Zhang in Japanese

How is the Chinese surname Zhang read in Japanese?

Chō or Chan? Start with the pronunciation you want to convey, then put the surname back into a full name.

Convert a Zhang name
From NameFerry

Just need the surname? It is in the first row. For an introduction, the worked example below follows Zhang Wei through the different result fields.

Zhang: 張, チョウ or チャン?

張 is the Japanese character form of 张. Its Japanese on-reading is チョウ (ちょう / Chō); チャン approximates the Mandarin pronunciation Zhāng. The chart shows the surname on its own and in full names.

Zhang name examples in Japanese

These examples use NameFerry’s current Japanese glyph, on-reading and Mandarin Katakana rules.

Chinese nameJapanese kanjiJapanese KatakanaHiraganaRomajiMandarin Katakana
张張チョウちょうChōチャン
张伟張偉チョウ イちょう いChō Iチャン・ウェイ
张静張静チョウ セイちょう せいChō Seiチャン・ジン
张丽張麗チョウ レイちょう れいChō Reiチャン・リー
张明張明チョウ メイちょう めいChō Meiチャン・ミン

Introduce Zhang Wei to a Japanese speaker

Suppose you want a Japanese reader to get close to the Mandarin pronunciation. Keep the written name, then choose the Mandarin-based line.

  1. Keep the written name

    張偉

    The character forms change from 张伟 to 張偉. That is a spelling conversion, not a decision about pronunciation.

  2. Choose the Mandarin-based reading

    チャン・ウェイ

    チャン represents the surname and ウェイ the given name. The middle dot separates them; it adds no sound.

  3. Use Pinyin for the Mandarin spelling

    Zhāng Wěi

    This records Mandarin. Chō I, shown elsewhere in the result, records the Japanese kanji reading. The two Latin-letter lines are not interchangeable.

Already introduce yourself as チョウ イ? Keep that reading if it is the one you use. Send the spelling that matches the name you will say when you meet.

Explore more Chinese surnames in Japanese

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Convert your complete Zhang name

Enter the name once to compare Japanese kanji, Katakana, Hiragana, Romaji and Mandarin pronunciation.

Convert a Zhang name