Harry in Chinese
How to write Harry in Chinese, how to say it, and real Chinese names picked for it.
Harry, written by sound
哈里
Hālǐ
- 哈hā
- 里lǐ
This is how Harry is written by sound: in the news, on maps and in translated books. Each character is there for its sound, so their meanings don't add up to anything.
You'll also see 哈利, the everyday spelling.
But it isn't a Chinese name. Chinese parents choose a name for what it means, like the ones below.
Real Chinese names for Harry
None of these sounds quite like Harry, but each one is a real name Chinese parents give, with a meaning of its own. Tap the buttons to hear a character, watch it written, or write it yourself.
Classic name
瀚文Hànwén
a sea of writing
hàn
vast, like the sea
wén
culture, writing
Classic name
哲瀚Zhéhàn
wise and vast
zhé
sage; philosophy
hàn
vast, like the sea
Poetic name
星汉Xīnghàn
the Milky Way
xīng
star
hàn
the Han; the Milky Way (星汉)
Stroke order follows the mainland China standard; a few characters are written differently in Taiwan.
Get your own Chinese name
Harry, get eight real names in the style you like (classic, poetic, wuxia…) and pick the one that feels like you. It takes a minute.
How Chinese names work
The family name comes first, and it is almost always one character: 王 Wáng, 李 Lǐ, 林 Lín. A few have two, like 欧阳 Ōuyáng.
The given name follows: one or two characters, chosen for what they mean. A virtue, a flower, a wish from the parents.
So with a family name in front, 瀚文 becomes a full name such as 林瀚文 (Lín Hànwén).
About the name Harry
In England and Wales it was number 17 in 1996 and is number 19 in 2025.
Sources: US Social Security Administration, Office for National Statistics (UK).