Xin

Xin is a transliteration used in pinyin for several Chinese characters and appears in various languages and names. In English, it is most often seen as a proper noun or as part of longer terms rather than as a stand-alone word.

In Chinese, xin corresponds to several characters, including 新 (new), 心 (heart), 信 (trust or letter), and 辛 (bitter). The pronunciation in pinyin is the same for these characters (xīn, xīn, xìn, xīn) but the meanings and tones differ. Because the pinyin spelling xin carries no tone marks in plain form, context is required to determine which character is intended.

Historically, the Xin Dynasty (9–23 CE) was established by Wang Mang and used the character 新 meaning “new.” In modern geography, Xinjiang, literally “new frontier” (新疆), is a large autonomous region in northwest China; the shorthand “Xin” appears in some contexts as a prefix or abbreviation related to Xinjiang.

In other languages, Vietnamese xin is a polite word meaning “please” or used to request something, as in xin lỗi or xin chào. As a name component, Xin occurs as a given name or surname in East Asian communities, with the specific character determining its meaning.

Notable uses include the Xin Dynasty and Xinjiang; for other meanings, see Xin (disambiguation).