---
title: "WXF Notation Letters: K, A, E, H, R, C, P · Xiangqi Master"
description: "K general, A advisor, E elephant, H horse, R chariot, C cannon, P soldier — the seven piece letters in WXF xiangqi notation."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/what-do-the-letters-in-wxf-notation-mean
updated: 2026-09-22
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# What do the letters in WXF notation stand for?

These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws and is regression-tested against the official 110-diagram repetition casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it against the engine before publishing.

> Direct answer
>
> Seven letters: **K** general (king), **A** advisor, **E** elephant, **H** horse, **R** chariot (rook), **C** cannon, **P** soldier (pawn). They map one-to-one onto the seven Chinese piece characters, and the rest of the notation is identical in structure to the Chinese system.

## Why R and P rather than C and S

The letters borrow from English descriptive chess notation, where R is rook and P is pawn — which frees C for the cannon, the piece chess does not have. It is a compromise that keeps every letter distinct, at the cost of the chariot and soldier being named after their chess analogues.

## The full grammar

`H8+7` — horse on file 8 advances to file 7. `R1=4` — chariot on file 1 traverses to file 4. `P7+1` — soldier on file 7 advances one point. `+C=5` — the front of two cannons on the same file traverses to file 5.

## Related questions

Is K used even though there is no king?

Yes, for the general. It is a borrowing from chess notation rather than a translation.

Are these letters used in China?

Chinese sources use the characters. WXF letters are the international convention.

## Related xiangqi resources

Reading notation

炮二平五 and C2=5 — the same move, two ways

Xiangqi glossary

Every term, with the Chinese and the WXF spelling

Chess in Chinese

The words for the game and every piece

## Try it on a real board

Reading an answer is one thing; playing it is another. Free, instant, and nothing to install.