not used with an individual’s
name. Examples: The president issued a statement; the pope gave his blessing.
Lowercase, spell out titles set off from a name by commas: Nelson Rockefeller, the
vice-president, will not run. The company’s chairman, Xu Liping, plans to retire.

COURTESY TITLES: Do not use.

FORMAL TITLES: Capitalize formal titles when used immediately before a name:
Pope Marcus X, US President Joe Bloggs, but lowercase when used before more than
one name: The event was attended by vice-premiers Zhang San and Li Si.
A formal title generally is one that denotes a scope of authority, professional activity
or academic activity: Senator Dianne Feinstein. Other titles serve primarily as
occupational descriptions: astronaut Jing Haipeng, movie star Daniel Wu, peanut
farmer Jimmy Carter. A final determination on whether a title is formal or
entry continues over page …
titles (continued)
occupational depends on the practice of the governmental or private organization that
confers it. If there is doubt about the status of a title and the practice of the
organization cannot be determined, use a construction that sets the name or the title
off with commas.

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS: In stories with Chinese datelines, do not include

“China” or “the Chinese” before the titles of ministers or other government officials,
except where necessary for clarity. Example: the Minister of Defense General Liu
Jingxia.
In stories with international datelines, include China before the titles only for
clarification in stories that talk about governments or government officials of other
countries. Example: Drills in the South China Sea by the navies of China and Vietnam
began on Saturday, said China’s Minister of Defense General Liu Jingxia.

Use minister and vice-minister for officials in charge of ministries and the following
ministry-level bodies:
 National Health Commission
 General Administration of Customs
 General Administration of Sport
 State Administration of Market Regulation
 National Development and Reform Commission
 National Ethnic Affairs Commission
 National Bureau of Statistics
 State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission
 National Radio and Television Administration
 State Administration of Taxation
Also see List of Ministries & Administrations

Use governor and vice-governor for officials in charge of the People’s Bank of China
Use auditor general for the head of the National Audit Office
Use director and deputy director for officials in charge of all other State Council
organizations as well as those in charge of departments or bureaus under ministries or
commissions (note: not director-general)

PARTY OFFICIALS: For those in charge of departments and institutions under the
CPC Central Committee, use head or deputy head. (Never use minister, commissioner
or director.) Examples:
Song Tao, head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee
Guo Yezhou, deputy head of the CPC Central Committee’s International Department

ROYAL TITLES: Capitalize king, queen, etc, when used directly before a name.

TITLES OF NOBILITY: Capitalize a full title when it serves as the alternate name for
an individual. Example: Prince of Wales.
entry continues over page …
titles (continued)
PAST AND FUTURE TITLES: A formal title that an individual formerly held, is
about to hold or holds temporarily is not capitalized, even if used before the person’s
name: former president George W. Bush, acting mayor Wang Hao, Party secretary-
elect Zhang Huaxin. (Note: Party is always capped when referring to the CPC)

LONG TITLES: Separate a long title from a name by a construction that requires a
comma: Charles Robinson, the undersecretary for economic affairs; or the
undersecretary for economic affairs, Charles Robinson.

ECONOMIZE: Try to limit titles: Adam Smith, a Ministry of Commerce analyst; not
Adam Smith, an economic analyst at the Economic Research Institute attached to the
Economic Academy of the Ministry of Commerce.
See academic titles, composition titles, military titles

Tomb Sweeping Day

tomorrow
Avoid; instead, use the day of week. Exception: mobile news and website news
operations. See date of news

ton
Spell out as metric ton on first reference; use ton thereafter. See measurements

tonnage
A seafaring vessel’s internal cubic capacity or freight-carrying capacity measured in
metric tons: The vessel has a tonnage of 20,000

toward

track and field

See The Sports Guide

trademarks
Use a generic alternative unless talking specifically: ballpoint pen, not Bic; photocopy
rather than Xerox; nonstick pan instead of Teflon; convenience store, not 7-Eleven

trade unions
China has many trade unions, all organized under the All-China Federation of Trade
Unions. At levels below, call them the Tianjin municipal federation of trade unions,
the Jilin provincial federation or the Chaoyang district federation of trade unions.

traditional Chinese medicine

Abbreviation TCM acceptable on second reference and in headlines

trans-
In general, no hyphen unless the adjoining word begins with a capital:
transcontinental, trans-Siberian. If unsure, consult Webster’s
troop / troops
Use the plural only with large numbers to mean individuals: The president sent 3,000
troops to Iraq. Do not say “four troops were injured”, say four soldiers.

tropical storm
Capitalize when part of the assigned name: Tropical Storm Isaac
tsar
Do not use, czar is preferred

Turkmenistan
Former Soviet state; the capital is Ashkhabad. The adjective from its people is
Turkmen: The Turkmen president issued a notice.

typhoon
Measured in kilometers per hour, km/h

T-shirt

Twitter (n), tweet (v)

two sessions
Refers to the annual gatherings of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese
People’s Political Consultative Conference. The sessions usually take place in March.
See individual entries for National People’s Congress, Chinese People’s Political
Consultative Conference
U

umlauts (German)
As China Daily does not use diacritical marks, names with umlauts need to be
amended to compensate for the affected vowel. This is done by adding an e after the
affected vowel; covert: ä to ae; ö to oe; ü to ue; äu to aeu. Note: This relates to the use
of umlauts in German names only, no other nationality.

under
Do not use to demonstrate the relationship between two government departments,
such as the Institute of Forensic Science under the Ministry of Justice. Instead, use the
possessive apostrophe or explain the relationship: The Ministry of Commerce’s
Institute of Macroeconomy; or the Institute of Macroeconomy, which is part of the
Ministry of Commerce. Alternatively, editors can replace “under” with “of”, but try to
avoid constructions that repeat “of the” more than twice.

underway

United Kingdom
The abbreviation UK (no periods) is acceptable as a noun or adjective. The UK
consists of Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland.
Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland, is independent of the UK.
Also see datelines

United States
Do not use America as a noun when referring to the US. America includes North,
Central and South America. Use the abbreviation US as a noun from second reference,
and use US as the adjective. EXCEPTION: The abbreviation US can be used in intros
as long as the United States is written out full on second reference.
See American, Western Hemisphere

Uygur names
For members of the Uygur ethnic group, use their first name on second reference.
Examples:
 Atkam Mamat, then Atkam on second reference
 Ausman Tarim, then Ausman on second reference
Members of the Uygur ethnic group do not have a family name. The first name is
their given name, while the second (and sometimes third) is the name of their father.
Also see Nur Bekri
V, W

versus
Spell out in copy and quotes. Use abbreviation vs (no period) in headlines or graphics

vice / deputy
Hyphenate vice when part of a title, but not deputy: vice-president, deputy director
Prefix vice-: chairman, dean, governor, mayor, minister, premier, president, principal
Prefix deputy: director, secretary-general, manager, general secretary

Vietnam
The adjective and language is Vietnamese. Names generally consist of three parts. On
second reference, use the last part. Example: Nguyen Van Hai on first, then Hai.

voice mail

War of Liberation (1946-49)

Can also be referred to as the civil war

War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45)

Do not say “Anti-Japanese war” or “Anti-Japan War”. When referring to the global
conflict during that time, including the European conflict, use World War II.
The war is separated in mainly two parts: 1931-37, starting when the Japanese entered
Northeast China; and 1937-45, starting when the Japanese attacked Beijing (the
Lugou / Marco Polo Bridge incident) and ending with the Japanese surrender.

Water Cube
The nickname for the National Aquatics Center in Beijing, which was used for the
Beijing 2008 Olympics. Use Water Cube on first reference as long as it is followed at
some point with a description, such as also known as the National Aquatics Center.

web, website, webcam, webcast, web page

web addresses
All lowercase and omit http://www. when used in a story: chinadaily.com.cn. Cap
first letter if it is essential to use an address at the start of a sentence.

web companies
In general, .com can be dropped from a Web company’s name in news and feature
stories: Baidu, not Baidu.com; Sina, not Sina.com. See dotcom

WeChat
The instant-messaging app or service operated by Tencent

Weibo, weibo
The Chinese word for micro blog, pronounced “weh bor”. Singular and plural. Micro
blog is preferred. See micro blog, micro-blogger, micro-blogging
USAGE: Lowercase and italicize when referring in general to a micro blog or micro
blogs. Capitalize the first letter and do not italicize when referring to a specific
Internet company’s service. Examples on next page …
Weibo, weibo (continued)
More than 300 million people update their weibo, or micro blog, on an hourly basis.
News of the changes spread quickly among weibo users.
Sally wrote about her new baby on Sina Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter.
People were alerted to the changes through a message on Sohu Weibo.
OVERSEAS EDITIONS: Do not use when referring to micro blogs in general. Use
only when referring to specific services: Sina Weibo, Sohu Weibo, etc.

well-being

western development
Refers to China’s plan to develop its western regions. The plan generally involves 12
political jurisdictions.
Northwest China: the Xinjiang Uygur and Ningxia Hui autonomous regions, and
Gansu, Qinghai and Shaanxi provinces.
Southwest China: the Tibet autonomous region, Chongqing municipality and Yunnan,
Guizhou and Sichuan provinces.
North China: the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.
South China: the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

West, Western
Capitalize when referring to Western European countries and/or the Western
Hemisphere. Western Europe refers to certain countries, but western Europe refers to
the geographical area.

Western Hemisphere
This includes North America, South America and the Caribbean and West Indies
islands. The region also can be referred to as the Americas.
North America: Canada, Mexico, United States and Greenland (a Danish territory).
South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru,
Uruguay and Venezuela.
Central America: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
and Panama.

whiskey / whisky
Whiskey with an e refers to Irish whisky, bourbon and rye, while whisky refers
specifically to the version of the drink distilled in Scotland

world championship
Capitalize when part of the proper name of an event: the 2006 World Ice Skating
Championships, the UEFA European Championship. Otherwise, lowercase:
Davidenko won a world championship in 2006. See The Sports Guide

World War I, World War II

Do not use First World War or Second World War

worldwide

World Wide Web

X, Y, Z

Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era

On second reference: new era thought, or the Thought (note capitalization).
For other terms and Party theories, see Communist Party of China

Xinhua News Agency

Use the full name on first reference and then use Xinhua. Exception: stories for web
and mobile news services.

Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region

Use full name on first reference, then use Xinjiang.
See Uygur names, A Guide to Pinyin, geography of China

Xmas
Use this abbreviation for Christmas in headlines and graphics only

year-end (adj), year-ender (n)

year-round

year-on-year
Hyphenate in all uses

yesterday
See days of the week, date of news

yin and yang

Do not italicize the name for the two forces in the universe, according to Chinese
philosophy

yrs
Use only in headlines

zodiac
Years of the zodiac should be capped and require the article. Example: He was born
in the Year of the Dragon. In headlines, the first “the” can be omitted.
LIST OF MINISTRIES & ADMINISTRATIONS

General Office of the State Council Ministry of Human Resources and

中华人民共和国国务院办公厅 Social Security 中华人民共和国人力
资源和社会保障部
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
中华人民共和国外交部 Ministry of Water Resources
中华人民共和国水利部
Ministry of National Defense
中华人民共和国国防部 Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Affairs
Ministry of Education 中华人民共和国农业农村部
中华人民共和国教育部
Ministry of Commerce
Ministry of Science and Technology 中华人民共和国商务部
中华人民共和国科学技术部
Ministry of Culture and Tourism
Ministry of Industry and Information 中华人民共和国文化和旅游部
Technology 中华人民共和国工业和
信息化部 Ministry of Veterans Affairs
中华人民共和国退役军人事务部
Ministry of Finance
中华人民共和国财政部 Ministry of Emergency Management
中华人民共和国应急管理部
Ministry of Public Security
中华人民共和国公安部 NOTE: See flip-flopped names in
capitalization CD
Ministry of State Security
中华人民共和国国家安全部 Ministry-level bodies:

Ministry of Civil Affairs National Development and Reform

中华人民共和国民政部 Commission 中华人民共和国国家发
展和改革委员会
Ministry of Justice
中华人民共和国司法部 National Health Commission 中华人
民共和国国家卫生健康委员会
Ministry of Natural Resources
中华人民共和国自然资源部 People’s Bank of China
中国人民银行
Ministry of Ecology and Environment
中华人民共和国生态环境部 National Audit Office
中华人民共和国审计署
Ministry of Transport
中华人民共和国交通运输部 General Administration of Sport
国家体育总局
Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural
Development National Bureau of Statistics
中华人民共和国住房和城乡建设部 国家统计局
National Ethnic Affairs Commission National Nuclear Safety
国家民族事务委员会 Administration 国家核安全局

State-Owned Assets Supervision and China International Development

Administration Commission Cooperation Agency
国务院国有资产监督管理委员会 国家国际发展合作署

National Radio and Television National Healthcare Security

Administration Administration 国家医疗保障局
国家广播电视总局
National Government Offices
General Administration of Customs Administration 国家机关事务管理局
中华人民共和国海关总署
Certification and Accreditation
State Taxation Administration Administration
国家税务总局 国家认证认可监督管理委员会

State Administration of Market Standardization Administration

Regulation 国家市场监督管理总局 国家标准化管理委员会

Other bodies: National Religious Affairs

Administration 国家宗教事务局
National Language Commission
国家语言文字工作委员会 Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office
of the State Council
State Administration of Foreign 国务院港澳台事务办公室
Experts Affairs 国家外国专家局
Research Office of the State Council
China National Space Administration 国务院研究室
国家航天局
Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the
Cyberspace Administration of China State Council
国家互联网信息办公室 国务院侨务办公室

China Atomic Energy Authority Taiwan Affairs Office of the State

国家原子能机构 Council
国务院台湾事务办公室
State Oceanic Administration
国家海洋局 State Council Information Office
国务院新闻办公室
Counselors Office of the State Council
国务院参事室 Xinhua News Agency 新华通讯社

National Press and Publication Chinese Academy of Sciences

Administration 国家新闻出版署 中国科学院

National Copyright Administration Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

国家版权局 中国社会科学院
Chinese Academy of Engineering National Railway Administration
中国工程院 国家铁路局
Civil Aviation Administration of China
Development Research Center of the 中国民用航空局
State Council 国务院发展研究中心
State Post Bureau
China Media Group 国家邮政局
中央广播电视总台
National Cultural Heritage
China Meteorological Administration Administration 国家文物局
中国气象局
National Administration of Traditional
China Banking and Insurance Chinese Medicine 国家中医药管理局
Regulatory Commission
中国银行保险监督管理委员会 National Coal Mine Safety
Administration 国家煤矿安全监察局
China Securities Regulatory
Commission State Administration of Foreign
中国证券监督管理委员会 Exchange 国家外汇管理局

National Academy of Governance National Medical Products

国家行政学院 Administration 国家药品监督管理局

National Public Complaints and National Intellectual Property

Proposals Administration 国家信访局 Administration 国家知识产权局

National Food and Strategic Reserves Exit and Entry Administration

Administration 中华人民共和国出入境管理局
国家粮食和物资储备局
National Park Administration
National Energy Administration 国家公园管理局
国家能源局
National Civil Service Administration
State Administration of Science, 国家公务员局
Technology and Industry for National
Defense 国家国防科技工业局 National Archives Administration
国家档案局
State Tobacco Monopoly
Administration 国家烟草专卖局 National Administration of State
Secrets Protection 国家保密局
National Immigration Administration
国家移民管理局 National Cryptography Administration
国家密码管理局
National Forestry and Grassland
Administration 国家林业和草原局
A GUIDE TO PINYIN
Pinyin is the system for writing Chinese words using the Roman alphabet. In general,
try to avoid using pinyin in stories unless it is relevant and would give the reader a
better understanding of the subject matter.

If you must use pinyin, italicize it and explain what the word means if it is not
instantly clear. Example: He plays the erhu, a two-stringed bowed musical instrument.
Also, pinyin is singular and plural: he lives in a hutong, Beijing has many hutong;
he ate one jiaozi, his friend ate five jiaozi. Compound words should be placed
together: yangrouchuan, not yang rou chuan.

Reporters should avoid using pinyin for Chinese slogans and expressions; explain
them instead. If you want to use 八荣八耻 (eight honors and eight disgraces), do not
write barong bachi; explain what it means. See Chinese characters in A to Z

In the rare event you need to use the pinyin title of a book, movie or opera, italicize
and place it in parentheses immediately after the English title: Farewell My
Concubine (Bawang Bieji). See composition titles in A to Z

DO NOT ITALICIZE:

Names, titles: Pinyin names of people and places or the titles of newspapers,
magazines, companies, universities and organizations: Xi Jinping, Guangming Daily,
Renmin University of China, Taobao. See people and places below

Ethnic groups: the Miao ethnic group, the Dong people.

Chinese opera: Peking Opera, Kunqu Opera (note caps)

Street names, addresses: Use road names as they are written in Chinese pinyin, do
not translate, do not italicize: No 1 Dongzhimenwai Dajie, No 15 Xizang Lu,
Wudaoying Hutong (Note: cap H, no italics when part of a name)
Use an anglicized street name only if that is what it is commonly known as: East
Chang’an Avenue, Financial Street. See street/road names in the A to Z

Chinese currency: renminbi, yuan, jiao, fen

Words commonly used in English: More Chinese words are entering the English
language and do not need to be italicized: kung fu, yin and yang, feng shui, tai chi
(note spacing and spellings). Check with Webster’s as a guide. English speakers also
use many food-related words not spelled strictly according to pinyin: wonton, chow
mein, dim sum and tofu.

NOTE: Some Wade-Giles spellings have been retained. Examples: Peking University,
Tsinghua University, Peking Union Medical College, Peking duck, Peking Opera, the
Treaty of Tientsin and Tsingtao Beer.
People
Do not use pinyin for well-known names such as Sun Yat-sen, Soong Ching Ling,
Chiang Kai-shek or for names of prominent Chinese in Hong Kong and Macao, or
Chinese of foreign citizenship such as Henry Fok and Yue-sai Kan.
Do use for names since the founding of the People’s Republic of China: Mao Zedong
and Zhou Enlai. The following people’s names are not spelled in pinyin:

Anna Chennault 陈香梅 Joan Hinton 寒春

Agnes Smedley 爱格尼斯·史沫特莱 Joseph Needham 李约瑟
Aisin-gioro Pu Y i 爱新觉罗·溥仪 Lee Kuan Yew 李光耀
Anna Louise Strong 安娜·路易斯·斯特 Lek Chok 列确
朗 Ma Man-kei 马万琪
An Wang 王安 Michael Shapiro 夏庇若
Biyo Kumar Basu 巴苏 Norman Bethune 白求恩
Chiang Kai-shek 蒋介石 Ong Teng Cheong 王鼎昌
Chiang Ching-kuo 蒋经国 Panchen Lama (the 10th Panchen
Chang Hsueh-liang 张学良 Erdeni Chosgyi Gyaltsen; the 11th
Chiang Wei-kuo 蒋纬国 Panchen Erdeni Chosgyi Gyalpo) 班禅
Chern Shing-shen 陈省身 喇嘛
C.N. Yang 杨振宁 Samuel Chao Chung Ting 丁肇中
C.L. Yuan 袁家骝 Songtsen Gampo 松赞干布
Chen Li-fu 陈立夫 Soong Ching Ling 宋庆龄
Dalai Lama, the 达赖喇嘛 Soong Mei-ling 宋美龄
Danile Tsui 崔琦 Steven Chu 朱棣文
Doji Cering 罗吉才让 Redi 热地
D.S. Kotnis 柯棣华 Rewi Alley 路易·艾黎
Edgar Snow 埃德加·斯诺 Tan Kah-kee 陈嘉庚
Eileen Chang 张爱玲 Tsung-dao Lee 李政道
Elizabeth Comber / Han Suyin 韩素音 T.V. Soong 宋子文
Erwin Engst 阳早 William Hinton 韩丁
George Harem (Ma Haide) 马海德 Wu Chien-shiung 吴健雄
Gyaltsen Norbu 江村罗布 Yue-sai Kan 靳羽西
Israel Epstein 爱泼斯坦 Yuan-Tseh Lee 李远哲
James Lilley 李洁明
Places
If official English designations exist for the names of places in China, use them:
Yangtze River, Yellow River, Pearl River, Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea,
South China Sea. See rivers, mountains, lakes, seas in the A to Z.
The following place names are not spelled in pinyin:

Inner Mongolia autonomous region Hulunbuir 呼伦贝尔市

内蒙古自治区 Hailaar 海拉尔区
Hohhot 呼和浩特市 Manzhouli 满洲里市
Tumd Left Banner 土默特左旗 Yakeshi 牙克石市
Togtoh county 托克托县 Zalantun 扎兰屯市
Baotou 包头市 Chen Barga Banner 陈巴尔虎旗
Tumd Right Banner 土默特右旗 Ergune Right Banner 额尔古纳右旗
Chifeng 赤峰市 Ergune Left Banner 额尔古纳左旗
Harchqin Banner 喀尔沁旗 Arun Banner 阿荣旗
Aohan Banner 敖汉旗 Xin Barga Right Banner
Ongniud Banner 翁牛特旗 新巴尔虎右旗
Baarin Right Banner 巴林右旗 Xin Barga Left Banner 新巴尔虎左旗
Baarin Left Banner 巴林左旗 Orgon Autonomous Banner 鄂伦春自
Ar Horchqin Banner 阿鲁喀尔旗 治旗
Hexigten Banner 克什克腾旗 Daur Autonomous Banner of Morin
Ulaanqab 乌兰察布市 Dawa 莫力达瓦达斡尔族自治旗
Horinger county 和林格尔县 Ewenki Autonomous Banner 鄂温克
Qahar Right Wing Rear Banner 察哈 族自治旗
尔右翼后旗 Jirem League 哲里木盟
Qahar Right Wing Middle Banner 察 Huuliin Gol 霍林郭勒
哈尔右翼中旗 Horqin Left Wing Middle Banner 科尔
Qahar Right Wing Front Banner 察哈 沁左翼中旗
尔右翼前旗 Horqin Left Wing Rear Banner 科尔沁
Siziwang Banner 四子王旗 左翼后旗
Darhan Muminggan Joint Banner 达尔 Huree Banner 库伦旗
罕茂明安联合旗 Naiman Banner 奈曼旗
Xiliin Gol League 锡林郭勒盟 Jaruug Banner 扎鲁特旗
Ereenhot 二连浩特市 Ih Juu League 伊克昭盟
Xiliinhot 锡林浩特市 Ordos 鄂尔多斯市
Duolun 多伦县 Juungar Banner 准格尔旗
Abga Banner 阿巴嘎旗 Uxin Banner 乌审旗
Xi Ujimchin Banner 西乌朱穆沁旗 Ejin Horoo Banner 伊金霍洛旗
Dong Ujimchin Banner 东乌朱穆沁旗 Otog Banner 鄂托克旗
Sonid Left Banner 苏尼特左旗 Otog Front Banner 鄂托克前旗
Sonid Right Banner 苏尼特右旗 Hanggin Banner 杭锦旗
Taibus Banner 太仆寺旗 Dalad Banner 达拉特旗
Zhengxiangbai Banner 正镶白旗 Bayannuur 巴彦淖尔市
Zhenglan Banner 正蓝旗 Hanggin Rear Banner 杭锦后旗
Xianghuang Banner 镶黄旗 Urad Middle Banner 乌拉特中旗
Urad Front Banner 乌拉特前旗 Zogang county 左贡县
Urad Rear Banner 乌拉特后旗 Lhorong county 洛隆县
Alshaa League 阿拉善盟 Dengchen county 丁青县
Alshaa Left Banner 阿拉善左旗 Joda county 江达县
Alshaa Right Banner 阿拉善右旗 Dragyab county 察雅县
Ejine Banner 额济纳旗 Markham county 芒康县
Hinggan League 兴安盟 Pashoi county 八宿县
Ulaanhot 乌兰浩特 Palbar county 边坝县
Jalaid Banner 扎莱特旗 Riwoche county 类乌齐县
Horqin Right Wing Front Banner 科尔
沁右翼前旗 Lhokha city 山南市
Horqin Right Wing Middle Banner 科 Nedong district 乃东区县
尔沁右翼中旗 Gyatsa county 加查县
Mongolian autonomous county of Chusum county 曲松县
Harqin Left Wing 辽宁省 喀喇沁左翼 Tsona county 错那县
蒙古族自治县 Chonggyai county 琼结县
Gonggar county 贡嘎县
Tibet autonomous region Sangri county 桑日县
西藏自治区 Lhunze county 隆子县
Lhasa 拉萨市 Tsomai county 措美县
Lhundrub county 林周县 Lhodrag county 洛扎县
Damshung county 当雄县 Dranang county 扎囊县
Maldrogungkar county 墨竹工卡县 Nakarze county 朗卡子县
Nyemo county 尼木县
Dagze county 达孜县 Shigatse city 日喀则市
Chushul county 曲水县 Samdrubze district 桑珠孜区
Doilungdechen district 堆龙德庆县区 Dinggye county 定结县
Lhaze county 拉孜县
Nagchu city 那曲地区 Nyalam county 聂拉木县
Nagchu county 那曲县 Shaitongmon county 谢通门县
Drachen county 巴青县 Drongba county 仲巴县
Driru county 比如县 Namling county 南木林县
Palgon county 班戈县 Sa’kya county 萨迦县
Lhari county 嘉黎县 Dingri county 定日县
Nyanrong county 聂荣县 Gyirong county 吉隆县
Sog county 索县 Ngamring county 昂仁县
Amdo county 安多县 Saga county 萨嘎县
Shanza county 申扎县 Gyalze county 江孜县
Nyima county 尼玛县 Khangmar county 康马县
Tsonyi special district Dromo county 亚东县
尼玛县双湖特别区 Gampa county 岗巴县
Rinpung county 仁布县
Chamdo city 昌都市
Panam county 白朗县
Kharub district 卡若区
Gojo county 贡觉县
Ngari prefecture 阿里地区 Yunnan province 云南省
Gar county 噶尔县 Dechen Tibet autonomous prefecture
Ge’gyai county 革吉县 迪庆藏族自治州
Zada county 札达县 Zhongdian county 中甸县
Tsochen county 措勤县 Dechen county 德钦县
Rutog county 日土县
Gerze county 改则县 Qinghai province 青海省
Burang county 普兰县 Xunhua Salar autonomous county 循
化撒拉族自治县
Nyingchi city 林芝市 Gangca county 刚察县
Dragyib district 巴宜区 Jainca county 尖扎县
Manling county 米林县 Zekog county 泽库县
Metog county 墨托脱县 Maqen county 玛沁县
Zayul county 察隅县 Gade county 甘德县
Nang county 朗县 Jigzhi county 久治县
Kongpo’gyada county 工布江达县 Baima county 班玛县
Bomi county 波密县 Darlag county 达日县
Madoi county 玛多县
Gansu province 甘肃省 Chindu county 称多县
Aksay Kazak autonomous county 酒泉 Nangqen county 囊谦县
地区阿克塞哈萨克族自治县 Zadoi county 杂多县
Gannan Tibet autonomous prefecture Zhidoi county 治多县
甘南藏族自治州 Qumarleb county 曲麻莱县
Zhugqu county 舟曲县 Golmud 格尔木市
Maqu county 玛曲县 Delingha 德令哈市
Jone county 卓尼县 Ulan county 乌兰县
Tewo county 迭部县 Dulan county 都兰县
Luqu county 碌曲县
Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region
Sichuan province 四川省 新疆维吾尔自治区
Aba Tibetan autonomous prefecture Urumqi 乌鲁木齐市
阿坝藏族自治州 Karamay 克拉玛依市
Barkam county 马尔康 Turpan 吐鲁番市
Hongyuan county 红原县 Toksun county 托克逊县
Aba county 阿坝县 Hotan 和田市
Zoige county 若儿盖县 Qira county 策勒县
Zamtang county 壤塘县 Lop county 洛浦县
Garze county 甘孜县 Moyu county 墨玉县
Dege county 德格县 Hami prefecture 哈密地区
Sertar county 色达县 Barkol Kazak autonomous county 巴
Danba county 丹巴县 里坤哈萨克自治县
Dawu county 道孚县 Yiwu county 伊吾县
Hotan prefecture 和田地区 Other locations not in pinyin:
Qira county 策勒县 Tibet autonomous region
Lop county 洛普县 Potala Palace 布达拉宫
Tashilhunpo Monastery 扎什伦布寺
Aksu 阿克苏市 Jokhang Temple 大昭寺
Bortala Mongolian autonomous Gonggar Airport 贡嘎机场
prefecture 博尔塔拉蒙古自治州 Yarlung Zangbo River 雅鲁藏布江
Bole 博乐市 Nam Co (Lake) 纳木措
Awat county 阿瓦提县 Siling Co 色林措
Kuku county 库库县 Barkhor Bazaar 八廓街
Wushi county 乌什县 Norbulingka 罗布林卡
Kashgar 喀什市 Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon 雅鲁
Bachu county 巴楚县 藏布大峡谷
Makit county 麦盖提县 Himalaya Mountains (Qomolangma)
Yarkant county 莎车县 喜马拉雅山脉（珠穆朗玛峰）
Shufu county 疏附县 Gangdise Mountains 冈第斯山脉
Tashikurgan Tajik autonomous county Tangula Mountains 唐古拉山脉
塔什库尔干塔吉克自治县 Nyainqentanglha 念青唐古拉山脉
Hoh Xil 可可西里
Kezilesu Kirgiz autonomous prefecture
克孜勒苏柯尔克孜自治州 Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region
Artux 阿图什市 Kunlun Mountains 昆仑山脉
Bayingolin Mongol autonomous Tianshan Mountains 天山山脉
prefecture 巴音郭楞蒙古自治州 Karakorum Moutnains 喀拉昆仑山脉
Korla 库尔勒市 Altay Mountains 阿勒泰山脉
Yanqi Hui autonomous county 焉耆回 Tarim Basin 塔里木盆地
族自治县 Taklimakan Desert 塔克拉马干沙漠
Jimsar county 吉木萨尔县 Junggar Basin 准噶尔盆地
Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture 伊犁 Turpan Basin 土鲁番盆地
哈萨克自治州 Bosten (Bagrax) Lake 博斯腾湖
Kuitun 奎屯市
Nilka county 尼勒克县 Inner Mongolia autonomous region
Tekes county 特克斯县 Ordos Plateau 鄂尔多斯高原
Qapqal Xibe autonomous county 察布 Gobi Desert 戈壁沙漠
查尔锡伯自治县 Hulun Nur Lake 呼伦湖

Tacheng prefecture 塔城市 Heilongjiang province

Emin county 额敏县 Greater Hinggan Mountains 大兴安岭
Wusu county 乌苏县 Lesser Hinggan Mountains 小兴安岭
Hoboksar Mongolian autonomous
county 和布克赛尔蒙古自治县 Qinghai province
Altay 阿勒泰市 Qaidam Basin 柴达木盆地
Jeminay county 吉木乃县 Qinghai Lake 青海湖
Burqin county 布尔津县 Ta’er Monastery 塔尔寺
THE SPORTS GUIDE
While collective nouns are usually singular, sporting teams are often the exception.
Use singular or plural verbs and pronouns depending on the team name. Examples:
the LA Lakers have not won in six games; Liverpool is five points clear; the
Baltimore Ravens were missing three key players; New Zealand is to play Australia.

Otherwise, team, side, pair, duo and other collective nouns take singular verbs and
pronouns: The team is ready for Monday’s match; the pair skates well together.

North American sports teams require an article: the Boston Red Sox, the Dolphins,
and the New York Yankees, the Cavaliers. European soccer teams do not: Manchester
United, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and AC Milan. Use common sense.
Stadiums do not require an article unless part of the proper name: Arsenal plays at
Emirates Stadium; West Brom plays at The Hawthorns.

Championship: Capitalize only when part of a proper name: the 2006 World Ice
Skating Championships; but Nadal won the championship in 2014. World
championships can often be abbreviated to the Worlds on second reference.

Leagues: The acronyms NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB and CBA are all acceptable on first
reference. Write out the names for other leagues on first reference: the English
Premier League, the Chinese Super League

Scores: Present in numerals and hyphenate: Arsenal won 3-2; Australia beat New
Zealand 36-12. See tennis

Seasons: Always write as 2014-15

Titles: Do not capitalize titles with sporting associations, clubs or teams even when
used before a name: NFL commissioner Hugh Jass; Chelsea manager Antonio Conte,
Chinese FA chairman Li Hao.

General terms and spellings:

all-rounder pit stop
archrival, archenemy postseason
ball boy, ball girl powerplay
counterattack poweplay goal
first half (n), first-half (v, adj) preseason
drug test record holder, world record holder
face off (v), faceoff (n, adj) performance-enhancing drugs, PEDs
halftime ping-pong, table tennis is preferred
knockout quarterfinal
giant killer, giant-killing runner-up, runners-up
goal line semifinal
lineup teammate
medalist titleholder
midseason two-time champion (not two-times)
offseason (not close season) wildcard
Sports categories (in alphabetic order):

Athletics, running, swimming: Use the abbreviations hr, min, sec for hours, minutes,
seconds on first reference: 2 hr 1 min 37 sec. Use summary thereafter: 1:48:16.20
(hr:min:sec.hundredths). Example: He finished in 4 min 12 sec, but his previous best
was 3:58. Also, use 1 sec, not 01 sec, but .01 sec is OK.

For event names, abbreviate meters to m in the names of sporting events, no space
after the number: 110m hurdles, 100m butterfly, 2km walk. The m can be dropped
once context has been established: He will swim the 100 and 200 freestyle. (Note: the
10,000m is a running event, the 10k is a walking event.) Capitalize marathon when
part of a proper name: the New York Marathon

No space when talking about specific distances. Examples: She threw the shot put
20.37m; a 70m throw; he cleared 7m; he weights 78kg.

NCAA is acceptable on first reference for National Collegiate Athletics Association.

Basketball: Capitalize NBA Playoffs, NBA Finals, and All-Star, but in general it is
the playoffs, a playoff game, and the finals. Capitalize and use numerals for playoff
games: Game 1. For all player stats, consult NBA.com
3-pointer, 3s Yao Ming
three-point play Yi Jianlian
first quarter (n), first-quarter (adj) Menk Bateer
tipoff (n), tip off (v) free throw, free-throw line

Cricket: Write scores in numerals; use “for” on first reference and hyphenate
thereafter. Example: South Africa ended the first day on 160 for 4; and the team was
120-2 before lunch. Capitalize Test on all references: He was bowled out for 55 on
day three of the first Test against India.
Some general terms: all-rounder; LBW (acceptable on first reference for leg before
wicket); leg-spinner, off-spinner, Lord’s, the Oval

Football: Use numerals for yardages: the 5-yard line; a 7-yard gain. For the names of
super bowls, use Roman numerals: Super Bowl XLII.
end zone offense
end line play off (v), playoff (n, adj)
defense running back
handoff tight end
kick off (v) kickoff (n, adj) touchdown
line backer quarterback

Golf: For scores, use numerals: 4-over 72, par-5, Hole 9, but the ninth hole.

Olympic Games: Use singular verbs and pronouns: The Olympic Games is held
every four years, the Olympics was a huge success. Use the Games on second
reference. Note: capitalize Games on second reference when also referring to the
Asian Games, but not the China National Games or any similarly named event.
Soccer: Do not use football unless in a direct quote from an English speaker or as part
of a proper name: the Chinese Football Association, Footballer of the Year. In general,
use soccer player, not footballer.
Capitalize the World Cup, the European Championship (the Euros is OK on second
reference), English Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1, but
lowercase the Spanish league, the Brazilian league, etc.

Goalkeeper, goalie (use keeper only in hat-trick

a direct quote, no apostrophe) offside
center-back onside
center-forward pitch, not field
first half, but a first-half goal playoff
freekick set piece
fullback shootout
kickoff spotkick
hand ball

Top European soccer teams, nicknames (no italics) and stadium:

England
Arsenal the Gunners Emirates Stadium
Chelsea the Blues Stamford Bridge
Manchester United United, the Red Devils Old Trafford
Manchester City City, the Sky Blues Etihad Stadium
Liverpool the Reds Anfield
Tottenham Hotspurs Spurs White Hart Lane
West Ham United the Hammers London Stadium
Aston Villa the Villans (note spelling) Villa Park
Southampton the Saints St. Mary’s Stadium
Swansea City the Swans Liberty Stadium
Everton the Toffees Goodison Park
Middlesbrough the Boro Riverside Stadium
Newcastle United the Magpies St. James’ Park (note apostrophe)
Sunderland the Black Cats Stadium of Light
Leicester the Foxes King Power Stadium
Crystal Palace Palace, the Eagles Selhurst Park
West Bromwich Albion West Brom, the Baggies the Hawthorns
Watford the Hornets Vicarage Road
Bournemouth the Cherries Vitality Stadium
Stoke City the Potters Britannia Stadium

Spain
Real Madrid the Blancos Santiago Bernabeu (or Bernabeu)
Barcelona Barca Camp Nou
Athletico Madrid the Rojiblancos Vicente Calderon Stadium
Valencia the Taronges Mestalla Stadium
Sevilla the Rojiblancos Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium
Celta Vigo the Celticos Balaidos
Italy
AC Milan Milan, the Rossoneri San Siro
Inter Milan Inter, the Nerrazuri San Siro
Juventus the Old Lady of Turin Juventus Stadium
Roma the Giallorossi Stadio Olimpico
Napoli the Ciucciarelli Stadio San Paolo
Lazio the Biancocelesti Stadio Olimpico
Fiorentina the Viola Stadio Artemio Franchi

Germany
Bayern Munich Bayern Allianz Arena
Borussia Dortmund Dortmund Westfalenstadion /
Signal Iduna Park
Wolfsburg the Wolves Volkswagen Arena
Schalke the Royal Blues Veltins-Arena
Bayer Leverkusen Leverkusen BayArena

France
Paris Saint-Germain PSG Parc des Princes
Olympic Lyonnais Lyon Stade de Gerland
St. Etienne the Greens Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
AS Monaco the Red and Whites Stade Louis II
Nantes the Canaries Beaujoire Stade
Bordeaux the Girondins Nouveau Stade
Olympique Marseille Marseille Stade Velodrome

Tennis: ATP and WTA acceptable on first reference. Also, capitalize tour when used
as a proper name: ATP Tour, WTA Tour.
Write scores in numerals, hyphenate, separate sets with commas (for tiebreakers,
place the loser’s score in parentheses): Nadal won 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 6-2
Capitalize Grand Slam when referring to a major tournament, but not the act of
winning all four majors in a single year: the US Open is a Grand Slam tournament;
she won the grand slam in 2006.
Misc: Wimbledon is played at the All-England Club (note hyphen); tiebreaker,
tiebreak; clay court, hard court and grass court are two words, but hyphenate as an
adjective: a clay-court match.