琼斯
Qióngsī
The English surname Jones is translated into Chinese as 琼斯 (Qióngsī).
琼斯 is the most common transliteration used to represent the English name 'Jones' in Chinese characters.
Which one should you use?
While 琼斯 is the standard transliteration, one may also see the informal construction 小 Jones used to refer to 'Little Jones'.
How do you pronounce it?
Qióngsī
Did you know?
- The character 琼 in 琼斯 originally refers to a type of beautiful red jade. This means the transliteration of 'Jones' evokes an image of precious gemstones to a Chinese reader.
- In Chinese, the character 斯 is frequently used in the transliteration of many foreign names ending in 's' or 'z'. It is a linguistic 'placeholder' that signals to the reader that the name is of foreign origin.
- Because 琼斯 is a phonetic transliteration rather than a traditional Chinese surname, a Chinese person might not immediately recognize it as a family name without context.
Examples in context
- 琼斯先生教我们英语会话。Mr Jones teaches us English conversation.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use 琼斯 when referring to Mr Jones.Tatoeba #791671 by fucongcong, translation #52885 by Eldad
- 他是琼斯先生的儿子。Tā shì Qióngsī xiānsheng de érzi.He is Mr. Jones's son.
- 请把这个写给琼斯。Qǐng bǎ zhège xiě gěi Qióngsī.Please write this to Jones.
Example conversation
Zhiqiang and Xiaowen are looking for a colleague in the office.
- 志强 Zhiqiang你看到琼斯了吗？Nǐ kàndào Qióngsī le ma?Have you seen Jones?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen他在会议室里。Tā zài huìyìshì lǐ.He is in the meeting room.
- 志强 Zhiqiang他是不是在接电话？Tā shì bú shì zài jiē diànhuà?Is he on the phone?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen是的，你等他一下。Shì de, nǐ děng tā yīxià.Yes, wait for him a moment.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
