瑪麗 / 玛丽
Mǎlì
The English name Mary is translated into Chinese as 瑪麗 / 玛丽 (Mǎlì). Wiktionary also lists 瑪莉 / 玛莉 (Mǎlì).
Meaning: female given name (name)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 瑪麗 / 玛丽 | Mǎlì |
| 瑪莉 / 玛莉 | Mǎlì |
This is a transliteration of the female given name Mary into Chinese.
Which one should you use?
瑪麗 / 玛丽 is the most common and standard way to transliterate the name Mary into Chinese, whereas 瑪莉 / 玛莉 is an alternative version.
How do you pronounce it?
Mǎlì
Did you know?
- In modern Chinese pop culture, the name 瑪麗 is sometimes used in the term 'Mary Sue' 瑪麗蘇 to describe a perfect, idealized female character.
- In some linguistic contexts, 'Mary' might be translated by its meaning rather than its sound. For example, if someone wanted to translate the 'Virgin Mary' into a Chinese religious context, they would use '聖母 /Shèngmǔ', which means 'Holy Mother'.
- The character 瑪 used in 瑪麗 specifically refers to 'agate', a precious stone, to provide a luxurious sound and feel to the transliteration.
Examples in context
- 我很高兴认识你，玛丽。Nice to meet you, Mary.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “mary” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
