boy’s name
John in Chinese
约翰
yuē hàn · traditional 約翰
John is usually written 约翰 in Chinese, pronounced yuē hàn. It is a transliteration: the characters are chosen to sound like John, not for their meaning.
Character by character
| Character | Pinyin | Tone | Meaning | Traditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 约 | yuē | first (high, level) tone | treaty, agreement, covenant | 約 |
| 翰 | hàn | fourth (falling) tone | writing brush, pen, pencil | 翰 |
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 John in Chinese
How do you write John in Chinese?
John is usually written 约翰 in Chinese, pronounced yuē hàn. It is a transliteration: the characters are chosen to sound like John, not for their meaning.
How do you pronounce 约翰?
约翰 is pronounced yuē hàn: yuē in the first (high, level) tone and hàn in the fourth (falling) tone.
How do you write John in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, it is written 約翰.
Is 约翰 a real Chinese name?
It is the usual way Chinese newspapers and books write the foreign name John, 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.