Meanings
pinyin1
- uncountableAlternative letter-case form of Pinyin.
- uncountableAlternative letter-case form of Pinyin.
For quotations using this term, see Citations:pinyin.
Pinyin2
alternative pinyin · alternative Pin-yin · alternative p'in-yin
- 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.First known use 20th c.
Synonyms: Hanyu Pinyin
alternative pinyin · alternative Pin-yin · alternative p'in-yin
- A phonetic script or romanization system for various languages spoken in the People's Republic of China, e.g. TibetanFirst known use 20th c.
For quotations using this term, see Citations:Pinyin.
Pinyin3
- A Grassfields Bantu language of Cameroon.
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounA 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.
More synonyms by meaning
nounThe official phonetic system for transcribing the Mandarin pronunciations of Chinese characters into the Latin alphabet.
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
20th c., from Mandarin Chinese 拼音 (pīnyīn, literally “spelled sounds”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic بِينْيِن, بِينْيِن
- بِينْيِن (bīnyin)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
- بِينْيِن (pīnyin)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
Bulgarian пини́н
- пини́н (pinín)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
Chinese Cantonese 拼音, 漢語拼音 /汉语拼音
- 拼音 (ping³ jam¹)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
- 漢語拼音 /汉语拼音 (hon³ jyu⁵ ping³ jam¹)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
Chinese Mandarin 拼音, 漢語拼音 /汉语拼音
- 拼音 (pīnyīn)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
- 漢語拼音 /汉语拼音 (hànyǔ pīnyīn)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
Czech pinyin, pchin-jin
- pinyinromanization of Mandarin Chinese
- pchin-jinromanization of Mandarin Chinese
Esperanto pinjino
- pinjinoromanization of Mandarin Chinese
Finnish pinyin
- pinyinromanization of Mandarin Chinese
French pinyin
- pinyinromanization of Mandarin Chinese
German Pinyin
- Pinyinromanization of Mandarin Chinese
Greek πινγίν
- πινγίν (pingín)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
Hebrew פין־יין
- פין־יין (pin-yin)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
Hindi पिन्यिन
- पिन्यिन (pinyin)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
Hungarian pinjin
- pinjinromanization of Mandarin Chinese
Japanese ピンイン, 拼音
- ピンイン (pin'in)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
- 拼音 (pin'in)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
- ピン音 (pin'in)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
- 併音 (pin'in)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
Korean 병음, 한어 병음
- 병음 (byeong'eum)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
- 한어 병음 (haneo byeong'eum)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
Latvian piņjiņs
- piņjiņsromanization of Mandarin Chinese
Persian پینیین
- پینیین (pin-yin)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
Polish pinyin
- pinyinromanization of Mandarin Chinese
Portuguese pinyin, piniim
- pinyinromanization of Mandarin Chinese
- piniimromanization of Mandarin Chinese
Romanian pinyin
- pinyinromanization of Mandarin Chinese
Russian пиньи́нь, ханью́й пиньи́нь
- пиньи́нь (pinʹínʹ)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
- ханью́й пиньи́нь (xanʹjúj pinʹínʹ)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
Spanish pinyin
- pinyinromanization of Mandarin Chinese
Tamil பின்யின்
- பின்யின் (piṉyiṉ)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
Thai พินอิน
- พินอิน (pin-in)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
Ukrainian піньї́нь
- піньї́нь (pinʹjínʹ)romanization of Mandarin Chinese
Vietnamese bính âm
- bính âmromanization of Mandarin Chinese
Cite this entry
pinyin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pinyin
“pinyin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pinyin. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pinyin,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pinyin.
Source: pinyin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.