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  • pinyin
    pinyin
    noun
    a system for transliterating Chinese into the Latin alphabet: introduced in 1958 and adopted as the official system of romanization by the People's Republic of China in 1979.
  • Pinyin
    Pinyin
    noun
    a system of romanized spelling developed in China in 1958: used to transliterate Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet

pinyin

American  
[pin-yin] / ˈpɪnˈjɪn /

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter)
  1. a system for transliterating Chinese into the Latin alphabet: introduced in 1958 and adopted as the official system of romanization by the People's Republic of China in 1979.


Pinyin British  
/ ˈpɪnˈjɪn /

noun

  1. a system of romanized spelling developed in China in 1958: used to transliterate Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of pinyin

First recorded in 1960–65; Chinese (Mandarin) pīnyīn literally “phonetic spelling,” equivalent to pīn “arrange, classify” + yīn “sound, pronunciation”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Half of the participants learned Mini Pinyin in the morning and then returned in the evening to have their memory tested.

From Science Daily • Dec. 5, 2024

But he said the attacks had connections to China including cryptography relying on Pinyin phonetic versions of Chinese language characters, as well as techniques that echoed previous attacks by the Chinese government.

From Reuters • Oct. 19, 2021

A linguist considered the father of modern China’s Pinyin Romanization system.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 28, 2017

Mr. Zhou’s writing system, formally known as Hanyu Pinyin — or “putting sounds together,” as its name is sometimes translated — had a transformative effect on Chinese society.

From Washington Post • Jan. 16, 2017

Until the advent of Pinyin, the most prevalent system was Wade-Giles, the work of two British diplomats in the late 19th century.

From New York Times • Jan. 14, 2017

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