How to Pronounce Chinese Names: A Pinyin Guide

Pinyin, the official romanization of Mandarin, uses the Latin alphabet, but several letters don't sound the way English readers expect. Once you know a handful of rules, most Chinese names become easy to say.

This guide covers the consonants and vowels that cause trouble, the four tones, how tones change when syllables meet, how to read older spellings such as Hsu and Tsai, and a practice routine for learning a specific name.

The letters that trip people up

• x sounds like "sh" said with a smile: 习 Xí is "shee".
• q sounds like "ch" in "cheap": 钱 Qián is roughly "chyen".
• j sounds like "j" in "jeep": 江 Jiāng is "jyahng".
• zh sounds like "j" in "jam", with the tongue curled back: 张 Zhāng is "jahng".
• ch sounds like "ch" in "church", tongue curled: 陈 Chén is "chun".
• sh sounds like "sh" in "shirt", tongue curled: 沈 Shěn is "shun".
• z sounds like "ds" in "kids": 曾 Zēng is "dzung".
• c sounds like "ts" in "cats": 曹 Cáo is "tsow", and 崔 Cuī is "tsway".
• r is between the English r and the "s" in "pleasure": 任 Rén.

Two pairs are worth practicing side by side, because English speakers tend to merge them:

• x / sh: 徐 Xú and 舒 Shū. For x, the tongue tip rests behind the lower teeth and the lips spread; for sh, the tongue curls up and back.
• q / ch: 秦 Qín and 陈 Chén. The same difference: flat tongue and a smile for q, curled tongue for ch.

Vowels to watch

• e on its own is like "uh": 何 Hé is "huh".
• ian sounds like "yen": 钱 Qián.
• ui sounds like "way": 崔 Cuī.
• iu sounds like "yo": 刘 Liú is "lyo".
• ou sounds like "oh": 周 Zhōu is "joe".
• ong sounds like "oong", with rounded lips: 宋 Sòng is closer to "soong" than "song".
• eng sounds like "ung" in "lung": 冯 Féng.
• ü (written u after j, q, x and y) is like the German ü: 徐 Xú, 吕 Lǚ.
• i after z, c, s, zh, ch, sh and r is a buzzing sound, not "ee": 子 zǐ, 石 Shí.

The four tones

Mandarin uses pitch to tell words apart. Pinyin marks it over the vowel:

1. ā high and level
2. á rising, like a question
3. ǎ dipping down, then up
4. à falling, like a firm "No!"

Tones matter in names too: 王 Wáng (king) and 汪 Wāng are different surnames.

There is also a neutral tone, short and light, with no mark. It rarely appears in formal names, but it's common in nicknames and everyday words: the 子 in 名字 míngzi is neutral.

When tones change

Tones shift when certain syllables meet. The rule that matters most for names is the third-tone rule: when two third tones come together, the first is said as a second tone.

• 李雨 is written Lǐ Yǔ but said "Lí Yǔ".
• 马晓 is written Mǎ Xiǎo but said "Má Xiǎo".

Pinyin keeps the original marks, so you won't see the change written down. A third tone before any other tone is usually said low and short, without the rise back up: in 李明 (Lǐ Míng), 李 just dips.

Common surnames, said aloud

Rough English approximations for more surnames that often get mispronounced:

• 黄 Huáng: "hwahng", not "hu-ang"
• 郭 Guō: "gwo"
• 谢 Xiè: "shyeh"
• 邓 Dèng: "dung"
• 许 Xǔ: "shyü", the same family of sounds as 徐 Xú
• 朱 Zhū: "joo"
• 胡 Hú: "hoo"
• 蔡 Cài: "tsai"
• 曹 Cáo: "tsow"
• 翟 Zhái: "jai", one of several surnames read differently from the everyday character

Note that 曾 is read zēng as a surname, not céng, and 任 is rén, not rèn. Our Chinese last names page has audio for all 100 common surnames.

Famous names, said right

A few well-known names show the rules in action:

• 姚明 Yáo Míng: "yow ming", both rising tones.
• 章子怡 Zhāng Zǐyí: "jahng dz-yee"; the i in zǐ is the buzzing sound, not "ee".
• 刘慈欣 Liú Cíxīn: "lyo tsuh-shin"; c is "ts" and x is the smiling "sh".
• 巩俐 Gǒng Lì: "goong lee".

Names spelled another way

Not every Chinese name is spelled in pinyin. Hong Kong and older Taiwanese spellings follow different systems: Chan and Chen can be the same surname, 陈. When you meet a name in an older spelling, these patterns help:

• Hsu, Hsieh (Wade-Giles) are pinyin Xu, Xie: hs = x.
• Chiang, Chou are pinyin Jiang, Zhou: an unaspirated ch is j or zh.
• Ch'en, Ch'ien (with an apostrophe) are pinyin Chen, Qian.
• Tsai, Tsao are pinyin Cai, Cao: ts = c.
• Cheung, Chan, Wong are Hong Kong spellings of Zhang, Chen, Huang and are pronounced as the person says them, in Cantonese or English.

When a person spells their name in a non-pinyin system, follow their pronunciation rather than converting it to Mandarin. Read more about spellings in Chinese name order.

Order and spacing

The family name comes first: in 王安然 (Wáng Ānrán), Wang is the surname. A two-character given name is written as one word in pinyin: Anran, not An Ran. When the second syllable starts with a vowel, an apostrophe marks the break: 西安 is Xī'ān, and a given name like 思安 is Sī'ān.

How to learn a specific name

1. Find the characters and pinyin with tone marks. Without tones, you're guessing.
2. Say the surname alone until it feels natural, then the given name, then the whole name.
3. Listen and repeat. Play the audio on our name pages several times, then say it along with the recording.
4. Record yourself on your phone and compare.
5. Ask the person. Saying "Did I say your name right?" is always welcome.

Getting it wrong is fine

When in doubt, ask the person how they say their name. People are usually glad you asked, and a sincere attempt with the right consonants and roughly the right tones is far better than an English-style guess.

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