How to Say Renminbi

Overview
China’s economic rise has led to much talk surrounding China’s currency. In many cases, so-called financial or China “experts” incorrectly pronounce the name of China’s currency, leading informed listeners to doubt the knowledge of those so-called “experts” on China or other financial topics.

There are two official names which refer to China’s currency: Renminbi, or RMB. This article explains how to pronounce Renminbi, which is the official term China’s central bank uses when referring to the name of the currency of the People’s Republic of China.

Pronunciation
Renminbi is pinyin spelling for three Mandarin Chinese characters: “ren,” “min,” and “bi.”

Ren” starts with the “r” sound in the word “radio,” and rhymes with the English words “ten” and “when.

“Min” starts with the “m” sound in the word “money,” and rhymes with the English words “tin” and “bin.”

“Bi” starts with the “b” sound in the word “ball,” and rhymes with the English words “three” and “me.”

Tones
While being able to correctly pronounce the word “Renminbi” indicates a basic understanding of China’s currency to informed listeners, correctly using Mandarin’s tones when pronouncing “Renminbi” is an even higher step in indicating a speaker’s familiarity with the name of China’s currency and the intricacies of China’s standard oral language.

Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language consisting of four tones. To pronounce “Renminbi” using the correct Mandarin tones, speakers will need to understand and correctly use Mandarin’s second and fourth tones.

Mandarin’s second tone is a rising tone, and is the tone English speakers often use when expressing curiosity. The second tone is similar to the pronunciation of the word “who” in the sentence “Who did you say gave me a million dollars?”

Mandarin’s fourth tone is a falling tone, and is the tone English speakers often use when expressing a demand or a command. The fourth tone is similar to the pronunciation of the word “now” in the sentence “I want an answer and I want it now!”

In Mandarin, for the word “Renminbi,” “ren” and “min” are pronounced using the second tone, and “bi” is pronounced using the fourth tone. In Mandarin, “Renminbi” is pronounced by using the correct tones and saying “ren,” “min,” and “bi” together without spaces between the words.

Meaning
“Renmin” means the people, which are the basic members of society. “Bi” means money, or currency. “Renminbi,” then, refers to the people’s currency.

According to the Contemporary Chinese Dictionary published by China’s Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, “Renminbi” is the “Chinese currency with yuan as the unit.

Alternative Terms
A shorter, easier, yet still very official way to refer to the “Renminbi” is to say the letters RMB, which stand for “Ren,” “Min,” and “Bi.”

Even though “Renminbi” is the official term for the name of the Chinese currency, many people refer to China’s currency as the “yuan,” which is the counting unit for China’s currency. While “Renminbi” and “RMB” are the official terms, pronunciation advice is available for those wishing to learn how to properly pronounce “yuan.”

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Sources: BBC, Wall Street Journal