Name translation
William in Chinese
William is written 威廉 in Chinese, pronounced Wēi lián. This is the standard phonetic transliteration used in Chinese media, as in 威廉·莎士比亚 (William Shakespeare). The two characters carry the sound of the name, not its Germanic meaning.
威廉
Wēi lián
Recorded in CC-CEDICT
Wēi is first tone (high and level) and lián is second tone (rising). A rough English approximation is "way lyen", with the first syllable held flat and the second rising toward the end.
Sources: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How this translation works
威廉 is a phonetic transliteration: 威 and 廉 were chosen for their sounds, wēi and lián, not for their meanings. Read literally, 威 means "power" or "prestige" and 廉 means "honest" or "inexpensive", so the pair can look flattering — but that is coincidence. William comes from a Germanic name built from will plus helmet, and the Chinese characters do not carry that etymology.
Chinese media uses 威廉 for the full name: Prince William is 威廉王子, where the title follows the transliterated name, and William Shakespeare is 威廉·莎士比亚. CC-CEDICT records 威廉 as a dictionary entry, which is why this site treats it as the local dictionary answer rather than an AI guess.
Short forms are transliterated separately. Will becomes 威尔, Bill becomes 比尔 and Billy becomes 比利, so someone introduced as Bill is not written 威廉 and the full form should not be trimmed to match.
Related names
William is related to Will and Bill and Billy. Will is 威尔 (Wēi ěr), Bill is 比尔 (Bǐ ěr) and Billy is 比利 (Bǐ lì). Each short form has its own characters and sound, so none of them can be swapped for the full 威廉.
When to use this form
威廉 translates the name of a real person called William — 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.
William in Chinese: FAQ
How do you write William in Chinese?
William is written 威廉 in Chinese, pronounced Wēi lián. It is the standard phonetic transliteration recorded in CC-CEDICT and used across Chinese media.
Why is Prince William called 威廉王子?
Chinese transliterates the name as 威廉 and then adds the title, so the order is name followed by 王子 ("prince"). The same pattern gives 威廉·莎士比亚 for William Shakespeare, where the surname is transliterated as a second block.
Is Bill written 威廉 as well?
No. Bill has its own transliteration, 比尔 (Bǐ ěr), while Will is 威尔 and Billy is 比利. Chinese writes the name a person actually goes by rather than expanding a nickname to the full form.
How do you pronounce 威廉?
Wēi lián — first tone then second tone, roughly "way lyen". The first syllable stays high and level; the second rises. Use the hear-it button on this page to listen.