{"id":18911,"date":"2019-02-08T03:00:04","date_gmt":"2019-02-08T02:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saporedicina.com\/english\/?p=18911"},"modified":"2022-02-08T07:36:42","modified_gmt":"2022-02-08T06:36:42","slug":"how-to-write-my-name-in-chinese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saporedicina.com\/english\/how-to-write-my-name-in-chinese\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do I Write My Name in Chinese?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"How<\/p>\n

Certainly one of the most curious things about the Chinese language is the writing system, with complex characters<\/a> that are fascinating, often mysterious and almost magical. If you are in some degree familiar with this language you’ll have heard this question quite often \u2013 how do you write my name in Chinese?<\/p>\n

You will have realized though that the answer isn’t all that simple! Translating a name into Chinese<\/a> presents a different challenges that make it hard to do it straight away.<\/p>\n

First of all, the Chinese language doesn’t have an alphabet<\/strong>: with the exception of a few cases, each character corresponds to a syllable and not a letter\/sound as in alphabetic languages<\/a>. For this reason, in the majority of cases you can’t simply just “transcribe” your name using different graphic symbols, as you could do with Japanese Kana<\/a> for example. <\/p>\n

Moreover, some sounds, syllables and sound combinations don’t exist in Chinese<\/strong>, such as the \u201cv\u201d or doubles and combinations with consecutive consonants, and so the necessary syllable for writing your name may not exist. In this case you’re forced to use a syllable that “sounds like\u201d the original but isn’t exactly equal since other than missing “sounds”, Chinese also has another bonus – tones.<\/p>\n

Each syllable corresponds to a character, which can then be used to transliterate (or write with another alphabet) foreign names. In modern Chinese there’s a set of characters that are often used for transcribing foreign names (similar to the Japanese Katakana, which is an alphabet created just for this reason): in practice, it’s a list of characters that when arranged in a combination that feels \u201codd\u201d to Chinese people, will immediately indicate that it’s a foreign term (an actual name or borrowed term).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lastly, Chinese names are typically composed of two or three characters<\/strong>, rarely four. The last name comes before the first name and is made up of a single syllable\/character (in a few cases two), while the first name can have one or two. <\/p>\n

Therefore, even if you find all the corresponding syllables to the name and surname, you’ll realize that it will be too long to be a person’s name \u2013 and your Chinese friends will struggle to understand and read it. Also, each one of those characters doesn’t just represent a sound but also has a meaning in and of itself, which in even the best of cases will make no sense!<\/p>\n

But then how do I get a Chinese name? <\/p>\n

Before responding to this question, let’s first look at how “original” Chinese names are made. In the end, being able to choose your own name \u2013 which will have a new meaning, one you actually want to give it \u2013 it’s a rare occasion, so why not make the best of it and limit yourself to just any translation?<\/p>\n

Surnames<\/h2>\n

As mentioned above, Chinese names \u59d3\u540d (x\u00ecngm\u00edng) are made of two parts. The first, the surname (\u59d3, x\u00ecng), which could more accurately be translated as “family name\u201d. In the majority of cases is formed by just one character while the most famous exceptions are \u53f8\u9a6c (S\u00edm\u01ce) and \u6b27\u9633 (\u014cuy\u00e1ng), which are composed of two characters. <\/p>\n

The ten most famous surnames in Chinese are \u5f20 (Zh\u0101ng), \u738b (W\u00e1ng), \u674e (L\u01d0), \u5218 (Li\u00fa), \u9648 (Ch\u00e9n) \u6768 (Y\u00e1ng), \u9ec4 (Hu\u00e1ng), \u8d75 (Zh\u00e0o), \u5434 (W\u00fa) and \u5468 (Zh\u014du): practically three quarters of the Chinese population (a billion people) have one of these surnames. However, the number of surnames is very limited: we’re talking about only some \u201c100 surnames\u201d \u767e\u59d3 (B\u01cei X\u00ecng), which is also a way to indicate the Chinese people in general.<\/p>\n

An easy to find book on surnames is the classic \u767e\u5bb6\u59d3 (B\u01ceiji\u0101x\u00ecng) \u201cthe surnames of a hundred families\u201d, a brief text that gathers a large number of surnames (actually way more than a hundred), explaining the origins and meanings, sometimes also citing famous people who have them.<\/p>\n

Normally the surname comes before the first name, while we’re used to inverting that according to the situation (more or less formal, on documents and letters). <\/p>\n

In general, in everyday life you use the full name (last name + name) to refer to someone. The last name, more than the first name, is often used when accompanied by titles like \u5148\u751f (xi\u0101nsh\u0113ng) \u201cMister\u201d or \u5973\u58eb (n\u01dash\u00ec) \u201cMissus\u201d, or names connected to jobs such as \u8001\u5e08 (l\u01ceosh\u012b) \u201cteacher\u201d and the more prestigious \u6559\u6388 (ji\u00e0osh\u00f2u) \u201cprofessor\u201d (who hasn’t met a W\u00e1ng l\u01ceosh\u012b in a Chinese book?).<\/p>\n

Still, people who are closer to you can use prefixes such as \u5c0f (xi\u01ceo) and \u8001 (l\u01ceo), literally “small” and “old”. The first denotes the greater age or experience of the speaker and a certain level of “protection” from them; for example, often my Chinese teacher or older friend called me \u5c0f\u79e6 (xi\u01ceo Q\u00edn), even if I asked them to use my actual name, \u5965\u5fb7 (\u00c0od\u00e9). <\/p>\n

In China we then use \u8001 (l\u01ceo) for companions that have been around for a while, those that are more “expert\u201d: \u201cold\u201d doesn’t so much indicate advanced age (with the \u201cnegative\u201d connotation we perceive in it), but more often that the one speaking is younger, less experienced and needs help from the person that they refer to by the name \u8001 (l\u01ceo).<\/p>\n

Given names<\/h2>\n

First names (\u540d, m\u00edng) are normally formed by one or two syllables (and therefore have only one or two characters) and virtually any of the thousands of existing characters could be a person’s name. <\/p>\n

But how are names chosen? In the West there are words that serve as “proper names”: they have been standardized for centuries based on the Saints of the Christian tradition, literature, culture. They’re also often names belonging to family, such as those belonging to grandparents, and in a certain sense have been “inherited” by them. <\/p>\n

There are various origins: such as Latin for example, Greek or Germanic. Often though the meanings of the names are no longer understandable without specifically researching their origins: they have become in fact just proper names.<\/p>\n

In choosing names for their children, the Chinese stick to various customs. First of all, parents, when choosing a name, make sure it has a positive meaning or auspice for the baby.<\/p>\n

To give a few examples, names containing the characters \u798f (f\u00fa) \u201cblessing\u201d, \u5bcc (f\u00f9) \u201cabundance\u201d, \u8d22 (c\u00e1i) \u201cwealth\u201d, \u8d35 (gu\u00ec) \u201cprecious\u201d, wish the young ones a prosperous and rich life; names with the characters \u5eb7 (k\u0101ng) \u201chealth\u201d, \u5bff (sh\u00f2u) \u201clongevity\u201d, \u5065 (ji\u00e0n) \u201chealth\u201d, \u677e (s\u014dng) \u201crelaxation\u201d instead have to do with health and longevity. <\/p>\n

Names containing \u680b (d\u00f2ng) \u201cpole (indicating when something is full)\u201d, \u6770 (ji\u00e9) \u201cextraordinary\u201d, \u4fca (j\u00f9n) \u201ctalented\u201d, \u624d (c\u00e1i) \u201ctalent\u201d refer instead to excellence in ability in a given field. <\/p>\n

Lastly, \u5fe0 (zh\u014dng) \u201cfaithfulness\u201d, \u5fb7 (d\u00e9) \u201cvirtue\u201d, \u4ec1 (r\u00e9n) \u201cbenevolence\u201d, \u5b5d (xi\u00e0o) \u201cbrotherly compassion\u201d, classic Confucian virtues, can be chosen as characters to be used in a name.<\/p>\n

There are also names that are typically masculine or feminine. Words like \u9e4f (p\u00e9ng) \u201croc (a mythical bird)\u201d, \u864e (h\u01d4) \u201ctiger\u201d, \u96f7 (l\u00e9i) \u201cthunder\u201d, \u6d77 (h\u01cei) \u201csea\u201d, \u5c71 (sh\u0101n) \u201cmountain\u201d, \u94c1 (ti\u011b) \u201ciron\u201d are typical male names, with meanings suggesting strength, firmness of character and power. <\/p>\n

There are also feminine names like \u82b1 (hu\u0101) \u201cflower\u201d, \u4e3d (l\u00ed) \u201cbeautiful\u201d, \u51e4 (f\u00e8ng) \u201cphoenix\u201d, \u82f1 (y\u012bng) \u201chero\u201d, \u82b3 (f\u0101ng) \u201cscent\u201d, connected to beauty, grace, kindness. <\/p>\n

Other names originate from a specific aspect of the person’s birth: \u4eac\u751f (J\u012bngsh\u0113ng), \u201cborn in Beijing\u201d, underscores the place where the child was born (most likely not the same place where the family lives, which is why it deserves to be remembered); \u9707\u751f (Zh\u00e8nsh\u0113ng) \u201cborn with the earthquake\u201d, evokes a natural phenomenon that took place the day of their birth. \u56fd\u5e86 (Gu\u00f3q\u00ecng) \u201cnational day\u201d, instead says that they were born on the day of the Chinese national holiday \u56fd\u5e86\u8282 (Gu\u00f3q\u00ecngji\u00e9), October 1st. <\/p>\n

Besides the meaning, even the musicality of the name’s pronunciation (often with an alternative reading) and esthetic beauty of the character can be factors taken into consideration when making a choice. Quite often archaic and classic characters are used, taken from poems or ancient texts, especially when parents are fans of traditional culture.<\/p>\n

Contrary to Western tradition, it is considered a bad omen to give the child an ancestor’s name, especially those close on the timeline (fathers, grandparents and great grandparents); nevertheless, brothers often have a common character in their name. In addition, the name of emperors and divinities were considered taboo in ancient times and are still rarely used, like the names of famous people. <\/p>\n

Lastly, names that might sound like homophones of other words (given the abundance of characters that are pronounced the same way or very similar) it could be a bad idea: a great example I heard from my Chinese teacher is the story of a young girl called \u6768\u7389 (Y\u00e1ng Y\u00f9), literally meaning \u201cjade\u201d, but sadly sounding identical to \u6d0b\u828b (y\u00e1ngy\u00f9) \u201cpotato\u201d. The poor thing, incidentally, was a little chubby and had to change her name.<\/p>\n

To sum it up: a positive and auspicious meaning or something which reminds of an extraordinary event that happened at birth; avoiding names of close relatives or famous people and homonyms; the beauty of the characters and harmony of sound between the name and surname are the main criteria for the Chinese when naming their children. Now that you know a little bit more, you can finally decide on your Chinese name! <\/p>\n

Translate the name?<\/h2>\n

To simplify, there are two useful principles for picking a Chinese name, which can also be combined. <\/p>\n

The first method is transliteration<\/strong>: taking your original name and writing it with characters with a similar pronunciation. Through this link<\/a> you can find an almost complete list of all existing names. <\/p>\n

Sadly, with all the linguistic differences seen above, there will be differences in transcription as well. Here are a few examples: <\/p>\n