Chinese exonyms

When a foreign place name, or toponym, occurs in Chinese text, the problem arises of spelling it in Chinese characters, given the limited phonetics and restrictive phonology of Mandarin Chinese, and the possible meaning of those characters when treated as Chinese words. For example:

  • "London Heathrow Airport" is usually rendered in Chinese text as 倫敦希斯路機場 (Lúndūn Xīsīlù Jīchǎng), with the English pronunciation of 'London' being fairly accurate, and of 'Heathrow' being less accurate: in Chinese literally this means "kinship, honest" (for London), "hope/rare, given/this, road" (for Heathrow), "aircraft, field", with the last syllable of "Heathrow" rendered as "lu" although the more accurate "lo" and "lou" are known Chinese words. However, the Cantonese pronunciation of 希斯路 (Hei1si1lou6) is much closer to "Heathrow".

Names of foreign nations are sometimes shortened to their first character when used in compounds. For example, the name for Russia in Chinese is 俄罗斯 (Éluósī), but the name of the Russian language is 俄语 (Éyǔ), anything Russian-style is 俄式 (Éshì), and the Russian military is 俄军 (Éjūn).

For toponyms in Korea, Japan, or Vietnam, the Chinese exonym is often the Chinese pronunciation of the Korean hanja, Japanese kanji, or ancient Vietnamese Chữ Nôm writing of the toponym. In some cases, especially in Japan, the Chinese pronunciation may be completely unlike the native-language pronunciation.

Countries had been founded or had gained independence after 1949 (the year Kuomingtang had exiled to Taiwan after losing to the Communist Party) often have different exonyms used in mainland China (PRC) and Taiwan due to differences in official standards resulting from the split in government. This is especially apparent in the names of African nations, many of which have gained independence during the 1960s or later.

Sometimes, if the country's endonym is not internationally well-known, Chinese will transcribe the English name into Chinese characters.

Cities[1]

English nameChinese namePinyinPhonetic transcription?Orthographic transcription?MeaningCountryNotes
Bangkok 曼谷 Màngǔ Yes No N/A Thailand Phonetic transcription from Thai to Teochew dialect of Hokkien Chinese, where 曼谷 is pronounced as "bhuêng2 gog4"
Buffalo 水牛城 Shuǐniúchéng No No Water Buffalo City United States Literal translation of the word "buffalo"
Chiang Mai 清迈 Qīngmài Yes No Clear Stride Thailand Phonetic transcription from Thai to Teochew dialect of Hokkien Chinese, where 清迈 is pronounced as "cêng1 mai6"
Delhi 德里 Délĭ Yes No N/A India
Edinburgh 爱丁堡 Aìdīngbǎo Yes No N/A United Kingdom
Fort-de-France 法兰西堡 Fǎlánxībǎo Yes No N/A France Names of cities beginning with the title "fort", or the equivalent of it in other Indo-European languages, tend to end with its Chinese equivalent 堡 (bǎo) (meaning "fort") in the Chinese exonym.
Fort Collins 柯林斯堡 Kēlínsībǎo Yes No N/A United States
Frankfurt 法兰克福 Fǎlánkèfú Yes No N/A Germany
Hanoi 河内 Hénèi Yes Yes Within the River Vietnam
Hiroshima (広島)廣島GuǎngdǎoNoYesBroad IslandJapanOrthographic transcription from Japanese kanji characters
Ho Chi Minh City 胡志明市 Hú Zhìmíng Shì Yes Yes Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Orthographic transcription from ancient Vietnamese Chữ Nôm characters, which was 城庯胡志明 (Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh)
Honolulu 檀香山 Tánxiāngshān No No Fragrant Sandalwood Mountain United States Renamed by Chinese immigrants
Jerusalem 耶路撒冷 Yēlùsālěng Yes No N/A Israel
Kyoto 京都 Jīngdū No Yes Capital Japan Orthographic transcription from Japanese kanji characters
Lisbon 里斯本 Lǐsīběn Yes No N/A Portugal See notes below.
Lisbon 葡京 Pújīng No No N/A Portugal The Chinese term is a hybrid of transcription and transliteration, with the first character 葡 (pú) being the first character of the Chinese name of Portugal 葡萄牙 (Pútáoyá), and the second character 京 (jīng) being the capital of the nation. 里斯本 (Lǐsīběn), the complete transcription of the word, is more common, though some place names use the former Chinese name, like the Grand Lisboa 新葡京 (Xīn Pújīng), a casino in Macau.
Liverpool利物浦LìwùpǔYesNoN/AUnited Kingdom
Los Angeles洛杉矶LuòshānjīYesNoN/AUnited StatesMimics the pronunciation of Los Angeles: Lo 洛 Luò s An 杉 shān ge 磯 jī les (left untransliterated)
Mecca 麦加 Màijiā Yes No N/A Saudi Arabia
Moscow 莫斯科 Mòsīkē Yes No N/A Russia
Nagasaki 長崎 Chángqí No Yes Long, Small Peninsula Japan Orthographic transcription from Japanese kanji characters
Narita 成田 Chéngtián No Yes Developed Field Japan Orthographic transcription from Japanese kanji characters
Okinawa (沖縄) 沖繩 Chóngshéng No Yes Cord of the Open Sea Japan Orthographic transcription from Japanese kanji characters
Osaka (大阪)大坂DàbǎnNoYesBig HillsideJapanOrthographic transcription from Japanese kanji characters
Oxford牛津NiújīnNoNoWhere the Oxen FordUnited Kingdom
Phoenix鳳凰城FènghuángchéngNoNoFenghuang CityUnited Statesthe fenghuang is analogous to the Greek phoenix, but only superficially
Saint-Lô 聖洛 Shèngluò Yes No N/A France City names that begin with the title "Saint", or its equivalent cognate in Italic languages, tend to be transcribed as 聖/圣 (shèng) in Chinese, which has both a similar pronunciation and identical meaning to the title.
St. Louis 聖路易斯 Shènglùyìsī Yes No N/A United States
San Diego 聖地亞哥 Shèngdìyàgē Yes No N/A United States
San Francisco旧金山JiùjīnshānNoNoOld Gold MountainUnited Statesrenamed by Chinese immigrants during the California Gold Rush
Santa Fe 聖塔菲 Shèngtǎfēi Yes No N/A United States
São Paulo聖保羅ShèngbǎoluóYesNoN/ABrazil
Sapporo 札幌 Zháhuăng No Yes Placard Canopy Japan Orthographic transcription from Japanese kanji characters
Seoul首爾Shǒu'ěrYesNoN/AKoreaSeoul (Korean 서울) had no official hanja until 2005, until which 漢城 (Chinese Hànchéng, Korean Hanseong) was widely used. Hanseong was its name during the Joseon era until 1907, although Seoul has been in use since c.1882. 漢城 is still used, both in Chinese, as a transcription for Seoul, and Korean, as an unofficial transcription and as a separate toponym.
Seoul漢城HànchéngNoYesHan River City/Large CityKoreaSee above
Tokyo東京DōngjīngNoYesEast(ern) CapitalJapanformerly known as Edo (江戸), or Jiānghù (江户) in Chinese, until Japan's capital moved from Kyoto to Tokyo in the Meiji era.
Toronto多伦多DuōlúnduōYesNoN/ACanada
Vancouver温哥华WēngēhuáYesNoN/ACanada
Washington, D.C. 华盛顿（特区） Huáshèngdùn(tèqū) Yes (first 3 characters) No Washington (Special District) United States refers specifically to Washington, D.C., as opposed to the State of Washington

Nations and regions

English name Endonym in country's official language (Romanization)ChinesePinyinTranscription?MeaningNotes
Afghanistan Afġānistān 阿富汗 Āfùhàn Yes N/A 阿 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Afghanistan"/"Afghan".
Africa 非洲 Fēizhōu Yes N/A 非 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Africa"/"African".
Albania Shqipëria 阿尔巴尼亚 Ā'ěrbāníyà Yes N/A
Algeria al-Ĝazā'ir 阿尔及利亚 Ā'ěrjílìyà Yes N/A
Andorra Andorra 安道尔 Āndào'ěr Yes N/A
Angola Angola 安哥拉 Ān'gēlā Yes N/A
Antarctica 南极洲 Nánjízhōu No south pole continent
Antigua and Barbuda 安提瓜和巴布达 Āntíguā hé Bābùdá Yes N/A
Argentina Argentina 阿根廷 Āgēntǐng Yes N/A
Armenia Hayastan 亚美尼亚 Yàměiníyà Yes N/A
Asia 亚洲 Yàzhōu Yes N/A 亚 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Asia"/"Asian".
Australia 澳大利亚 Àodàlìyà Yes N/A 澳 or 澳大 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Australia"/"Australian".
Austria Österreich 奧地利 Àodìlì Yes N/A
Azerbaijan Azərbaycan 阿塞拜疆 (PRC)/

亚塞拜然 (Taiwan)

 Āsàibàijiāng/

Yàsàibàirán

 Yes N/A
Bahamas 巴哈马 Bāhāmă Yes N/A
Bahrain Bahrain 巴林 Bālín Yes N/A
Bangladesh Bangladesh 孟加拉国 Mèngjiālāguó Yes N/A
Barbados 巴巴多斯 Bābāduōsī Yes N/A
Belarus Belarus 白俄罗斯 Bái'éluósī Yes White Russia 白俄 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Belarus"/"Belarusian". The exonym is rather accurate to the endonym, as Belarus is the Belarusian word for "White Russia".
Belgium Belgique/België 比利时 Bǐlìshí Yes N/A 比 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Belgium"/"Belgian".
Belize 伯利兹 (PRC)/贝利斯(Taiwan) Bólìzī (PRC)/Bèilǐsī (Taiwan) Yes N/A
Benin Bénin 贝宁 Bèiníng Yes N/A
Bhutan Drug Yul 不丹 Bùdān Yes N/A
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosna i Hercegovina 波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那 (PRC) / 波士尼亚-赫塞哥维纳 (Taiwan) Bōsīníyà hé Hēisègēwéinà (PRC) / Bōshìníyǎ-Hèsègēwéinà (Taiwan) Yes N/A 波黑 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Bosnia"/"Bosnian".
Botswana Botswana 博茨瓦纳 (PRC) / 波札那 (Taiwan) Bócíwǎnà (PRC) / Bōzhánà (Taiwan) Yes N/A
Brazil Brazil 巴西 Bāxī Yes N/A
Brunei Brunei 文莱 (PRC) / 汶莱 (Taiwan) Wénlái (PRC) / Wènlái (Taiwan) Yes N/A
Bulgaria Bǎlgariya 保加利亚 Bǎojiālìyà Yes N/A 保 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Bulgaria"/"Bulgarian".
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso 布基纳法索 (PRC) / 布吉纳法索 (Taiwan) Bùjīnàfǎsuǒ (PRC) / Bùjínàfǎsuǒ (Taiwan) Yes N/A
Burma/Myanmar Myanmar 缅甸 Miǎndiàn Yes N/A 缅 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Myanmar"/"Burmese".
Burundi Uburundi 布隆迪 (PRC) / 蒲隆地 (Taiwan) Bùlóngdí (PRC) / Púlóngdì (Taiwan) Yes N/A
California 加州 Jiāzhōu Yes N/A contraction from 加利福尼亞州,

Cantonese: Gaa3lei6fuk1nei4aa3,

Mandarin Chinese Pinyin: Jiālìfúníyǎ zhōu

Cambodia Kâmpŭchéa 柬埔寨 Jiǎnpǔzhài Yes N/A 柬 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Cambodia"/"Cambodian".
Cameroon Cameroun 喀麦隆 Kāmàilóng Yes N/A
Catalonia Catalunya 加泰罗尼亚 Jiātàiluōníyǎ Yes N/A
Canada 加拿大JiānádàYesN/A加 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Canada"/"Canadian".
Cape Verde Cabo Verde 佛得角 (PRC) / 维德角 (Taiwan) Fódéjiǎo (PRC) / Wéidéjiǎo (Taiwan) Yes The last character 角 means "cape" or "horn", while the first two characters in both words are transcriptions.
Central African Republic République centrafricaine 中非共和国 Zhōngfēi Gònghéguó No Central African Republic
Chad Tshād or Tchad 乍得 (PRC) / 查德 (Taiwan) Zhàdé (PRC) / Chádé (Taiwan) Yes N/A
Chile Chile 智利 Zhìlì Yes N/A
Colombia Colombia 哥伦比亚 Gēlúnbǐyà Yes N/A
Comoros Qamar or Komori or Comores 科摩罗 (PRC) / 葛摩 (Taiwan) Kēmóluó / Gěmó Yes N/A
Congo, Democratic Republic of the République démocratique du Congo 刚果民主共和国 Gāngguó Mínzhǔ Gònghéguó Yes N/A
Congo, Republic of the République du Congo 刚果共和国 Gāngguó Gònghéguó Yes N/A
Croatia Hrvatska 克罗地亚 (PRC) / 克罗埃西亚 (Taiwan) Kèluódìyà / Kèluóāixīyà Yes N/A
Cuba Cuba 古巴 Gǔbā Yes N/A
England 英伦/

英格兰/

英吉利

 Yīnglún/

Yīnggélán/

Yīngjílì

 Yes N/A See "United Kingdom" below
Europe 欧洲 Ōuzhōu Yes N/A 欧 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Europe"/"European".
Florida 佛州 Fózhōu Yes N/A contraction from 佛罗里达州

Mandarin Pinyin: Fóluólĭdá Zhōu

France France法国FǎguóYesN/A法 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "France"/"French".
Germany Deutschland德国DéguóYesN/A德 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Germany"/"German".
Iceland Ísland冰島BīngdǎoNoIce island
India Bhārat Gaṇarājya 印度 Yìndù Yes N/A 印 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "India"/"Indian" or Native American as in "American Indian".
Indonesia Indonesia 印度尼西亚 Yìndùníxīyà Yes N/A
Ireland 爱尔兰 Ài'ěrlán Yes N/A 爱 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Ireland"/"Irish".
Italy Italia意大利YìdàlìYesN/A意 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Italy"/"Italian".
Japan Nippon or Nihon日本RìběnYes (orthographically)sun originCopied the Japanese kanji characters 日本 (Nippon) into Chinese, but 日本 is pronounced "rì běn" in standard Mandarin Chinese. 日 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Japan"/"Japanese".
Korea, North Chosŏn 朝鮮 Cháoxiǎn Yes morning calm
Korea, South Hanguk 韓國 Hánguó Yes Han nation/ Han kingdom 韩 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "(South) Korea"/"(South) Korean".
Nepal Nepāl尼泊尔Níbó'ěrYesN/A尼 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Nepal(ese)".
Northern Ireland 北爱尔兰/北爱 Běi'ài'ěrlán/

Běi'ài

 Yes north Ireland See "Ireland" above
Malaysia Malaysia 马来西亚 Mǎláixīyà Yes N/A
Mongolia Mongol Uls 蒙古 Ménggǔ Yes N/A 蒙 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean “Inner Mongolia”, an autonomous region in China, the sovereign nation of "(Outer) Mongolia", or "Mongolian".
Oceania 大洋洲 Dàyángzhōu No Ocean continent
Philippines Pilipinas 菲律宾 Fěilǜbīn Yes N/A 菲 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Philippines"/"Philippine"/"Filipino".
Portugal Portugal 葡萄牙 Pútáoyá Yes N/A 葡 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Portugal"/"Portuguese".
Russia Rossija 俄罗斯 Éluósī Yes N/A 俄 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Russia"/"Russian".
Scotland 苏格兰 Sūgélán Yes N/A
Singapore 新加坡 Xīnjiāpō Yes N/A
Southeast Asia 南洋（Taiwan）/东南亚（PRC）Nányáng/DōngnányàNoSouthern ocean/South East Asia
South Africa 南非 Nánfēi Yes south Africa
Spain España西班牙XībānyáYesN/A 西 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Spain"/"Spanish".
Sweden Sverige 瑞典 Ruìdiǎn Yes N/A
Thailand Prathet Thai 泰国 Táiguó Yes N/A 泰 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Thai"/"Thailand".
United Kingdom 英国YīngguóYesN/A英 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Britain"/"British"/"England"/"English".
United States 美国MěiguóYesN/A美 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "America(n)".
Vietnam Việt Nam越南YuènánYes (orthographically)Yue, southCopied the ancient Vietnamese Chữ Nôm characters 越南 (Việt Nam) into Chinese, but 越南 is pronounced "yuè nán" in standard Mandarin Chinese.
Wales 威尔士 Wèiěrshí Yes N/A

Historical exoynms

Native nameChinesePinyinNotes
AdenUtan
AlexandriaAlisan
Aorsi/Alans奄蔡/阿蘭聊Yǎncài/Ālánliáo
Bactria大夏Dàxià
Byzantine Empire佛菻FúlǐnFriedrich Hirth surmised that Fulin may have been based on the accusative form of Constantinopolis in Greek, -polin in Constantinopolin, the Eastern Roman' Empire's capital city Constantinople.[2] Using historical phonetic pronunciations of Cantonese and Japanese, Hirth also speculated that Fulin in Middle Chinese was pronounced Butlim or Butlam and came from the Syriac pronunciation for Bethlehem.[3] While some scholars of the 20th century believed that Fulin was a transliteration of Ephrem, an ancient word for Israel, Samuel N. C. Lieu highlights how more recent scholarship has deduced that Fulin is most likely derived from the Persianate word for the Roman Empire shared by several contemporaneous Iranian languages (Middle Persian: hrwm; Parthian: frwm; Sogdian: ßr'wm-; Bactrian: фромо).[4]
DamascusHsientu
Dead SeaJoshui
Egypt海西Haixi"West of the Sea"
Emesa汜復SifuAccording to Hirth and Arkenberg
Europe泰西Tàixīliterally "Far West"
Ferghana大宛DàyuānReconstructed from Middle Chinese pronunciation
HiraHolat
India天竺TiānzhúOriginally pronounced as Hin-duk 天竺 in Old Chinese, it comes from the Chinese transliteration of the Persian Hindu, which is itself derived from the Sanskrit Sindhu, the native name of the Indus River. Persians travelling in northwest India named the region after the river around the 6th century BC.[5]Tianzhu is just one of several Chinese transliterations of Sindhu. Shēndú (身毒 OC n̥i[ŋ][d]ˤuk) appears in Sima Qian's Shiji and Tiandu (天篤) is used in the Hou Hanshu (Book of the Later Han).[6] Yintejia (印特伽) comes from the Kuchean Indaka, another transliteration of Hindu.[5]
Japan倭WōPronounced Wa in Japanese; possibly a graphic pejorative
Al KarakYuluo
Khotan于闐/于窴/於闐Yútián
Kushan貴霜Guìshuāng
NikephoriumLufen
PalmyraCh'ieh-lan
Parthia安息Ānxī
Petra汜復SifuAccording to John E. Hill, "an arm of a river which rejoins the main stream" or more aptly "rejoined water courses."[7] He believes this is directly related to the reservoir and cistern flood-control system harnessing the many streams running through the settlement and nearby canyons, or wadis, such as the Wadi Musa ("Valley of Moses").[7]
Roman Empire大秦Dàqínliterally "Great Qin"
Seleucid Empire條支Tiáozhī
SyriaLikan
Siam 暹罗 Xiānluó
Sogdia康居Kāngjū
WarkaAr-ku

References

  1. ↑ "Error - blumine.net". blumine.net. Retrieved 2017-01-10.
  2. ↑ Lieu, Samuel N.C. (2013). "The 'Romanitas' of the Xi'an Inscription," p. 227, in Li Tang and Deitmer W. Winkler (eds), From the Oxus to the Chinese Shores: Studies on East Syriac Christianity in China and Central Asia. Zürich & Berlin: Lit Verlag. ISBN 978-3-643-90329-7.
  3. ↑ Hirth, Friedrich (1939) [1885]. China and the Roman Orient: Researches Into Their Ancient and Mediaeval Relations as Represented in Old Chinese Records (reprint ed.). Leipzig, Munich, Shanghai, & Hong Kong: Georg Hirth; Kelly & Walsh. pp. 286–290.
  4. ↑ Lieu (2013), pp 127-128.
  5. 1 2 Cheung, Martha Pui Yiu (2014) [2006]. "Zan Ning (919–1001 CE), To Translate Means to Exchange". An Anthology of Chinese Discourse on Translation: From Earliest Times to the Buddhist Project. Routledge. p. 181. ISBN 978-1-317-63928-2.
  6. ↑ Yu, Taishan (November 2013). "China and the Ancient Mediterranean World: A Survey of Ancient Chinese Sources". Sino-Platonic Papers (242): 73.
  7. 1 2 Yu, Huan (September 2004). John E. Hill, ed. "The Peoples of the West from the Weilue 魏略 by Yu Huan 魚豢: A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265, Quoted in zhuan 30 of the Sanguozhi, Published in 429 CE [Section 11 – Da Qin (Roman territory/Rome)]". Depts.washington.edu. Translated by John E. Hill. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
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