Dictionary

pinyin

noun, pin·yin often capitalized \ˈpin-ˈyin\

Definition of PINYIN

:  a system for romanizing Chinese ideograms in which tones are indicated by diacritics and unaspirated consonants are transcribed as voiced — compare wade-giles
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Origin of PINYIN

Chinese (Beijing) pīnyīn to spell phonetically, from pīn to arrange + yīn sound, pronunciation
First Known Use: 1963

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