A Quick Guide on Pronouncing Chinese Names
How to pronounce Chinese names like 'Qu', 'Xu', 'Zhu'?
What you are seeing is pinyin (拼音), literally meaning 'spell out the sound', or the ‘combined sounds’. It's a system for romanizing Chinese ideograms, widely used in mainland China and Singapore for Mandarin, A.K.A. Putonghua, or the “common tongue”. Why call it, ‘common’? Because in China, that qualifies as politically correct and yes, PC is a thing in China too.
Taiwan has a different system called Zhuyin (注音) which can be considered the father of Pinyin. However, nowadays Pinyin is gaining more popularity and has begun replacing Zhuyin in Taiwan. It is important to note that there are many “Chinese-speaking countries” that don’t use mandarin in the same way that China does. Both Hong Kong and Macau are Cantonese (a different form of Chinese) speaking regions so their languages are quite distant from those of Mandarin.
Can you tell me how to read Pinyin?
Absolutely! You can learn Pinyin in just 5 minutes. If you’re interested in pronouncing Chinese words with extreme precision, check out this 5-minute Youtube video.
Please note that the Pinyin notation is not entirely designed with English speakers in mind. The best way of learning Mandarin sounds is through lots and lots of practice.
How many tones does Chinese (Mandarin) have?
If you’ve seen the video, you will see tone marks. There are 4 basic tones depending on how you count them or 5 tones including the neutral tone. The way that tones are written is as small symbols called diacritics (-, /, v, \) above the first vowel (in most cases). These symbols create a visual representation of the changing pitch in your voice as you say the word, remaining the same, going up, dipping, and going down. Since it's not easy to type tones with an English keyboard some people type tones as a number after the vowel instead of above it. For example, bei3 jing1 rather than Bĕijīng, as bei has the 3rd tone, ‘v’, and jing has the first tone, ‘-’.
What else should I be aware of?
In Chinese people write their last names before their first names. However, the order might be switched especially in English-speaking countries. For instance, a Chinese person’s name might be Wang Daren, Wang being his family’s name. Since the first name comes first in standard English, so the order of his full name will be Daren Wang in America. To avoid confusion, it's not a bad idea to ask your Chinese friend which is which.
Unlike western families, a huge number of unrelated Chinese families share the same family names and because of this, Chinese family names have lost their function in distinguishing families.
Can I get a Chinese name?
You bet! You can request a Chinese naming service on our website. Our teachers will handpick the names that suit you best.
We have also written a complete guide for you to create an authentic Chinese name that stands out from the crowd. In only 6 simple steps, you will be able to give yourself a great Chinese name that sticks.
Last but Not Least: A Cheat Sheet to Pronouncing Chinese Names
The following is a cheat sheet that gives you an approximation to pronouncing Chinese.
Q = ch as in cheese
Zh = j as in job Ch = ch as in chocolate
X = sh and in sheep
Z = dz, as if you were to say “friendz”
C = ts as in Tsar, and make sure you breathe out a lot of air! Like a snake hissing.
R = like the j in French “bonjour” (good morning)
Xuan = Shwen
Juan = jwen
Xie = She-yeah
Qiang = Chee-yong
Jiang = gee-yong
Zhang = John + ng
Zhou = Joe as in Joe Louis
Zhao = J + ow as in wow
Xi = she
Xia = She – ya
Jia = j + ya
Heng = hung
Cong = tsong
Zi = Tsar plus the “i” in sit
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