<p>On a similar note, I have never heard a Chinese person spelling an English word to another Chinese person, but when trying to indicate an English letter, for instance an underground exit, they will often say:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>A, B, C 的 B 吗？</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-11-10T15:39:21.057Z
2013-11-10T15:39:21.057Z
rhughes
<p>In China, there isn't an custom of spelling potentially ambiguous letters. But spell them correctly is a "Rigid Demand". The intelligent Chinese invent many method of dealing with it.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Repeat<br>
Repeat is the most common way to tell confusion. In many occasion, one spell, the other retell and he tell again to check it.</p></li>
<li><p>Use common word<br>
In my experience, letter <code>B</code> and <code>D</code> often confuse people. And these two letters are commonly use in multiple choice problem at school. Teachers always use word <code>Boy</code> and <code>Dog</code> to tell them.</p></li>
<li><p>Use a mixture of English pronunciation and Chinese Pinyin pronunciation<br>
Use a mixture of English pronunciation and Chinese Pinyin pronunciation is another effective solution. This solution has an advantage that we can spell fast with it because every Chinese Pinyin letter have just one syllable. But this solution is not widely used.<br>
For example:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>A [a:]   B [bɒ]   C [ts:]   D [də]   E [ə:]   F [fə]   G [gə]   H [hə]   I [i:]</p>
</blockquote></li>
<li><p>Some Chinese, especially who learns radio, are more likely to use NATO phonetic alphabet (aka International radiotelephony spelling alphabet).</p></li>
</ol>

<p>There are also many other ways to solve this problem. Chinese often spell as they like, not restricted by any common rules.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-07T10:26:45.207Z
+1 for NATO phonetic alphabet. Useful in any context where you need to spell unambiguously, especially when there is background noise and/or sound distortion.
Bobble
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-03T02:00:27.927Z
2013-10-28T13:40:26.533Z
2013-10-28T13:40:26.533Z
SEIAROTg
<p>Even for educated Chinese people who know English fairly well, they do not use the same method that native English speakers use (the one mentioned in your question).</p>
<p>The common methods Chinese use include:</p>
<p>1 - Read a small sequence of letters from the alphabet that contains the letter in question.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Theodore怎么拼？”</p>
<p>“T-H-...”</p>
<p>“等一下，是T还是P”</p>
<p>“T，<strong>R-S-T的T</strong>&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>2 -  Prefix the letter with its ordinal number in the alphabet. This is borrowed from school as it's how teachers and students read answers of choice questions. It is commonly used for A-D but not very common for letters after D.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“最后一个字母是<b>二B还是四D</b>？”</p>
<p>“<strong>四D</strong>。”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(Make sure when you read “2B&quot;, B is in prominent falling tone, to distinguish from the swearing word &quot;二逼&quot; where the second character reads bi1. Of course students often make joke out of these homonyms.)</p>
<p>3 - Describe the shape or some other distinctive properties of the letter.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“G还是J？” (It's very common for Chinese people to confuse the pronunciations of these two letters.)</p>
<p>“J，<strong>勾儿</strong>。” (It's referring to the shape of the letter AND also it's the urban name of the letter in poker games.)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If you do need to spell some English word over the phone with a Chinese, chances are the person is a service personnel, receptionist or secretary, with whom these methods work quite well, as per my personal experience.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-07-29T02:10:36.890Z
I don't personally have any experience in this, but I'd imagine it would be easier for Chinese speakers to explain letters ideogrammatically than phonetically.
deutschZuid
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-07-27T19:10:50.980Z
2013-07-28T11:09:32.417Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
NS.X.
<p>In English, if I am spelling my name for someone over the phone I can use a phonetic alphabet to ensure they get my name right. Especially for potentially ambiguous letters; d and t, b and p, c and e, f and s etc.</p>

<p>For example</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>I live on Theodore Ave, T as in today, H, E as in elephant, D as in delta, O, R, E as in elephant</p>
</blockquote>

<p>As Chinese does not have an alphabet per se and there are not enough intials in pinyin to cover the English alphabet, </p>

<p>What words would they use to confirm the receiver has the correct spelling of an English word?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-09T22:15:03.140Z
@Stan "Theodore" isn't too bad, but M and N are notoriously difficult to tell apart.
David Richerby
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-07-27T16:00:36.627Z
Why not a simple "T-H-E-O-D-O-R-E, Theodore"?
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-07-28T09:27:52.773Z
@Stan I guess it has to do with telecommunications technology. When I worked at a service call center we had to memorize a "A as in apple, B as in..ad nauseum" Over the phone some letters are ambiguous.
tao
<culture><spoken><phonology>
How do Chinese spell English words over the phone?
# How do Chinese spell English words over the phone?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-07-27)

In English, if I am spelling my name for someone over the phone I can use a phonetic alphabet to ensure they get my name right. Especially for potentially ambiguous letters; d and t, b and p, c and e, f and s etc.

For example

> I live on Theodore Ave, T as in today, H, E as in elephant, D as in delta, O, R, E as in elephant

As Chinese does not have an alphabet per se and there are not enough intials in pinyin to cover the English alphabet,

What words would they use to confirm the receiver has the correct spelling of an English word?

**Tags:** culture, spoken, phonology

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Why not a simple "T-H-E-O-D-O-R-E, Theodore"?  
> **username_0**: @username_2 I guess it has to do with telecommunications technology. When I worked at a service call center we had to memorize a "A as in apple, B as in..ad nauseum" Over the phone some letters are ambiguous.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 "Theodore" isn't too bad, but M and N are notoriously difficult to tell apart.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2013-07-27. Score: 20 | Accepted answer

Even for educated Chinese people who know English fairly well, they do not use the same method that native English speakers use (the one mentioned in your question).

The common methods Chinese use include:

1 - Read a small sequence of letters from the alphabet that contains the letter in question.

> “Theodore怎么拼？”
>
> “T-H-...”
>
> “等一下，是T还是P”
>
> “T，**R-S-T的T**"

2 - Prefix the letter with its ordinal number in the alphabet. This is borrowed from school as it's how teachers and students read answers of choice questions. It is commonly used for A-D but not very common for letters after D.

> “最后一个字母是**二B还是四D**？”
>
> “**四D**。”

(Make sure when you read “2B", B is in prominent falling tone, to distinguish from the swearing word "二逼" where the second character reads bi1. Of course students often make joke out of these homonyms.)

3 - Describe the shape or some other distinctive properties of the letter.

> “G还是J？” (It's very common for Chinese people to confuse the pronunciations of these two letters.)
>
> “J，**勾儿**。” (It's referring to the shape of the letter AND also it's the urban name of the letter in poker games.)

If you do need to spell some English word over the phone with a Chinese, chances are the person is a service personnel, receptionist or secretary, with whom these methods work quite well, as per my personal experience.

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: I don't personally have any experience in this, but I'd imagine it would be easier for Chinese speakers to explain letters ideogrammatically than phonetically.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2013-11-10. Score: 1

On a similar note, I have never heard a Chinese person spelling an English word to another Chinese person, but when trying to indicate an English letter, for instance an underground exit, they will often say:

> A, B, C 的 B 吗？


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2013-08-03. Score: 1

In China, there isn't an custom of spelling potentially ambiguous letters. But spell them correctly is a "Rigid Demand". The intelligent Chinese invent many method of dealing with it.

1. Repeat  
   Repeat is the most common way to tell confusion. In many occasion, one spell, the other retell and he tell again to check it.
2. Use common word  
   In my experience, letter `B` and `D` often confuse people. And these two letters are commonly use in multiple choice problem at school. Teachers always use word `Boy` and `Dog` to tell them.
3. Use a mixture of English pronunciation and Chinese Pinyin pronunciation  
   Use a mixture of English pronunciation and Chinese Pinyin pronunciation is another effective solution. This solution has an advantage that we can spell fast with it because every Chinese Pinyin letter have just one syllable. But this solution is not widely used.  
   For example:

   > A [a:] B [bɒ] C [ts:] D [də] E [ə:] F [fə] G [gə] H [hə] I [i:]
4. Some Chinese, especially who learns radio, are more likely to use NATO phonetic alphabet (aka International radiotelephony spelling alphabet).

There are also many other ways to solve this problem. Chinese often spell as they like, not restricted by any common rules.

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: +1 for NATO phonetic alphabet. Useful in any context where you need to spell unambiguously, especially when there is background noise and/or sound distortion.  

---

