girl’s name
Kelly in Chinese
凯莉
kǎi lì · traditional 凱莉
Kelly is usually written 凯莉 in Chinese, pronounced kǎi lì. It is a transliteration: the characters are chosen to sound like Kelly, not for their meaning.
Character by character
| Character | Pinyin | Tone | Meaning | Traditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 凯 | kǎi | third (dipping) tone | triumphant; triumph, victory | 凱 |
| 莉 | lì | fourth (falling) tone | white jasmine | 莉 |
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 Kelly in Chinese
How do you write Kelly in Chinese?
Kelly is usually written 凯莉 in Chinese, pronounced kǎi lì. It is a transliteration: the characters are chosen to sound like Kelly, not for their meaning.
How do you pronounce 凯莉?
凯莉 is pronounced kǎi lì: kǎi in the third (dipping) tone and lì in the fourth (falling) tone.
How do you write Kelly in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, it is written 凱莉.
Is 凯莉 a real Chinese name?
It is the usual way Chinese newspapers and books write the foreign name Kelly, 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.