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v. t. e. Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. In official documents, it is referred to as the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet. [1] [2] It is the official system used in China, Singapore, Taiwan, and by the United Nations.
- 1950s
- Alphabet, romanization
- Contents
- From Zhuyin to Pinyin: A Brief History Lesson
- What Is Pinyin?
- Pinyin Initials
- Pinyin Finals
- The Pinyin Tones
- Pinyin Tone Pairs
- Targeted Pinyin Drills
- Why Learn Pinyin?
- Resources to Practice Pinyin
Before Hanyu pinyin was in place, Chinese was romanized using the Wade-Giles system,composed of modified Latin letters. Chinese speakers themselves used a system known as Zhuyin (colloquially “bopomofo”). Zhuyin was replaced in 1958 by the romanized system we know as “Hanyu pinyin.” Believe it or not, pinyin wasn’t invented for people learning Chin...
The Oxford Dictionary defines pinyin as “the standard system of romanized spelling for transliterating Chinese.” Basically, pinyin uses the Latin alphabet (the same one we use in English) to write Chinese words so you can learn their phonetics without needing to learn their characters, called 汉字 (hàn zì). Pinyin is how Chinese words are pronounced,...
First up, we’ll cover initials, which are essentially the consonants of pinyin. They’re called initials because they typically come first in a Chinese syllable. Note that although there are more “letters” in pinyin than there are in the English alphabet—23 initials and 38 finals—they’re straightforward and never deviate much in pronunciation. As yo...
Next up is the pinyin vowels, or finals, which make up the end part of a Chinese syllable. Tone marks can only be placed over vowels, so you’ll always find the tone of a word over the final. Note that the ü sound also applies when it’s preceded by certain initials, even though the pinyin syllable is written as u. Use the üsound with the following c...
The next step to learning pinyin is becoming familiar with the Chinese tones. There are four tones, plus a “neutral tone.” Although the tones are most commonly referred to as either first, second, third or fourth, they can also be described by the sound they make. But first, what exactly isa “tone”? Just like in English, you can say Chinese words i...
Tone pairs are exactly what they sound like—words that consist of two tones.These can be the same tone or different. Let’s take a look at all of the Mandarin tone pairs out there (which really aren’t that many!).
You may discover some pesky pronunciation issues that refuse to resolve themselves as you learn. It’s helpful to zero in on these with pinyin drills. Here are some pinyin drills for common issues.
If your goal is to learn how to speak Chinese fluently, you need to learn pinyin. Here are seven reasons why: 1. To look up words.You’ll need to know Hanyu pinyin to search the dictionary for Chinese words you hear. 2. For easier digital input.Even younger Chinese people use pinyin to type characters because it’s the fastest method. 3. To build you...
Pinyin Charts
A good pinyin chart or Hanyu pinyin table will help you listen to and review the proper sounds. I recommend this interactive pinyin chart.It includes every possible sound in Chinese. Click on any of the syllables to hear it pronounced in all four tones. Pinyin charts will help you differentiate between the different pinyin sounds. Repeat each sound out loud and you’ll be that much closer to perfecting your Chinese pronunciation.
Pinyin Apps
Remember how I said that learning pinyin will help you look up words in Chinese? Now you just need to get a reliable pinyin dictionary appto find out the meaning of those new words you hear. Additionally, you can find various pinyin trainer appswith quizzes to help you improve your listening comprehension. And if you don’t know the word, you can look it up in your new handy dictionary app!
Pinyin Input and Keyboards
To type or text in Chinese, you’ll need to havethe correct way to input the language.That’s where Chinese keyboards come in handy. While you won’t learn new words from looking at the keys, you’ll need to know proper pinyin in order to type words. Writing anything at all in Chinese is then a great way to practice pinyin.
Dec 10, 2023 · Chinese Pinyin, the official romanization system for Standard Chinese in mainland China, is the most commonly used phonetic system for writing Mandarin using the Latin alphabet. Chinese is tough, but learning pinyin early in one's Chinese studies dramatically accelerates the speed at which a typical student acquires the language.
May 11, 2024 · Pinyin serves as the fundamental bridge for learners diving into the vast ocean of Mandarin Chinese. It is essentially a romanization system designed to represent the sounds of Chinese characters through the familiar framework of the Roman alphabet.
Feb 5, 2024 · If you’re starting to learn Chinese, Chinese Pinyin is a crucial stepping stone to diving into one of the world’s most spoken languages. Pinyin (拼音 pīn yīn) simply means “spell sound”. It is a Romanization system used to represent the sounds of Mandarin Chinese.
Apr 3, 2018 · 拼音 (pīn yīn) is a tool, not a language. Pinyin is a tool for writing Chinese in the Latin alphabet (the alphabet used by English and most European languages). Let’s take my adoptive city of 上海 (shàng hǎi) – Shanghai as an example. In Chinese characters, Shanghai is written 上海. The pinyin – shàng hǎi – tells you how to pronounce those characters.
Apr 22, 2016 · Pinyin 拼音 (pīn yīn), is the romanized translation of Chinese characters. Pinyin was introduced after a language reform during the 1950s, instigated by Zhou Enlai 周恩来 (zhōu ēn lái). He believed that a phonetic system was necessary in order for people to learn how to pronounce Chinese characters.
