Every Country and Territory Name in Chinese

Contents Key Takeaways This guide lists 244 country and territory names in Chinese, with characters, pinyin, and audio for every single entry. Most country names in Chinese are transliterations, chosen to approximate how the name sounds rather than to translate what it means. A small group of countries take the suffix 国 (guó, "country") — among them 中国 (Zhōngguó), 美国 (Měiguó), 英国 (Yīngguó), and 法国 (Fǎguó). Learning the recurring building blocks — 岛 (dǎo), 群岛 (qúndǎo), 共和国 (gònghéguó), 属 (shǔ), and 斯坦 (sītǎn) — lets you decode dozens of names at once. How many countries and territories can you currently name in Chinese? It's our goal to increase this figure! To this end, we've compiled a comprehensive list of 244 country and territory names in Chinese for your learning pleasure. Every entry comes with characters, pinyin, and audio, so you can check both how a name is written and how it actually sounds. Almost every country and territory on this map has a Chinese name — and most of them are transliterations built to imitate the sound of the original. These names come up far more often than beginners expect. "你是哪国人？" (Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén? — "What country are you from?") is one of the first questions you will be asked in China, and being able to answer it clearly is a small but genuine milestone. They are also unusually satisfying vocabulary to learn. Because most of them are sound-based, they tend to click into place quickly once you can read pinyin confidently. 界 01 Country and Territory Names in Chinese Here's a comprehensive list of English-to-Chinese translations for the world's countries and territories. How to Use This Table 🔈 Click on a country's Pinyin to hear the pronunciation. If the romanization itself is still unfamiliar, our guide to what pinyin is explains how the system works before you start listening. English Chinese Pinyin Afghanistan 阿富汗 Āfùhàn Albania 阿尔巴尼亚 Ā'ěrbāníyà Algeria 阿尔及利亚 Ā'ěrjílìyà American Samoa 美属萨摩亚 Měishǔ Sàmóyà Andorra 安道尔 Āndào'ěr Angola 安哥拉 Āngēlā Anguilla 安圭拉岛 Ānguīlā Dǎo Antarctica 南极洲 Nánjízhōu Antigua and Barbuda 安提瓜和巴布达 Āntíguā hé Bābùdá Argentina 阿根廷 Āgēntíng Armenia 亚美尼亚 Yàměiníyà Aruba 阿鲁巴岛 Ālǔbā Dǎo Australia 澳大利亚 Àodàlìyà Austria 奥地利 Àodìlì Azerbaijan 阿塞拜疆 Āsàibàijiāng Bahamas, The 巴哈马 Bāhāmǎ Bahrain 巴林 Bālín Bangladesh 孟加拉国 Mèngjiālāguó Barbados 巴巴多斯 Bābāduōsī Belarus 白俄罗斯 Bái'èluósī Belgium 比利时 Bǐlìshí Belize 伯利兹 Bólìzī Benin 贝宁 Bèiníng Bermuda 百慕大 Bǎimùdà Bhutan 不丹 Bùdān Bolivia 玻利维亚 Bōlìwéiyà Bosnia and Herzegovina 波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那 Bōsīníyà hé Hēisāigēwéinà Botswana 博茨瓦纳 Bócíwǎnà Brazil 巴西 Bāxī British Indian Ocean Territory 英属印度洋领地 Yīngshǔ Yìndùyáng Lǐngdì British Virgin Islands 英属维尔京群岛 Yīngshǔ Wéi'ěrjīng Qúndǎo Brunei 文莱 Wénlái Bulgaria 保加利亚 Bǎojiālìyà Burkina Faso 布基纳法索 Bùjīnàfǎsuǒ Burma 缅甸 Miǎndiàn Burundi 布隆迪 Bùlóngdí Cambodia 柬埔寨 Jiǎnpǔzhài Cameroon 喀麦隆 Kāmàilóng Canada 加拿大 Jiānádà Cape Verde 佛得角 Fódéjiǎo Cayman Islands 开曼群岛 Kāimàn Qúndǎo Central African Republic 中非共和国 Zhōng Fēi Gònghéguó Chad 乍得 Zhàdé Chile 智利 Zhìlì China 中国 Zhōngguó Christmas Island 圣诞岛 Shèngdàn Dǎo Clipperton Island 克利珀顿岛 Kèlìpòdùn Dǎo Cocos (Keeling) Islands 科科斯（基林）群岛 Kēkēsī (Jīlín) Qúndǎo Colombia 哥伦比亚 Gēlúnbǐyà Comoros 科摩罗 Kēmóluó Congo, Democratic Republic of the 刚果民主共和国 Gāngguǒ Mínzhǔ Gònghéguó Congo, Republic of the 刚果共和国 Gāngguǒ Gònghéguó Cook Islands 库克群岛 Kùkè Qúndǎo Coral Sea Islands 珊瑚海群岛 Shānhúhǎi Qúndǎo Costa Rica 哥斯达黎加 Gēsīdálíjiā Cote d'Ivoire 科特迪瓦 Kētèdíwǎ Croatia 克罗地亚 Kèluódìyà Cuba 古巴 Gǔbā Cyprus 塞浦路斯 Sàipǔlùsī Czech Republic 捷克共和国 Jiékè Gònghéguó Denmark 丹麦 Dānmài Djibouti 吉布地 Jíbùtì Dominica 多米尼克 Duōmǐníkè Dominican Republic 多明尼加共和国 Duōmíngníjiā Gònghéguó Ecuador 厄瓜多尔 Èguāduō'ěr Egypt 埃及 Āijí El Salvador 萨尔瓦多 Sà'ěrwǎduō Equatorial Guinea 赤道几内亚 Chìdào Jǐnèiyà Eritrea 厄立特里亚 Èlìtèlǐyà Estonia 爱沙尼亚 Àishāníyà Ethiopia 埃塞俄比亚 Āisài'ébǐyà Europa Island 欧罗巴岛 Ōuluóbā Dǎo Falkland Islands 福克兰群岛 Fúkèlán Qúndǎo Faroe Islands 法罗群岛 Fǎluó Qúndǎo Fiji 斐济 Fěijì Finland 芬兰 Fēnlán France 法国 Fǎguó French Guiana 法属圭亚那 Fǎshǔ Guīyànà French Polynesia 法属波利尼西亚 Fǎshǔ Bōlìníxīyà Gabon 加蓬 Jiāpéng Gambia 冈比亚 Gāngbǐyà Georgia 乔治亚 Qiáozhìyà Germany 德国 Déguó Ghana 加纳 Jiānà Gibraltar 直布罗陀 Zhíbùluótuó Glorioso Islands 格洛里厄斯群岛 Géluòlǐ'èsī Qúndǎo Greece 希腊 Xīlà Greenland 格陵兰 Gélínglán Grenada 格林纳达 Gélínnàdá Guadeloupe 瓜德罗普岛 Guādéluópǔ Dǎo Guam 关岛 Guāndǎo Guatemala 危地马拉 Wēidìmǎlā Guernsey 根西岛 Gēnxīdǎo Guinea 几内亚 Jǐnèiyà Guinea-Bissau 几内亚比绍 Jǐnèiyà Bǐshào Guyana 圭亚那 Guīyànà Haiti 海地 Hǎidì Holy See (Vatican City) 罗马教廷（梵蒂冈城） Luómǎ Jiàotíng (Fàndìgāng Chéng) Honduras 洪都拉斯 Hóngdūlāsī Hungary 匈牙利 Xiōngyálì Iceland 冰岛 Bīngdǎo India 印度 Yìndù Indonesia 印度尼西亚 Yìndùníxīyà Iran 伊朗 Yīlǎng Iraq 伊拉克 Yīlākè Ireland 爱尔兰 Ài'ěrlán Isle of Man 马恩岛 Mǎ'ēn Dǎo Israel 以色列 Yǐsèliè Italy 意大利 Yìdàlì Jamaica 牙买加 Yámǎijiā Jan Mayen 扬马延岛 Yángmǎyán Dǎo Japan 日本 Rìběn Jersey 泽西岛 Zéxī Dǎo Jordan 约旦 Yuēdàn Juan de Nova Island 新胡安岛 Xīnhú'ān Dǎo Kazakhstan 哈萨克斯坦 Hāsàkèsītǎn Kenya 肯尼亚 Kěnníyà Kiribati 基里巴斯 Jīlǐbāsī Kuwait 科威特 Kēwēitè Kyrgyzstan 吉尔吉斯斯坦 Jí'ěrjísīsītǎn Laos 老挝 Lǎowō Latvia 拉脱维亚 Lātuōwéiyà Lebanon 黎巴嫩 Líbānèn Lesotho 莱索托 Láisuǒtuō Liberia 利比里亚 Lìbǐlǐyà Libya 利比亚 Lìbǐyà Liechtenstein 列支敦士登 Lièzhīdūnshìdēng Lithuania 立陶宛 Lìtáowǎn Luxembourg 卢森堡 Lúsēnbǎo Macedonia 马其顿 Mǎqídùn Madagascar 马达加斯加 Mǎdájiāsījiā Malawi 马拉维 Mǎlāwéi Malaysia 马来西亚 Mǎláixīyà Maldives 马尔代夫 Mǎ'ěrdàifū Mali 马里 Mǎlǐ Malta 马耳他 Mǎ'ěrtā Marshall Islands 马绍尔群岛 Mǎshào'ěr Qúndǎo Martinique 马提尼克岛 Mǎtíníkè Dǎo Mauritania 毛里塔尼亚 Máolǐtǎníyà Mauritius 毛里求斯 Máolǐqiúsī Mayotte 马约特岛 Mǎyuētè Dǎo Mexico 墨西哥 Mòxīgē Micronesia, Federated States of 密克罗尼西亚联邦 Mìkèluóníxīyà Liánbāng Moldova 摩尔多瓦 Mó'ěrduōwǎ Monaco 摩纳哥 Mónàgē Mongolia 蒙古 Měnggǔ Montserrat 蒙特塞拉特 Méngtèsāilātè Morocco 摩洛哥 Móluògē Mozambique 莫桑比克 Mòsāngbǐkè Namibia 纳米比亚 Nàmǐbǐyà Nauru 瑙鲁 Nǎolǔ Navassa Island 纳瓦萨岛 Nàwǎsà Dǎo Nepal 尼泊尔 Níbó'ěr Netherlands 荷兰 Hélán Netherlands Antilles 荷属安的列斯 Héshǔ Āndelièsī New Caledonia 新喀里多尼亚 Xīn Kālǐduōníyà New Zealand 新西兰 Xīnxīlán Nicaragua 尼加拉瓜 Níjiālāguā Niger 尼日尔 Nírì'ěr Nigeria 尼日利亚 Nírìlìyà Niue 纽埃 Niǔ'āi Norfolk Island 诺福克岛 Nuòfúkè Dǎo North Korea 朝鲜 Cháoxiǎn Northern Mariana Islands 北马里亚纳群岛 Běi Mǎlǐyànà Qúndǎo Norway 挪威 Nuówēi Oman 阿曼 Āmàn Pakistan 巴基斯坦 Bājīsītǎn Palau 帕劳 Pàláo Panama 巴拿马 Bānámǎ Papua New Guinea 巴布亚新几内亚 Bābùyà Xīnjǐnèiyà Paracel Islands 西沙群岛 Xīshā Qúndǎo Paraguay 巴拉圭 Bālāguī Peru 秘鲁 Bìlǔ Philippines 菲律宾 Fēilǜbīn Pitcairn Islands 皮特凯恩群岛 Pítèkǎi'ēn Qúndǎo Poland 波兰 Bōlán Portugal 葡萄牙 Pútáoyá Puerto Rico 波多黎各 Bōduōlígè Qatar 卡塔尔 Kǎtǎ'ěr Reunion 留尼汪 Liúníwāng Romania 罗马尼亚 Luómǎníyà Russia 俄罗斯 Éluósī Rwanda 卢旺达 Lúwàngdá Saint Helena 圣赫勒拿岛 Shèng Hèlèná Dǎo Saint Kitts and Nevis 圣基茨和尼维斯 Shèngjīcí hé Níwéisī Saint Lucia 圣卢西亚岛 Shènglúxīyà Dǎo Saint Pierre and Miquelon 圣皮埃尔和密克隆群岛 Shèng Pí'āi'ěr hé Mìkèlóng Qúndǎo Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 圣文森特和格林纳丁斯 Shèngwénsēntè hé Gélínnàdīngsī Samoa 萨摩亚 Sàmóyà San Marino 圣马力诺 Shèngmǎlìnuò Sao Tome and Principe 圣多美和普林西比 Shèngduōměi hé Pǔlínxībǐ Saudi Arabia 沙特阿拉伯 Shātè Ālābó Senegal 塞内加尔 Sàinèijiā'ěr Serbia and Montenegro 塞尔维亚和黑山 Sài'ěrwéiyà hé Hēishān Seychelles 塞舌尔群岛 Sàishé'ěr Qúndǎo Sierra Leone 塞拉利昂 Sàilālì'áng Singapore 新加坡 Xīnjiāpō Slovakia 斯洛伐克 Sīluòfákè Slovenia 斯洛文尼亚 Sīluòwénníyà Solomon Islands 所罗门群岛 Suǒluómén Qúndǎo Somalia 索马里 Suǒmǎlǐ South Africa 南非 Nánfēi South Korea 韩国 Hánguó Spain 西班牙 Xībānyá Spratly Islands 南沙群岛 Nánshā Qúndǎo Sri Lanka 斯里兰卡 Sīlǐlánkǎ Sudan 苏丹 Sūdān Suriname 苏里南 Sūlǐnán Svalbard 斯瓦尔巴群岛 Sīwǎ'ěrbā Qúndǎo Swaziland 斯威士兰 Sīwēishìlán Sweden 瑞典 Ruìdiǎn Switzerland 瑞士 Ruìshì Syria 叙利亚 Xùlìyà Tajikistan 塔吉克斯坦 Tǎjíkèsītǎn Tanzania 坦桑尼亚 Tǎnsāngníyà Thailand 泰国 Tàiguó Timor-Leste 东帝汶 Dōngdìwèn Togo 多哥 Duōgē Tokelau 托克劳 Tuōkèláo Tonga 汤加 Tāngjiā Trinidad and Tobago 特立尼达和多巴哥 Tèlìnídá hé Duōbāgē Tromelin Island 特罗姆兰岛 Tèluómǔlán Dǎo Tunisia 突尼斯 Túnísī Turkey 土耳其 Tǔ'ěrqí Turkmenistan 土库曼斯坦 Tǔkùmànsītǎn Turks and Caicos Islands 特克斯和凯科斯群岛 Tèkèsī hé Kǎikēsī Qúndǎo Tuvalu 图瓦卢 Túwǎlú Uganda 乌干达 Wūgāndá Ukraine 乌克兰 Wūkèlán United Arab Emirates 阿拉伯联合酋长国 Ālābó Liánhé Qiúzhǎngguó United Kingdom 英国 Yīngguó United States of America 美国 Měiguó Uruguay 乌拉圭 Wūlāguī Uzbekistan 乌兹别克斯坦 Wūzībiékèsītǎn Vanuatu 瓦努阿图 Wǎnǔ'ātú Venezuela 委内瑞拉 Wěinèiruìlā Vietnam 越南 Yuènán Virgin Islands 维尔京群岛 Wéi'ěrjīng Qúndǎo Wake Island 威克岛 Wēikè Dǎo Wallis and Futuna 瓦利斯和富图纳群岛 Wǎlìsī hé Fùtúnà Qúndǎo Western Sahara 西撒哈拉 Xīsāhālā Yemen 也门 Yěmén Zambia 赞比亚 Zànbǐyà Zimbabwe 津巴布韦 Jīnbābùwéi Download the above table as a PDF or view it in Google Sheets. A list this long is best tackled in small batches rather than all at once. Loading a few dozen entries into a spaced-repetition deck is one of the most efficient ways to make them stick, and our overview of Chinese flashcards covers the tools worth using. A Note on Names That Have Changed A few entries above reflect older English names. Burma is now more commonly called Myanmar, and Swaziland officially became Eswatini in 2018, although the Chinese names in this list are still widely used for both. Others reflect political changes: Macedonia was renamed North Macedonia in 2019 (北马其顿, Běi Mǎqídùn), Serbia and Montenegro became two separate countries in 2006, and the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved in 2010. 名 02 What's in a Name? The Chinese versions of some country and territory names have interesting meanings. The "Beautiful Country" That Isn't For example, the Chinese word for the United States, 美国 (Měiguó), literally translates to "beautiful country." That said, 美国 (Měiguó) was most likely selected for the United States because the "Měi" in Měiguó roughly approximates the sound "America." The fuller transliteration 亚美利加 (Yàměilìjiā) is where that syllable comes from, and 美国 is simply the shortened form that stuck. Names Built Purely from Sound Other country names, like 肯尼亚 (kěn ní yà, meaning Kenya) and 爱尔兰 (ài ěr lán, meaning Ireland), are also transliterations of their English sounds. The same logic produces 加拿大 (Jiānádà) for Canada, 巴西 (Bāxī) for Brazil, and 意大利 (Yìdàlì) for Italy. In each case the characters were chosen for their pronunciation, so trying to read a meaning into them will only lead you astray. This is exactly the same process used when foreign personal names are rendered in Chinese, which is why choosing your own Chinese name often involves the same balancing act between sound and pleasant-looking characters. If you'd like to dig further into how characters came to carry sound as well as sense, our introduction to Chinese etymology is a good next stop. Names That Actually Translate On the other hand, the name for Japan, 日本 (Rìběn), directly translates to "sun root," purportedly because Japan lies to the east of China, from which the sun appears to rise each morning. A handful of others are similarly literal. Iceland is 冰岛 (Bīngdǎo), or "ice island," while South Africa is simply 南非 (Nánfēi) — 南 (nán, "south") plus 非 (fēi), the first character of 非洲 (Fēizhōu, "Africa"). Some names mix both approaches. 新西兰 (Xīnxīlán) pairs 新 (xīn, "new") with a transliteration of "Zealand," and 西撒哈拉 (Xīsāhālā) does the same with 西 (xī, "west") and "Sahara." 律 03 Patterns That Make These Names Easier to Learn Two hundred and forty-four names is a lot to face at once. Fortunately, the list is full of repeating parts, and spotting them turns a long memorization job into a much smaller one. The 国 (guó) Countries A small group of countries — generally those China had the earliest and closest contact with — end in 国 (guó), meaning "country." China itself is 中国 (Zhōngguó), the "middle country." In most of these names, the first character is a clipped transliteration. 英国 (Yīngguó) comes from 英吉利 (Yīngjílì, "England"), 法国 (Fǎguó) from 法兰西 (Fǎlánxī, "France"), and 德国 (Déguó) from 德意志 (Déyìzhì, "Deutsch"). Thailand (泰国, Tàiguó) and South Korea (韩国, Hánguó) follow the same shape. North Korea, by contrast, is 朝鲜 (Cháoxiǎn) — a reminder that the two Koreas have quite different names in Chinese. Islands, Republics, and Territories Once you know a few suffixes, dozens of entries in the table above become readable at a glance. 岛 (dǎo) means "island" and 群岛 (qúndǎo) means "islands" or "archipelago," which covers everything from 圣诞岛 (Shèngdàn Dǎo, Christmas Island) to 开曼群岛 (Kāimàn Qúndǎo, the Cayman Islands). Longer official names use 共和国 (gònghéguó, "republic"), 联邦 (liánbāng, "federation"), and 领地 (lǐngdì, "territory"). Dependencies are marked with 属 (shǔ, "belonging to"), giving 英属 (Yīngshǔ, British), 法属 (Fǎshǔ, French), 美属 (Měishǔ, American), and 荷属 (Héshǔ, Dutch). Familiar Endings You will also notice 亚 (yà) closing a great many names, including 澳大利亚 (Àodàlìyà, Australia), 马来西亚 (Mǎláixīyà, Malaysia), and 罗马尼亚 (Luómǎníyà, Romania). It is the same character that appears in 亚洲 (Yàzhōu, "Asia"). Central Asia is even tidier. The "-stan" ending is consistently rendered as 斯坦 (sītǎn), which gives 哈萨克斯坦 (Hāsàkèsītǎn, Kazakhstan), 巴基斯坦 (Bājīsītǎn, Pakistan), and 乌兹别克斯坦 (Wūzībiékèsītǎn, Uzbekistan). Saying Where You're From The practical payoff is that adding 人 (rén, "person") to a country name gives you a nationality. 美国人 (Měiguórén) is "American," 英国人 (Yīngguórén) is "British," and 中国人 (Zhōngguórén) is "Chinese." That single pattern turns the whole table into a set of ready-made answers to "你是哪国人？" It is one of the first exchanges you'll have if you Learn Chinese in China, and it comes up constantly in taxis, shops, and classrooms. It pairs naturally with the rest of the small talk you'll need on the road, which our list of essential Chinese travel phrases covers in more detail. 图 04 How the World Map Looks from China Knowing the names is one thing; seeing where they sit is another. Maps published in China are typically centered on the Pacific rather than the Atlantic, which puts East Asia in the middle and splits the Americas off to the right. Ever wonder what China's version of the world map looks like? Check out our article on the topic to find out. Study Chinese in Guilin or Start Online CLI offers personalized Chinese instruction built around your goals. Join our Immersion Program in Guilin or begin from anywhere with a free Chinese lesson . Explore the Immersion Program Learn Chinese Online 词 05 Useful Geography Vocabulary The words below will help you talk about countries, continents, and borders once you have the names themselves down. Chinese Pinyin Translation 国家 guójiā country; nation 首都 shǒudū capital city 世界 shìjiè world 地图 dìtú map 洲 zhōu continent 亚洲 Yàzhōu Asia 欧洲 Ōuzhōu Europe 非洲 Fēizhōu Africa 北美洲 Běiměizhōu North America 南美洲 Nánměizhōu South America 大洋洲 Dàyángzhōu Oceania 南极洲 Nánjízhōu Antarctica 岛 dǎo island 群岛 qúndǎo islands; archipelago 共和国 gònghéguó republic 王国 wángguó kingdom 联邦 liánbāng federation 领地 lǐngdì territory 边境 biānjìng border 语言 yǔyán language 护照 hùzhào passport 外国人 wàiguórén foreigner 哪国人 nǎ guó rén a person of which country (nationality) 家乡 jiāxiāng hometown 学 06 Keep Learning with CLI Now that you've learned how to say a few more country names in Chinese, we welcome you to go one step further and enroll in one-on-one online Chinese lessons with CLI! We also welcome you to study at our Chinese language school in beautiful Guilin. 加油！ Related Guides Basic Chinese Words and Phrases Build the everyday vocabulary that surrounds these country names in real conversation. The Most Spoken Languages in the World See how the languages of these 244 countries and territories stack up by number of speakers. Languages Spoken in China A look at the many languages and dialects found within China's own borders. Chinese Names Explained How Chinese names are structured, and what that means for transliterating foreign ones. How to Learn Chinese Characters Practical methods for memorizing the characters that make up the names above. Best Places to Visit in China Put your new vocabulary to work with a guide to China's top destinations.