How to pronounce Xiaomi (小米) in Chinese
Xiaomi is 小米, xiǎo mǐ in pinyin: roughly "shyow-mee", with the first syllable rising and the second low. Hear 小米 (xiǎo mǐ) spoken, see what it means, then record yourself for instant AI feedback on your pronunciation.
小米
xiǎo mǐ
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Characters & meanings
small, little
rice; grain
Common mistake
The X is not "z" or "ks": it is a soft "sh" made with the tongue tip behind the lower teeth. And two third tones in a row: the first one rises.
Xiaomi in Mandarin: what to get right
小米 is the Chinese word for millet; character by character it reads "small rice". The phone and electronics company founded in Beijing in 2010 uses the word as its name, so a Chinese speaker hears an everyday food word, not an invented brand.
How English speakers usually say it
English speakers read the X as in "xylophone" and say "zee-OW-mee", or stress the first syllable hard: "SHOW-mee". The vowel in xiao is a glide, "yow" as in "yowl", not "show", and Mandarin has no stress pattern of that kind: each syllable carries a tone instead.
How to say 小米 tone by tone
Both syllables are third tones, and two third tones in a row change: the first is said as a rising second tone. So say xiáo mǐ: "shyow" rising like a question, then "mee" low and relaxed at the bottom of your voice. Start x with the tongue tip resting behind your lower teeth and the lips spread, which gives a sound between "s" and "sh".
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