How do you pronounce xiangqi?
These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws and is regression-tested against the official 110-diagram repetition casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it against the engine before publishing.
Direct answer
Say it shyahng-chee. The x is a soft sh made with the tongue low and forward, and the q is a ch, not a k. In Mandarin it is xiàngqí — falling tone, then rising.
Sound by sound
xiàng (象) — begin with the sh of "sheep" but with the tip of your tongue behind your lower teeth, then "ahng". It is the word for elephant.
qí (棋) — "chee", as in "cheese" without the -se. It means board game, the same syllable as in wéiqí (go).
The mistakes to avoid
Not "zee-ang-kee". The x is never a z, and the q is never a hard k. English speakers who have met Chinese romanisation before usually get it right the moment they know that q = ch.
Nobody will mind if your tones are flat. The consonants are what make it recognisable.
Related questions
What does xiangqi mean literally?
Roughly "elephant game". 象 is elephant and 棋 is a board game — though the 象 may originally have been 像, meaning figure or image.
How do you say it in Cantonese?
Approximately jeung-kei. The characters are the same 象棋.
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