Chin

See also: Appendix:Variations of "chin"

English

Etymology 1

Proper noun

Chin

1. A hamlet in Alberta, Canada.

Etymology 2

See China.

Proper noun

Chin

1. (obsolete) Alternative form of China.

   Coordinate term: Machin

Further reading

• Henry Yule; A[rthur] C[oke] Burnell (1903), “Macheen, Mahacheen”, in William Crooke, editor, Hobson-Jobson […] , London: John Murray, […], page 530.

Etymology 3

As a Chinese surname, a variant romanization of various Chinese characters, e.g. Hakka 陳／陈 (Chhṳ̀n), Taishanese 陳 / 陈 (cin³), Cantonese 錢／钱 (cin4), Mandarin 金 (Chin¹), and Mandarin 秦 (Chʻin²).

Pronunciation

• enPR: chĭn (from Mandarin pronunciation of 秦 (Qín))

Proper noun

Chin

1. A surname from Chinese.
   • 2026 May 31, Elaine Hou, Evelyn Kao, “KMT head to discuss cross-strait stability in Washington”, in Focus Taiwan‎^[1], sourced from Washington/Taipei, May 31 (CNA), archived from the original on 01 June 2026, Politics‎^[2]:

     Cheng [translating 鄭 / 郑 (Zhèng)] is expected to arrive in the U.S. capital on the evening of June 9 and remain there through June 12, according to the KMT's representative to the U.S., Victor Chin (秦日新).
     During her stay in Washington, Cheng will meet members of Congress from both the Republican and Democratic parties and participate in closed-door discussions at three major think tanks, including the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Chin told CNA.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Chin is the 1279^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 27487 individuals. Chin is most common among Asian/Pacific Islander (76.08%).

Etymology 4

The atonal Wade–Giles romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 晉 / 晋 (Jìn).

Proper noun

Chin

1. (obsolete) Alternative form of Jin: an ancient Chinese state and various medieval Chinese dynasties.
   • 1929, Witter Bynner, transl., The Jade Mountain‎^[3], Alfred A. Knopf, published 1967, →OCLC, page xxxvi:

     The most amazing poems in human history are the Huêi-wên-tʻü or the revolving chart, by Lady Su Huêi, of the Chin Dynasty (265-419), and the Chʻien-tzŭ-wên, or thousand-character literature, by Chou Hsing-ssŭ, (fifth century a.d.)

   • 1964, Lai Ming, A History of Chinese Literature‎^[4], New York: John Day Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 3:

     The second significant feature in the development of Chinese literature is the immense influence of Buddhist literature on the development of every sphere of Chinese literature since the East Chin Period (A.D. 317).

   • 1979, Bradley Smith, Wan-go Weng, China: A History in Art‎^[5], Doubleday & Co., →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, pages 100–101:

     Wang Tao, the head of a great northern family, emigrated to the south and there became the chief architect of the Eastern Chin dynasty, a regime noted for excellent calligraphy.

   • 1985, Classical Chinese Tales of the Supernatural and the Fantastic: Selections from the Third to the Tenth Century‎^[6], Hong Kong: Joint Publishing, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 135:

     In the fourth year of the reign of the Emperor Hsiao Wu [r. 372-396] of the Chin Dynasty [265-420], Hsüeh Tao-hsün of An-lu County in the Chiang-hsia Commandery [in Hupeh Province] was twenty-two.

   • 2018 April 9, Ko Tsung-ming [柯宗明], quotee, “INTERVIEW: Author demystifies ‘Chen Cheng-po Code’”, in Jake Chung, Jonathan Chin, transl., Taipei Times‎^[7], sourced from Liberty Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 08 April 2018, Taiwan News, page 3‎^[8]:

     When Wang, along with the then-Chin Dynasty [晉朝, during the Western Chin period, 265-317], settled in [China’s] Jiangnan region (江南), he told his children that Jiangnan was their home, that they were not refugees, but had rather relocated to the region.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Chin.

Etymology 5

The irregular romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 秦 (Qín).

Proper noun

Chin

1. Alternative form of Qin: an ancient Chinese state.
   • 1943, Kwok Ying Fung, “Out of Yesterday”, in China‎^[9], New York: Henry Holt and Company, →OCLC, page 14:

     The youth of China, deeply concerned with the future of their country, began to question everything and re-evaluate everything. What had been considered valuable became worthless, and what had been regarded as worthless became priceless. The more they examined, the more doubtful they became. This inquisitive approach shook the ancient political system, which had been handed down with little modification from the Chin Dynasty more than twenty centuries before. The new generation cried, "Democracy."

   • 1999 December 26, Rick Chu, “Soong [translating 宋 (Sòng)] has no historical responsibility”, in Taipei Times‎^[10], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 April 2025, Editorial & Opinion, page 36‎^[11]:

     Compared to the Korean excesses, the Chinese (on both sides of the Taiwan Strait) more often follow the "middle way" (中庸之道). The Chinese are more concerned about whether they will leave a bad name for posterity (like Chin Shih Huang [秦始皇] of the Chin dynasty and Chin Kuai [秦檜] of the Sung dynasty.) That is one reason why no military coup has occurred in Taiwan over the past 50 years.

   • 2004, Gerard Chaliand, translated by A.M. Berrett, Nomadic Empires: From Mongolia to the Danube‎^[12], Transaction Publishers, translation of original in French, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 21:

     As early as the time of the "Warring Kingdoms" (fourth century B.C.), if not before, the chronicles mention nomad invasions. Under the Chin dynasty (Qin, 221-207 B.C.), a system of walls was erected in the north.

   • n.d., “Great Wall of China”, in Steven A Martin‎^[13], archived from the original on 05 December 2022‎^[14]:

     A great unification of the Wall took place under Emperor Qin Shi Huanghi, the legendary ruthless ruler who founded the Chin Dynasty (221-206 BC) and hence gave his name to China. He also left behind his personal terracotta army of Xian, the larger-than-life clay soldiers built supposedly to guard him in the afterlife. […]
     I have stood at sections where the base was built during Chin Dynasty, the middle during Han, the upper during Ming, the watchtowers Qing (AD 1644-1911) while the surface was only one week old.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Chin.

Etymology 6

From Burmese ချင်း (hkyang:).

Noun

Chin pl (plural only)

1. A tribe in Myanmar.
   • 2021 December, Samson Alexander Lotven, “THE SOUND SYSTEMS OF ZOPHEI DIALECTS AND OTHER MARAIC LANGUAGES”, in Indiana University‎^[15], archived from the original on 7 March 2025, page 7:

     Oral tradition and archaeological evidence suggest the Chin were the earliest Tibeto-Burman group to come to the Chindwin Valley, a settlement process starting as early as the 4^th century.

Proper noun

Chin

1. A state of Myanmar.
2. Synonym of Zo (“a language of Myanmar”).

Translations

Translations

• Burmese: ချင်းလူမျိုး (hkyang:lu-myui:), ချင်း (my) (hkyang:)
• Karen:

  Pa'o Karen: ချင်ꩻ (blk)

• Mon: ဂကူချေင်, ^{(please verify)} ချေင် (hkyeng)
• Shan: ၶျၢင်း (shn) (khjáang)

Derived terms

• Kuki-Chin

Anagrams

• HNIC, NCHI, Inch, inch, ichn-

Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French Chine.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃin/

Proper noun

Chin

1. China (a country in Asia)

Related terms

• chinwa
• Endochin

Indonesian

Alternative forms

• Tjhin

Etymology

From Hakka 陳／陈 (chén).

Proper noun

Chin

1. a surname from Hakka

Japanese

Romanization

Chin

1. Rōmaji transcription of ちん

Malay

Etymology

Borrowed from Chinese 陳／陈 (chén).

Proper noun

Chin

1. a surname from Chinese

   Datuk Chin Phui Kong, b. 1923

Descendants

• Translingual: chini