Language

Chess in Chinese

Two different games are both called chess in Chinese. Here is which is which, every piece's character in red and black, and how to say them.

Chinese chess is 象棋 (xiàngqí). Western chess — the one with a queen and bishops — is 国际象棋 (guójì xiàngqí), literally “international chess”.

Both end in 棋 (qí), which means a board game rather than chess specifically — the same syllable sits in 围棋 (wéiqí, Go) and 五子棋 (wǔzǐqí, gomoku). Said on its own with no qualifier, 象棋 means the Chinese game.

The names, side by side

Simplified characters are used in mainland China and Singapore; traditional in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Where a row shows one form, the two are identical.

Simplified	Traditional	Pinyin	Literally	What it means
象棋	象棋	xiàngqí	elephant game	Chinese chess — this game. In mainland China 象棋 on its own always means this one.
中国象棋	中國象棋	zhōngguó xiàngqí	Chinese elephant game	Chinese chess, said explicitly — used when both games are on the table.
国际象棋	國際象棋	guójì xiàngqí	international elephant game	Western chess — the game with a queen and bishops. This is the answer most people are looking for.
西洋棋	西洋棋	xīyángqí	Western game	Western chess, as it is usually called in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
围棋	圍棋	wéiqí	surrounding game	Go — not chess at all, but often confused with it in English writing.

Every piece, in red and black

The two sides do not share characters. Red and Black use different ones for the same piece — usually chosen to sound alike — so a glance at the character tells you whose piece it is even in a photograph with the colour washed out.

Piece	Red	Black	Simplified	Notes
General	帥shuài	將jiàng	帅 / 将	The king. Red's is “marshal”, Black's is “general” — the same rank by two different titles.
Advisor	仕shì	士shì	仕 / 士	Court official and scholar-warrior. Identical sound, different character.
Elephant	相xiàng	象xiàng	相 / 象	Red's 相 is “minister”; Black's 象 is the animal itself — and the 象 that gives 象棋 its name.
Horse	傌mà	馬mǎ	马 / 马	Moves like a knight but can be blocked. Many modern sets print 馬 on both sides.
Chariot	俥jū	車jū	车 / 车	The rook, and the strongest piece. Read jū in the game even though 車 is chē in ordinary speech.
Cannon	炮pào	砲pào	炮 / 炮	Red's 炮 has the fire radical, Black's 砲 the stone radical — gunpowder against a catapult.
Soldier	兵bīng	卒zú	兵 / 卒	The pawn. Two genuinely different words: 兵 is a soldier, 卒 a footman.

What players say at the board

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
下棋	xià qí	to play a board game — literally “to lay down pieces”
将军	jiāng jūn	check — said out loud when you attack the General
将死	jiāng sǐ	checkmate
和棋	hé qí	a draw
楚河汉界	chǔ hé hàn jiè	the river — “Chu river, Han border”, painted across the middle of every board
九宫	jiǔ gōng	the palace — the 3×3 box the General may never leave
棋子	qí zǐ	a game piece
棋盘	qí pán	the board

Common questions

How do you say chess in Chinese?: It depends which chess you mean. Chinese chess is 象棋 (xiàngqí). Western chess — the game with a queen and bishops — is 国际象棋 (guójì xiàngqí), literally “international chess”, or 西洋棋 (xīyángqí) in Taiwan and Hong Kong. On its own, 象棋 means the Chinese game.
What does xiangqi mean literally?: 象棋 breaks into 象 (xiàng), meaning elephant or image, and 棋 (qí), meaning board game. So “elephant game” — named for the elephant piece that guards each side of the board and can never cross the river.
Why do the red and black pieces have different characters?: So you can read whose piece it is without relying on colour. The pairs are chosen to sound alike but be written differently: 帥/將 for the General, 俥/車 for the Chariot, 炮/砲 for the Cannon. Only the Soldier breaks the pattern — 兵 and 卒 are two different words.
Is xiangqi the same as chess?: No. They share an ancestor in the Indian game chaturanga, but Xiangqi is played on the intersections of a 9×10 grid, has a river and a palace, and adds the Cannon, which captures by jumping over a piece. There is no queen and no castling.
How is xiangqi pronounced?: Roughly “shyang-chee”. The x is close to an English sh said with the tongue low and forward, and the q is close to ch. Both syllables carry a falling-rising then rising tone: xiàngqí.

Now that you can read the pieces — learn the rules of Xiangqi, play against the computer free or play Chinese chess online against a real opponent.

The names, side by side

Simplified characters are used in mainland China and Singapore; traditional in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Where a row shows one form, the two are identical.

Simplified	Traditional	Pinyin	Literally	What it means
象棋	象棋	xiàngqí	elephant game	Chinese chess — this game. In mainland China 象棋 on its own always means this one.
中国象棋	中國象棋	zhōngguó xiàngqí	Chinese elephant game	Chinese chess, said explicitly — used when both games are on the table.
国际象棋	國際象棋	guójì xiàngqí	international elephant game	Western chess — the game with a queen and bishops. This is the answer most people are looking for.
西洋棋	西洋棋	xīyángqí	Western game	Western chess, as it is usually called in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
围棋	圍棋	wéiqí	surrounding game	Go — not chess at all, but often confused with it in English writing.

Every piece, in red and black

Piece	Red	Black	Simplified	Notes
General	帥shuài	將jiàng	帅 / 将	The king. Red's is “marshal”, Black's is “general” — the same rank by two different titles.
Advisor	仕shì	士shì	仕 / 士	Court official and scholar-warrior. Identical sound, different character.
Elephant	相xiàng	象xiàng	相 / 象	Red's 相 is “minister”; Black's 象 is the animal itself — and the 象 that gives 象棋 its name.
Horse	傌mà	馬mǎ	马 / 马	Moves like a knight but can be blocked. Many modern sets print 馬 on both sides.
Chariot	俥jū	車jū	车 / 车	The rook, and the strongest piece. Read jū in the game even though 車 is chē in ordinary speech.
Cannon	炮pào	砲pào	炮 / 炮	Red's 炮 has the fire radical, Black's 砲 the stone radical — gunpowder against a catapult.
Soldier	兵bīng	卒zú	兵 / 卒	The pawn. Two genuinely different words: 兵 is a soldier, 卒 a footman.

What players say at the board

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
下棋	xià qí	to play a board game — literally “to lay down pieces”
将军	jiāng jūn	check — said out loud when you attack the General
将死	jiāng sǐ	checkmate
和棋	hé qí	a draw
楚河汉界	chǔ hé hàn jiè	the river — “Chu river, Han border”, painted across the middle of every board
九宫	jiǔ gōng	the palace — the 3×3 box the General may never leave
棋子	qí zǐ	a game piece
棋盘	qí pán	the board

Common questions

How do you say chess in Chinese?

It depends which chess you mean. Chinese chess is 象棋 (xiàngqí). Western chess — the game with a queen and bishops — is 国际象棋 (guójì xiàngqí), literally “international chess”, or 西洋棋 (xīyángqí) in Taiwan and Hong Kong. On its own, 象棋 means the Chinese game.

What does xiangqi mean literally?

象棋 breaks into 象 (xiàng), meaning elephant or image, and 棋 (qí), meaning board game. So “elephant game” — named for the elephant piece that guards each side of the board and can never cross the river.

Why do the red and black pieces have different characters?

So you can read whose piece it is without relying on colour. The pairs are chosen to sound alike but be written differently: 帥/將 for the General, 俥/車 for the Chariot, 炮/砲 for the Cannon. Only the Soldier breaks the pattern — 兵 and 卒 are two different words.

Is xiangqi the same as chess?

No. They share an ancestor in the Indian game chaturanga, but Xiangqi is played on the intersections of a 9×10 grid, has a river and a palace, and adds the Cannon, which captures by jumping over a piece. There is no queen and no castling.

How is xiangqi pronounced?

Roughly “shyang-chee”. The x is close to an English sh said with the tongue low and forward, and the q is close to ch. Both syllables carry a falling-rising then rising tone: xiàngqí.