Lev in Chinese
The standard Chinese transliteration of Lev is 列夫, pronounced Lièfū. Hear it below, see what each character means, then try saying it yourself.
列夫
Lièfū
Now say it
Tap the mic, say Lev in Mandarin and get a score for every tone.
Written forms to copy
Simplified (mainland China)
列夫
Traditional (Taiwan, Hong Kong)
列夫
Same in both scripts
列夫
Vertical
How the name reads on a scroll, a seal or a tattoo. Copy the characters above and set them top to bottom.
Lièfū
Character by character
to line up; row
man; husband
About this transliteration
列夫 belongs to Lev Tolstoy, 列夫·托尔斯泰 — one of the best-known Russian names in China.
Before you tattoo or print Lev in Chinese
- 列夫 is the usual transliteration of Lev: the form Chinese readers recognise as this name. The characters were picked for their sound.
- Character by character: 列 (liè) = to line up; row · 夫 (fū) = man; husband. Written together, a Chinese reader sees the name Lev, not a phrase built from those meanings.
- 列夫 is written the same in simplified and traditional characters, so it reads correctly everywhere.
- Left to right, or top to bottom when vertical. Never mirror, rotate or reorder the characters: one missing or extra stroke makes a different character.
- Brush and calligraphy fonts change the shape of the strokes. Ask a native reader to check the final artwork before it is inked or printed.
- The tones are tone 4 + tone 1. Hear it above, record yourself and get each tone scored, or check all four tones with the free Mandarin tones test.
Want a real Chinese name rather than a transliteration? Try our free Chinese name generator.
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