How to pronounce Alibaba (阿里巴巴) in Chinese
Alibaba is 阿里巴巴, ā lǐ bā bā: four even syllables, high, low, high, high. Hear 阿里巴巴 (ā lǐ bā bā) spoken, see what it means, then record yourself for instant AI feedback on your pronunciation.
阿里巴巴
ā lǐ bā bā
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Characters & meanings
(prefix, sound)
inside; (sound)
(sound)
(sound)
Common mistake
No English stress: four even syllables. lǐ before a first tone stays low, with no rise.
Alibaba in Mandarin: what to get right
The company founded in Hangzhou in 1999 by Jack Ma (马云, Mǎ Yún) took its name from Ali Baba of the Thousand and One Nights, a name recognised in both English and Chinese. The Chinese spelling 阿里巴巴 is a transliteration: the characters are there for their sound.
How English speakers usually say it
English gives the name a stress rhythm, "AL-ee-BAH-bah", which squeezes the syllables in between. Mandarin gives each syllable full length and its own tone, and the a in ā and bā is an open "ah", never the "a" of "alley".
How to say 阿里巴巴 tone by tone
Ā: "ah", high and level. Lǐ: "lee", low; it is a third tone before a first tone, so it doesn’t rise again. Bā bā: two high, level "bah"s with an unaspirated b. The low lǐ between three high syllables is the one tone people miss.
The recorder below scores the Mandarin, 阿里巴巴 (ā lǐ bā bā): every syllable’s tone, initial and final. Check your tones on more words.
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