Ruyi is such a beautiful name, in its Mandarin pronunciation as well as the Anglicized pronunciation. In Mandarin, the name is said with a rising tone over Ru and a falling tone over Yi. The R is pronounced with a retroflex (similar to the S in vision). The Y is silent but this is an arguable point. In Mandarin, the y in "yi" is not pronounced as a consonant. It acts as a placeholder for the vowel "i" (ɪ) when there is no initial consonant. To native English speakers, it’ll often sound like the Y is being pronounced, depending on regional dialects. Often, native Mandarin speakers can’t hear the difference. One shouldn’t expect native English speakers to say the name in perfect Mandarin. A good Anglicized approximation of Ruyi as it sounds in Mandarin is roo-EE like Marie. The emphasis is on the second syllable and the R is exactly like the R in rain. If you can say other iambic French names like Denise and Michelle, then you can say Ruyi this way. To me, this approximation sounds beautiful and imperial.Removing the tone approximation gives you the alternative pronunciation: ROO-ee, where the emphasis is on the first syllable like Ruby, Ruthie, etc. This is similar to how you pronounce the Japanese name Rui. Most of the English language is made of trochaic words so it’s of course easier to fit this version into English conversation. This approximation sounds cute and sweet.
In Mandarin, the name is said with a rising tone over Ru and a falling tone over Yi. The R is pronounced with a retroflex (similar to the S in vision). The Y is silent but this is an arguable point. In Mandarin, the y in "yi" is not pronounced as a consonant. It acts as a placeholder for the vowel "i" (ɪ) when there is no initial consonant. To native English speakers, it’ll often sound like the Y is being pronounced, depending on regional dialects. Often, native Mandarin speakers can’t hear the difference.
One shouldn’t expect native English speakers to say the name in perfect Mandarin.
A good Anglicized approximation of Ruyi as it sounds in Mandarin is roo-EE like Marie. The emphasis is on the second syllable and the R is exactly like the R in rain. If you can say other iambic French names like Denise and Michelle, then you can say Ruyi this way. To me, this approximation sounds beautiful and imperial.
Removing the tone approximation gives you the alternative pronunciation: ROO-ee, where the emphasis is on the first syllable like Ruby, Ruthie, etc. This is similar to how you pronounce the Japanese name Rui. Most of the English language is made of trochaic words so it’s of course easier to fit this version into English conversation. This approximation sounds cute and sweet.