Name translation
Mary in Chinese
Mary is written 玛丽 in Chinese, pronounced Mǎ lì. This is the standard phonetic transliteration used in Chinese media, as in 玛丽·雪莱 (Mary Shelley). The two characters carry the sound of the name; they do not translate its Hebrew origin.
玛丽
Mǎ lì
Recorded in CC-CEDICT
Mǎ is third tone (dipping, then rising) and lì is fourth tone (sharp and falling). A rough English approximation is "mah lee", with the first syllable low and dipping and the second falling from high.
Sources: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How this translation works
玛丽 is a phonetic transliteration: 玛 and 丽 were chosen for their sounds, mǎ and lì, not for their meanings. 玛 appears mainly in transliterated words (as in 玛瑙, "agate"), while 丽 means "beautiful" — a pleasant coincidence rather than the point. Mary comes from the Hebrew Miriam, whose meaning is disputed, and the Chinese characters do not settle it.
Chinese media uses 玛丽 for the full name: Mary Shelley is 玛丽·雪莱 and Mary Poppins is 玛丽·波平斯. CC-CEDICT records 玛丽 as a dictionary entry, which is why this site treats it as the local dictionary answer rather than an AI guess.
Related forms are written differently rather than being interchangeable. Maria is 玛丽亚 with an extra syllable, and the Virgin Mary is conventionally 圣母玛利亚, using 玛利亚 rather than 玛丽 — a distinct written form even though the sound is close.
Related names
Mary is related to Maria. Maria is a related form written 玛丽亚 (Mǎ lì yà), with its own characters and an extra syllable. It is not interchangeable with 玛丽: the two are different names, even though both go back to Miriam.
When to use this form
玛丽 translates the name of a real person called Mary — in Chinese news, subtitles or introductions. If instead you want a new Chinese name chosen for its meaning, use the Chinese name generator.
Translate another name on the homepage translator, or create a new personal Chinese name.
Mary in Chinese: FAQ
How do you write Mary in Chinese?
Mary is written 玛丽 in Chinese, pronounced Mǎ lì. It is the standard phonetic transliteration recorded in CC-CEDICT and used across Chinese media.
Is Mary 玛丽 or 玛利亚?
For an ordinary person called Mary, the usual form is 玛丽. The Virgin Mary is conventionally 圣母玛利亚, with 玛利亚; that is a religious usage and should not be applied to every Mary.
Does 玛丽 mean anything?
Not as a translation. 丽 means "beautiful", but the pair was chosen for sound, not meaning. Mary goes back to the Hebrew Miriam, whose meaning is disputed, and no Chinese character can recover it.
How do you pronounce 玛丽?
Mǎ lì — third tone then fourth tone, roughly "mah lee". The first syllable dips and rises; the second falls sharply. Use the hear-it button on this page to listen.