The most widely used China abbreviation is CN, the two-letter code from the ISO 3166 international standard. The three-letter version is CHN, and in news and official writing you will also see PRC, short for the country's formal name, the People's Republic of China.
Which one to use depends on the job. Forms, shipping labels and website addresses favor CN. Passports, sports scoreboards and data tables lean toward CHN. Articles about government and diplomacy use PRC when they want to name the state itself.
Quick facts
Two-letter code
CNThree-letter code
CHNOfficial name
People's Republic of China (PRC)Internet domain
.cnPhone country code
+86Currency code
CNY, the yuan (also called renminbi, RMB)Periods
None in codes; write CN, not C.N.
Every common China abbreviation in one table
| Abbreviation | What it is | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| CN | ISO two-letter country code | Address forms, shipping, product labels, drop-down menus |
| CHN | ISO three-letter country code | Travel documents, Olympic tables, research data |
| PRC | People's Republic of China | News, laws, diplomatic writing |
| .cn | Internet country domain | Website addresses |
| +86 | Telephone country code | International phone numbers |
| CNY or RMB | Currency code and common short name | Exchange rates, invoices |
None of these codes take periods. They are written in capitals, except the web domain, which is lowercase.
When to use CN, CHN or PRC
Think of CN as the everyday code. When an online checkout asks you to pick a country, the value stored behind the word "China" is usually CN. Product stickers that read "Made in China" sometimes add CN as a short form.
CHN fits places where three letters give more room to tell countries apart. At international sports events, China's team is listed as CHN next to the flag, and machine readable passports use the three-letter code too.
PRC names the government and the state. A reporter might write "PRC officials" or "PRC law." In ordinary sentences, though, simply writing China is clearest.
On a parcel declaration: "Origin CN, qty 3, toy blocks." This tells the shipping office the item was made in China.
How to write China in running text
In a sentence, spell out China. It is a short word, so style guides rarely shorten it. If you must save space in a chart or a footnote, CN or CHN is better than an invented short form like Chi. or Chn. Dictionaries mark the adjective Chinese with the label Chin., but that is a reference shortcut, not something to use in normal writing.
Shortening habits in general fill the page on how to abbreviate, while the acronym vs abbreviation guide shows why codes like CN are neither words nor spoken letters in most speech.
Codes for nearby places
Some regions linked to China have codes of their own in the international standard, and you will often see them listed separately on forms:
- HK and HKG for Hong Kong
- MO and MAC for Macao
- TW and TWN for Taiwan
You may also meet ROC, Republic of China, the name used by the government based in Taiwan. It is a different term from PRC, and the two should not be swapped.
Airport and city codes
Travelers see other short forms too. Airports use three-letter codes, such as PEK for Beijing Capital International Airport and PVG for Shanghai Pudong International Airport. These are airport identifiers, not country codes. Compare other nations on the country abbreviations page, including India and the Philippines.
Quick tips
- Pick CN for forms and labels, CHN for scoreboards and data, and PRC for formal state names.
- Do not use CH for China. CH is the code for Switzerland.
- Do not confuse CN with CA, which is Canada.
- Check whether a form wants two or three letters before you fill it in.
Questions people ask
What is the abbreviation for China?
The standard abbreviation for China is CN, the two-letter ISO country code. CHN is the three-letter code.
What does PRC stand for?
PRC stands for People's Republic of China, the country's official name. It is used mostly in news and formal writing.
Is CH the code for China?
No. CH is the code for Switzerland, from its Latin name. China's codes are CN and CHN.
Why does China use CHN at the Olympics?
International sports bodies list teams by three-letter codes, and CHN is China's. The longer code avoids mixing up countries whose names start the same way.
What does CN mean on a product label?
A sticker reading CN tells you China is the country of origin. It is the two-letter country code.