The Mandarin term "pinyin" expresses the phonetic transcription of Chinese characters, commonly used for writing in Roman letters. For English speakers studying the Chinese language, alternative synonyms such as "spell-out" or "romanization" can be used to describe pinyin. For those focused on the phonetics of Mandarin, "tonal spelling" or "phonetic notation" more accurately depict the use of pinyin in representing the four distinct tones of the language. Additionally, the term "phonemic transcription" denotes the use of pinyin to depict the distinct phonemes of Mandarin. Overall, each synonym offers a slightly different insight into the use of pinyin, which may be useful in different educational or professional contexts.