Chinese exonyms

When a foreign placename, or toponym, occurs in Chinese text, the problem arises of spelling it in Chinese characters, given the limited phonetics and restrictive phonology of Mandarin Chinese, and the possible meaning of those characters when treated as Chinese words. For example:

• "London Heathrow Airport" is usually rendered in Chinese text as 倫敦希斯路機場 (Lúndūn Xīsīlù Jīchǎng), with the English pronunciation of 'London' being fairly accurate, and of 'Heathrow' being less accurate: in Chinese literally this means "kinship, honest" (for London), "hope/rare, given/this, road" (for Heathrow), "aircraft, field", with the last syllable of "Heathrow" rendered as "lu" although the more accurate "lo" and "lou" are known Chinese words. However, the Cantonese pronunciation of 希斯路 (Hei1si1lou6) is much closer to "Heathrow".

Names of foreign nations are sometimes shortened to their first character when used in compounds.

For toponyms in Korea or Japan, the Chinese exonym is often the Chinese pronunciation of the hanja or kanji writing of the toponym. In some cases, especially in Japan, the Chinese pronunciation may be completely unlike the native-language pronunciation.

Places

Native name	Chinese	Pinyin	Phonetic Transcription?	Meaning	Country	Notes
California	加州	Jiāzhōu	Yes	N/A	United States	contraction from 加利福尼亞州, Cantonese Gaa3lei6fuk1nei4aa3, Mandarin Chinese Pinyin Jiālìfúníyǎ zhōu
Hanoi	河内	Hénèi	No	Within the River	Vietnam
Hiroshima (広島)	廣島	Guǎngdǎo	No	Broad Island	Japan
Ho Chi Minh City	胡志明市	Hú Zhìmíng Shì	No	Ho Chi Minh City	Vietnam	formerly Saigon (西貢, Xīgòng, not to be confused with the Sai Kung District in Hong Kong) until the North Vietnamese Army occupied the city near the end of the Vietnam War
Kyoto	京都	Jīngdū	No	Capital	Japan
Liverpool	利物浦	Lìwùpǔ	Yes	N/A	United Kingdom
Los Angeles	洛杉矶	Luòshānjī	Yes	N/A	United States
Moscow	莫斯科	Mòsīkē	Yes	N/A	Russia
Nagasaki	長崎	Chángqí	No	Long, Small Peninsula	Japan
Narita	成田	Chéngtián	No	Developed Field	Japan
Okinawa (沖縄)	沖縄	Chóngshéng	No	Cord of the Open Sea	Japan
Osaka (大阪)	大坂	Dàbǎn	No	Big Hillside	Japan
Oxford	牛津	Niújīn	No	Where the oxen ford	United Kingdom
Phoenix	鳳凰城	Fènghuángchéng	No	Fenghuang city	United States	the fenghuang is analogous to the Greek phoenix, but only superficially
San Francisco	旧金山	Jiùjīnshān	No	Old Gold Mountain	United States	renamed by Chinese immigrants during the California Gold Rush
São Paulo	聖保羅	Shèngbǎoluó	Yes	N/A	Brazil
Sapporo	札幌	Zháhuăng	No	Placard Canopy	Japan
Seoul	首爾	Shǒu'ěr	Yes	N/A	Korea	Seoul (Korean 서울) had no official hanja until 2005, until which 漢城 (Chinese Hànchéng, Korean Hanseong) was widely used. Hanseong was its name during the Joseon era until 1907, although Seoul has been in use since c.1882. 漢城 is still used, both in Chinese, as a transcription for Seoul, and Korean, as an unofficial transcription and as a separate toponym.
Seoul	漢城	Hànchéng	No	Han River city/large city	Korea	See above
Tokyo	東京	Dōngjīng	No	East(ern) Capital	Japan	formerly known as Edo (江戸) , or Jiānghù (江户) in Chinese, until Japan's capital moved from Kyoto to Tokyo in the Meiji era.
Toronto	多伦多	Duōlúnduō	Yes	N/A	Canada
Vancouver	温哥华	Wēngēhuá	Yes	N/A	Canada
Washington, D.C.	华盛顿（特区）	Huáshèngdùn(tèqū)	Yes (first 3 characters)	Washington (Special District)	United States	refers specifically to Washington, D.C., as opposed to the State of Washington

Nations and regions

English name	Exonym in country's official language (Romanization)	Chinese	Pinyin	Phonetic Transcription?	Meaning	Notes
Australia		澳大利亚	Àodàlìyà	Yes	N/A	澳 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Australia"/"Australian".
Canada		加拿大	Jiānádà	Yes	N/A	加 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Canada"/"Canadian".
England		英伦/ 英格兰/ 英吉利	Yīnglún/ Yīnggélán/ Yīngjílì	Yes	N/A	See in United Kingdom below
France	France	法国	Fǎguó	Yes	N/A	法 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "France"/"French".
Germany	Deutschland	德国	Déguó	Yes	N/A	德 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Germany"/"German".
Iceland	Ísland	冰島	Bīngdǎo	No	Ice island
Indonesia	Indonesia	印度尼西亚	Yìndùníxīyà	Yes	N/A
Italy	Italia	意大利	Yìdàlì	Yes	N/A	意 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Italy"/"Italian".
Japan (日本)	Nippon or Nihon	日本	Rìběn	Yes (possibly historically)	sun, origin	Chinese pronunciation of Nippon (日本), 日 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Japan"/"Japanese".
India	Bhārat Gaṇarājya	印度	Yìndù	Yes	N/A	印 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "India"/"Indian" or native American as in "American Indian".
Ireland		爱尔兰	Ài'ěrlán	Yes	N/A	爱 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Ireland"/"Irish".
Nepal	Nepāl	尼泊尔	Níbó'ěr	Yes	N/A	尼 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Nepal(ese)".
Northern Ireland		北爱尔兰/北爱	Běi'ài'ěrlán/ Běi'ài	Yes	N/A	See in Ireland above
Malaysia	Malaysia	马来西亚	Mǎláixīyà	Yes	N/A
Mongolia	Mongol Uls	蒙古	Ménggǔ	Yes	N/A	蒙 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean “Inner Mongolia”, an autonomous region in China, the sovereign nation of "(Outer) Mongolia", or "Mongolian".
Russia	Rossija	俄罗斯	Éluósī	Yes	N/A	俄 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Russia"/"Russian".
Scotland		苏格兰	Sūgélán	Yes	N/A
Singapore		新加坡	Xīnjiāpō	Yes	N/A
Southeast Asia		南洋	Nányáng	No	Southern ocean
Spain	España	西班牙	Xībānyá	Yes	N/A	西 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Spain"/"Spanish".
Sweden	Sverige	瑞典	Ruìdiǎn	Yes	N/A
Thailand	Prathet Thai	泰国	Táiguó	Yes	N/A	泰 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Thai"/"Thailand".
United Kingdom		英国	Yīngguó	Yes	N/A	英 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "Britain"/"British"/"England"/"English".
United States		美国	Měiguó	Yes	N/A	美 alone is sometimes used in compound words to mean "America(n)".
Vietnam	Việt Nam	越南	Yuènán	Yes (historically)	Yue, south
Wales		威尔士	Wèiěrshí	Yes	N/A

Historical exoynms

Native name	Chinese	Pinyin	Notes
Bactria	大夏	Dàxià
Europe	泰西	Tàixī	literally "Far West"
Ferghana	大宛	Dàyuān	Middle Chinese reconstructed pronunciation
India	天竺	Tiānzhú	From Indo-Iranian Sindhu
Japan	倭	Wō
Roman Empire	大秦	Dàqín