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拼音 (pīn yīn) — to write or spell (a Chinese character or word) in pinyin

Definition

As a verb, 拼音 means 'to write out in pinyin' (spell a character or word in romanization). Use it for the act of romanizing Chinese, not for the romanization system itself.

verb
to write or spell (a Chinese character or word) in pinyin

Examples

  • 拼音。
    Qǐng nǐ bǎ zhè pīn yīn yí xià.
    Please spell this in pinyin.
  • 拼音？
    Nǐ néng pīn yīn yí xià nǐ de míng zì ma?
    Can you write your name in pinyin?
  • 拼音。
    Wǒ pīn yīn de shí hou cháng cháng chū cuò.
    I often make mistakes when writing pinyin.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

拼pīncombine
音yīnsound

The 拼 combining of 音 sounds forms the romanization system.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
并
并bìng拼
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 拼, the left part 扌 shows a hand, and the right part 并 gives the sound.

Open 拼 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

音 adds a short stroke that seals the mouth-like part, showing a covered or muffled sound rather than speech.

Open 音 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.