Yakov in Chinese
The standard Chinese transliteration of Yakov is 雅科夫, pronounced Yǎkēfū. Hear it below, see what each character means, then try saying it yourself.
雅科夫
Yǎkēfū
Now say it
Tap the mic, say Yakov in Mandarin and get a score for every tone.
Written forms to copy
Simplified (mainland China)
雅科夫
Traditional (Taiwan, Hong Kong)
雅科夫
Same in both scripts
雅科夫
Vertical
How the name reads on a scroll, a seal or a tattoo. Copy the characters above and set them top to bottom.
Yǎkēfū
Character by character
elegant; refined
branch of study; science
man; husband
About this transliteration
Standard 雅科夫; the biblical Jacob is 雅各 in Chinese Bibles.
Before you tattoo or print Yakov in Chinese
- 雅科夫 is the usual transliteration of Yakov: the form Chinese readers recognise as this name. The characters were picked for their sound.
- Character by character: 雅 (yǎ) = elegant; refined · 科 (kē) = branch of study; science · 夫 (fū) = man; husband. Written together, a Chinese reader sees the name Yakov, not a phrase built from those meanings.
- 雅科夫 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 3 + tone 1 + 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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