\tMandarin Chinese has a relatively limited stock of phonetics compared with other languages. When it comes to translating Western geographical names into Chinese characters, a close phonetic match is attempted. Consideration must also be given to the meaning of the chosen Chinese characters.<\/p>\n
\tMost geographical names are chosen as phonetic approximations of the Western names, but a few place names are descriptive.<\/p>\n
\tSan Francisco, for example, is Jiù J\u012bn Sh\u0101n, which translates as “Old Gold Mountain,” reminding us of the California gold rush.<\/p>\n
\tMost Mandarin Chinese geographical names sound strange to Western ears. This is because there is usually not an exact phonetic equivalent to the sounds of the English names.<\/p>\n
\tNorth American Cities<\/p>\n
\tClick on the links to hear the audio.<\/p>\n
\tEnglish Name Chinese Characters Pinyin
\tNew York \u7d10\u7d04 ni\u01d4 yu\u0113
\tBoston \u6ce2\u58eb\u9813 b\u014d shì dùn
\tMontreal \u8499\u7279\u5a41 méng tè lóu
\tVancouver \u6eab\u54e5\u83ef w\u0113n g\u0113 huá
\tToronto \u591a\u502b\u591a du\u014d lún du\u014d
\tLos Angeles \u6d1b\u6749\u78ef luò sh\u0101n j\u012b
\tSan Francisco \u820a\u91d1\u5c71 jiù j\u012bn sh\u0101n
\tChicago \u829d\u52a0\u54e5 zh\u012b ji\u0101 g\u0113
\tSeattle \u897f\u96c5\u5716 x\u012b y\u01ce tú
\tMiami \u9081\u963f\u5bc6 mài \u0101 mì
\tHouston \u4f11\u65af\u9813 xi\u016b s\u012b dùn
\tPortland \u6ce2\u7279\u862d b\u014d tè lán
\tWashington \u83ef\u76db\u9813 huá shèng dùn
\tNew Orleans \u7d10\u5967\u826f ni\u01d4 ào liáng
\tPhiladelphia \u8cbb\u57ce fèi chéng
\tDetroit \u5e95\u7279\u5f8b d\u01d0 tè l\u01dc
\tDallas \u9054\u62c9\u65af dá l\u0101 s\u012b
\tAtlanta \u4e9e\u7279\u862d\u5927 yà tè lán dà
\tSan Diego \u8056\u5730\u7259\u54e5 shèng dié yá g\u0113
\tLas Vegas \u62c9\u65af\u7dad\u52a0\u65af l\u0101 s\u012b wéi ji\u0101 s\u012b<\/p>\n