What is pinyin?
Pinyin (Hanyu Pinyin, 汉语拼音) is the standard system for writing the sounds of Mandarin Chinese with the Latin alphabet. It shows how a character is pronounced, including its tone, but it is not a translation and not a replacement for characters.
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Pinyin in one minute
The name means "spelling sounds": hàn yǔ pīn yīn. Each Chinese syllable is written with an initial (a consonant, which can be missing), a final (a vowel or vowel group) and a tone. For example mā is 妈 (mother) and ma is 吗 (a question particle). Same letters, different tone, different word.
Pinyin was developed in the 1950s in the People's Republic of China and has been the standard teaching system for Mandarin ever since. It is also the basis of how most people type Chinese on phones and computers.
What pinyin is used for
- Learning pronunciation. Characters do not show how they sound; pinyin does.
- Typing Chinese. You type pinyin and pick characters from a list.
- Dictionaries and textbooks. Entries are usually sorted and annotated with pinyin.
- Names and places in Latin letters, such as běi jīng for 北京 (Beijing), though conventions differ between countries and documents.
The three parts of a syllable
| Part | What it is | Example in zhōng |
|---|---|---|
| Initial | Opening consonant (may be empty) | zh |
| Final | Vowel or vowel group, sometimes with n or ng | ong |
| Tone | One of four tones, or neutral | first tone, ¯ |
There are four tones plus a neutral tone, shown with marks over the vowel or with numbers 1 to 5 after the syllable. See pinyin tones explained and the pinyin chart for detail.
Pinyin is not Chinese in English letters
A few common misunderstandings:
- Pinyin is not a language. It is a way of writing the sounds of Mandarin.
- Some letters do not sound as in English.
q,xandzhare good examples; they need to be learned. - Pinyin does not tell you which characters a word uses; many different characters share the same pinyin.
How to use pinyin in practice
- To see pinyin for Chinese text, use the Chinese to pinyin converter.
- To turn pinyin into characters, use the pinyin to Chinese converter.
- To read Chinese pages with pinyin above the characters, use the browser extension: add pinyin to web pages.
Try it on your own text
Paste Chinese into the converter, or add the extension to see pinyin above characters on any page.
Frequently asked questions
What does pinyin mean?
Literally "spell sound": a system for writing how Chinese sounds, using Latin letters.
Is pinyin the same as Chinese?
No. Chinese is written with characters. Pinyin is a pronunciation guide for them.
What is the difference between pinyin and Hanyu Pinyin?
They are the same in everyday use. "Hanyu Pinyin" is the full name of the standard system.
Do I need to learn pinyin to learn Chinese?
Most courses start with it, because it is the quickest way to learn pronunciation and to type.
How many tones are there in pinyin?
Four tones and a neutral tone.
Is zhuyin the same as pinyin?
No. Zhuyin (bopomofo) is a different notation, used mainly in Taiwan. This tool outputs pinyin only.
Try it on your own text
Paste Chinese into the converter, or add the extension to see pinyin above characters on any page.