Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Jump To:
  • 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.

The other half learned Mini Pinyin in the evening and then slept in the laboratory overnight while their brain activity was recorded.

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

“Perhaps it was due to my time overseas, but I always envisaged Pinyin being useful to foreigners, too,” he told China Daily in 2009.

From Washington Post • Jan. 16, 2017

Zhou Youguang created the Pinyin system of Romanized Chinese, which vastly increased literacy in China and eased the agonies of foreigners studying the language.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 14, 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

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "pinyin" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com