unisex name
Riley in Chinese
莱莉
lái lì · traditional 萊莉
Riley is usually written 莱莉 in Chinese, pronounced lái lì. You may also see 赖利 (lài lì). It is a transliteration: the characters are chosen to sound like Riley, not for their meaning.
Character by character
| Character | Pinyin | Tone | Meaning | Traditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 莱 | lái | second (rising) tone | goosefoot, weed; fallow field | 萊 |
| 莉 | lì | fourth (falling) tone | white jasmine | 莉 |
Other spelling: 赖利 (lài lì) — 赖 rely, depend on; accuse falsely · 利 gains, advantage, profit, merit
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 Riley in Chinese
How do you write Riley in Chinese?
Riley is usually written 莱莉 in Chinese, pronounced lái lì. You may also see 赖利 (lài lì). It is a transliteration: the characters are chosen to sound like Riley, not for their meaning.
How do you pronounce 莱莉?
莱莉 is pronounced lái lì: lái in the second (rising) tone and lì in the fourth (falling) tone.
How do you write Riley in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, it is written 萊莉.
Is 莱莉 a real Chinese name?
It is the usual way Chinese newspapers and books write the foreign name Riley, 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.