boy’s name
Sam in Chinese
山姆
shān mǔ
Sam is usually written 山姆 in Chinese, pronounced shān mǔ. You may also see 萨姆 (sà mǔ). It is a transliteration: the characters are chosen to sound like Sam, not for their meaning.
Character by character
| Character | Pinyin | Tone | Meaning | Traditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 山 | shān | first (high, level) tone | mountain, hill, peak | 山 |
| 姆 | mǔ | third (dipping) tone | child's governess; matron | 姆 |
Other spelling: 萨姆 (sà mǔ) — 萨 Buddhist gods or immortals · 姆 child's governess; matron
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 Sam in Chinese
How do you write Sam in Chinese?
Sam is usually written 山姆 in Chinese, pronounced shān mǔ. You may also see 萨姆 (sà mǔ). It is a transliteration: the characters are chosen to sound like Sam, not for their meaning.
How do you pronounce 山姆?
山姆 is pronounced shān mǔ: shān in the first (high, level) tone and mǔ in the third (dipping) tone.
How do you write Sam in traditional Chinese?
The same way: 山姆 uses no simplified characters, so it is also written 山姆 in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Is 山姆 a real Chinese name?
It is the usual way Chinese newspapers and books write the foreign name Sam, 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.