boy’s name
Eli in Chinese
伊莱
yī lái · traditional 伊萊
Eli is usually written 伊莱 in Chinese, pronounced yī lái. It is a transliteration: the characters are chosen to sound like Eli, not for their meaning.
Character by character
| Character | Pinyin | Tone | Meaning | Traditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 伊 | yī | first (high, level) tone | third person pronoun; he, she, this, that | 伊 |
| 莱 | lái | second (rising) tone | goosefoot, weed; fallow field | 萊 |
Readings and meanings come from the Unicode Han Database (Unihan). In a transliterated name, the meanings of the characters are not read as a sentence.
Questions about Eli in Chinese
How do you write Eli in Chinese?
Eli is usually written 伊莱 in Chinese, pronounced yī lái. It is a transliteration: the characters are chosen to sound like Eli, not for their meaning.
How do you pronounce 伊莱?
伊莱 is pronounced yī lái: yī in the first (high, level) tone and lái in the second (rising) tone.
How do you write Eli in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, it is written 伊萊.
Is 伊莱 a real Chinese name?
It is the usual way Chinese newspapers and books write the foreign name Eli, so Chinese readers will recognise it as a foreign name. If you would like a name that looks Chinese, our free generator also suggests names chosen for their meaning.
How do Chinese transliterations work? Read how we choose your Chinese name.