Do you still find yourself hesitating to pronounce the names of some Chinese companies? If so, read on to learn how to pronounce the names of Chinese companies such as Hwawei, Tencent and others properly! We will also be learning the meanings behind each name too.
1. Huawei
华为 (Huáwéi) is a Chinese technology company which is well known for their smartphones. The name is derived from the last characters of the two phrases in their slogan. The slogan is “心系中华，有所作为” (Xīn xì zhōnghuá, yǒu suǒ zuòwéi). “心系中华” means having “华“ in your heart. Sometimes 华 is used to mean “China”. The first part of the slogan therefore means “thinking about China”. The second part of the phrase is “有所作为”. This means “making a difference or an achievement”. In summary, 华为 therefore means “China’s achievement”.
2. Lenovo
Lenovo is another Chinese technology company that is well known for their computers. In Chinese, Lenovo is pronounced as 联想 (Liánxiǎng) “联” means “connected” and “想” means “thinking”. So together this means ‘connected thinking’.
3. Alibaba
This is pronounced exactly as it is written. However, it is important to remember the tone of each word to ensure that you pronounce it correctly in Chinese. In Chinese, it is “阿里巴巴” (Ālǐ bābā). The name is a direct transliteration of the Arabic name Alibaba. It may be familiar to those who are familiar with the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves which is well known for its “open sesame” phrase.
4. Xiaomi
Xiaomi is a Chinese electronics company which is well known for its smartphones. It is pronounced as 小米 (Xiǎomǐ) which translates into English as “millet”, a type of grain.
5. Tencent
If you are familiar with the popular messaging, social media and mobile payment app called WeChat, then you may be familiar with the company that developed it called Tencent. Tencent is pronounced as “腾讯” (Téngxùn). “腾” means “to gallop” and “讯” means information. When combined, the name means “quick information”. Wechat is pronounced as 微信 (Wēixìn).
6. Baidu
Baidu is said to be the “Google of China” because it is the largest search engine in China. You pronounce it as “百度” (Bǎidù). “百” means “hundred” and “度” means “times”. When combined 百度means “a hundred times” or “countless times”. Just like how you can say “Just Google it”, you can also say “just Baidu it” by saying “百度一下”.
7. JD.com
JD.com is an e-commerce company similar to Amazon and eBay. You can pronounce the name in full by saying 京东 (Jīngdōng). The company took the initials of “J” from”京” and “D” from “东” to come up with JD.com.
Watch the video below to hear Teacher Lin go through the pronunciation of each of the above companies.
See you next time for another Chinese lesson!
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