荷蘭 / 荷兰
Hélán
The English phrase Netherlands is called 荷蘭 / 荷兰 (Hélán) in Chinese. Wiktionary also lists 尼德蘭 / 尼德兰 (Nídélán).
Meaning: country in northwestern Europe (name)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 荷蘭 / 荷兰 | Hélán |
| 尼德蘭 / 尼德兰 | Nídélán |
These terms refer to the country in northwestern Europe. When you want to refer to a Dutch person or Dutch people, you can add the suffix 人 (rén) to the country name to form 荷蘭人 / 荷兰人.
Which one should you use?
荷蘭 / 荷兰 is the most common way to refer to the country in everyday Chinese, similar to how English speakers often use 'Holland'. In contrast, 尼德蘭 / 尼德兰 is the formal transliteration of 'Netherlands' used in official diplomatic, political or academic contexts.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Cantonese, the term for the Netherlands is 荷蘭.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is Hélán.
Did you know?
- The first character in 荷蘭, 荷, means 'lotus'. While the word is a phonetic loan, it gives the country a floral association in the Chinese mind.
- The term 荷蘭 is so widely used that many Chinese speakers may not realize it technically only refers to one province of the actual country.
- While 荷蘭 is the common name, it is actually a phonetic approximation of the word 'Holland' rather than a literal translation of the Dutch name for the country.
Examples in context
- 我今年要去荷兰旅游。I'm going to travel to the Netherlands this year.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “netherlands” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 尼德蘭, 荷蘭, CC BY-SA 4.0.
