One concept per page, defined in plain English
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Chinese video glossary: pinyin, tones, HSK and the words that come up
Short definitions for the terms that appear whenever Chinese video meets subtitles: pinyin, tone marks, HSK levels, hanzi, and the difference between a transcript and a subtitle file.
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你吃饭了吗？
Have you eaten?
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The four terms that cause the most confusion are pinyin (the romanisation), tone marks (part of the word, not decoration), HSK (a proficiency scale, not a format), and hanzi (the characters themselves). Everything else in this glossary follows from those.
EXPLORE THE CATEGORY
Choose the workflow that matches your video.
What each term does NOT mean, which is usually the confusion
Links to the practical pages where you actually use it
HOW IT WORKS
Start with these
- 01
If you only need the sounds, read pinyin and the four tones.
- 02
If you are judging whether a video is suitable for your level, read HSK.
- 03
If you are choosing an export format, read the subtitle-format entries.
Why a glossary and not a dictionary
A dictionary tells you what a Chinese word means. A glossary tells you what a Chinese-studies term means — pinyin, tone, HSK, hanzi. Those are different questions, and the second one is what people ask before they can even use a dictionary.
Every entry here is written to remove one specific confusion, usually the one that makes a beginner buy the wrong thing or subtitle the wrong way.
RELATED TOOLS
Explore related pages.
QUESTIONS
Glossary questions
Is pinyin a language?
No. Pinyin is a romanisation system for Mandarin — a way of writing the sounds with Latin letters. The language is Mandarin Chinese; pinyin is how you spell it.
Do I need HSK to use the tool?
No. HSK is only a level label. The tool will transcribe a video whatever level it is; HSK is useful when you want to find material at your level.
Are these entries the same as the dictionary?
No. Dictionary entries cover single words with definitions; glossary entries cover study and tooling terms. The dictionary has 16,000+ entries; the glossary has a handful of concepts.