pinyin

[ pin-yin ]
/ ˈpɪnˈyɪn /

noun (sometimes initial capital letter)

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.
Compare Wade-Giles system.

Origin of pinyin

< Chinese pīnyīn literally, phonetic spelling ( pīn arrange, classify + yīn sound, pronunciation)

Words nearby pinyin

pinx., pinxit, pinxter, pinxter flower, piny, pinyin, pinyon, pinyon jay, pinza, pinzón, pio

British Dictionary definitions for pinyin

Pinyin
/ (ˈpɪnˈjɪn) /

noun

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