How to Pronounce Korean, Chinese and Japanese Names
Type a name in the lookup box to see its respelling, or read the key below to learn how Korean, Chinese and Japanese spellings map to sounds.
Examples from this site
The respelling is in the last column. Capital letters mark the part you say loudest or whole syllables.
Korean
Name
Native
Standard romanization
Respelling
Ji-yeong
지영
Ji-yeong
JEE-YOUNG
Mi-gyeong
미경
Mi-gyeong
MEE-GYUNG
Eun-ju
은주
Eun-ju
EUN-JOO
Hye-jin
혜진
Hye-jin
HYE-JIN
Seon-yeong
선영
Seon-yeong
SUN-YOUNG
Hyeon-ju
현주
Hyeon-ju
HYUN-JOO
Chinese
Name
Native
Standard romanization
Respelling
Huiyin
徽音
Huīyīn
HWEE-YEEN
Lihua
丽华
Lìhuá
LEE-HWA
Zhaopei
昭佩
Zhāopèi
JOW-PAY
Wenjun
文君
Wénjūn
WUHN-JWIN
Feiyan
飞燕
Fēiyàn
FAY-YEN
Yuhuan
玉环
Yùhuán
YOO-HWAHN
Japanese
Name
Native
Standard romanization
Respelling
Mizuki
美月
Mizuki
MEE-ZOO-KEE
Fuyuka
冬花
Fuyuka
FOO-YOO-KAH
Himari
陽葵
Himari
HEE-MAH-REE
Sakuya
咲夜
Sakuya
SAH-KOO-YAH
Misora
美空
Misora
MEE-SOH-RAH
Rikka
六花
Rikka
REEK-KAH
The respelling key on this site
Under Say it each name has a respelling in plain English letters. For Korean, Chinese and Japanese names the whole respelling is in capitals with hyphens between syllables, as in EUN-JOO, because these languages do not stress one syllable the way English does. For European names, capitals mark the stressed syllable, as in FEE-liks. Respellings are approximations, not checked by a native speaker.
Korean: Revised Romanization
Korean names are written in Revised Romanization, the official system in South Korea since 2000. The vowels ㅓ and ㅡ are written eo and eu. The letter ㅈ is j and ㅊ is ch. The letter ㄱ is g at the start or before a vowel, and k at the end of a word. Hyphens inside a given name are optional; this site uses them to show the syllables.
Chinese: pinyin and its tones
Pinyin marks four tones with signs over the vowel: flat (ā), rising (á), falling-rising (ǎ) and falling (à). The neutral tone has no sign. Some letters mislead English readers. The letter q is close to the ch in punchy, x is like the sh in push, zh is like the j in jack and c is like the ts in bats. Our respellings leave out tones.
Japanese: Hepburn with macrons
Japanese names use Hepburn romanization. A macron marks a long vowel, as in Ryūsei or Tōya, and the long vowel is held longer. Many places drop the macron or write oh or ou instead, so the same name can look different elsewhere.
Questions
Why are Korean respellings sometimes close to the spelling?
Revised Romanization is already built for readers of the Latin alphabet, so some respellings stay near the original letters. Read them with the rules above.
Do the respellings include Chinese tones?
No. The toned pinyin is shown next to the name. The Say it respelling gives only an approximate sound.
Why does a Japanese name look different on other sites?
Some systems skip macrons or spell long vowels as oh, ou or oo. Both forms point to the same name.
How accurate is the lookup?
It shows the respelling stored for each name. These were written by AI and format-checked by code. Read the editorial standards for the limits.