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Chains are made of a lot of oval shaped units. What is each one of them called in English?

I don't know the name in my native language either.

a metal chain with a red arrow pointing to one of its links

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It's called a link. From Wikipedia,

A chain is a series of connected links which are typically made of metal. A chain may consist of two or more links.

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    There's an interesting idiomatic expression, "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link." It means, for instance, that the weakest member of a team or process might disproportionately affect the rest negatively.
    – Stephen C
    Commented Feb 23, 2017 at 5:44
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    Note that a "link" can also refer to a number of other things (e.g. a hypertext link). Often it's clear from the context which one is meant, in which case you can just say "link", but if necessary you can say "link of a chain" to clarify what sort of link you mean.
    – psmears
    Commented Feb 23, 2017 at 11:42
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    It's the same underlying meaning: a link is something that connects (or could connect) two things. In the case of a physical chain, each link connects two other links to each other, or to whatever the chain is attached to.
    – chepner
    Commented Feb 23, 2017 at 14:38
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    Also, a lot of idiomatic phrases involving chains use "link" as well: "The weakest link", "The missing link", "Link up", etc..
    – A. Galloway
    Commented Jul 27, 2017 at 17:52
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You could also use "ring".

In support of this, from the Cambridge dictionary, a chain is "a set of connected things". In particular, look at the second definition: "(a length of) rings". The word "link" never appears on the page, even though I can agree with the @Max's definition.

Almost the same is stated in the Oxford dictionary - chain:

[countable, uncountable] a series of connected metal rings, used for pulling or fastening things; a length of chain used for a particular purpose

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    While it certainly is a ring, that doesn't imply that it's part of a chain in the same way link does.
    – Catija
    Commented Mar 1, 2017 at 14:29
  • I partially agree with you. Of course, it's right that a ring doesn't necessary belong to a chain. However, it is also true that also a link it is not always part of a chain: nodes in a net are linked, but they don't shape a chain: they shape a net. So, it is very common that material chains are made of rings; even though sometimes they are not.
    – Gabrer
    Commented Mar 1, 2017 at 15:12
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    I should add from the Cambridge dictionary, that a chain is "a set of connected things". In particular, look at the second definition: "(a length of) rings". The word "link" never appear on the page, even though I can agree with the @Max definition. Almost the same is stated on the Oxford dictionary - chain.
    – Gabrer
    Commented May 8, 2017 at 13:20
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    I'm glad you decided to edit your answer to include more information. I think that "ring" is a common alternative to "link" and that the picture in the question may have biased folks toward "link". A picture of a chain with more rounded "links" might have made people look more favorably on the suggestion of "rings", which is less specific than "links" but not incorrect.
    – ColleenV
    Commented Jul 27, 2017 at 17:25
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    Would definitely be more inclined to upvote this answer if it referenced some picture with round links. But at the moment I rather disagree with the part that says "especially in the case of the picture you posted" because the links in that picture aren't round.
    – cjl750
    Commented Jul 27, 2017 at 20:05

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