Etymology

pinyin

P3I1N1Y4I1N1

Today it means: A phonetic script or romanization system for various languages spoken in the People's Republic of China, e.g. Tibetan Full definition →

First used 20th c.
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The story

20th c., from Mandarin Chinese 拼音 (pīnyīn, literally “spelled sounds”).

First known use, by meaning

  • from 20th c. A system of romanization for Standard Mandarin, used in the People’s Republic of China, and more recently in other Mandarin Chinese-speaking areas as well.
  • from 20th c. A phonetic script or romanization system for various languages spoken in the People's Republic of China, e.g. Tibetan

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.