Questions tagged [names]

Questions related to Chinese names.

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36 votes
10 answers
6k views

How do we choose the correct characters for a Western name?

Since there are many characters that share a common pronunciation and sometimes also the same tone, how do we properly choose which character best represents our name? Is it totally arbitrary or are ...
Alenanno's user avatar
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15 votes
3 answers
1k views

How does foreign word transliteration work in the context of Cantonese vs Mandarin?

If I understand correctly, Cantonese sounds very different from Mandarin, despite being written in the same way (omitting some small differences, which are irrelevant for the question). If it is the ...
KT.'s user avatar
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19 votes
5 answers
3k views

How do we know what characters correspond to Chinese names?

Recently I've asked "How do we choose the correct characters for a westerner name?", and now, I'm facing a similar, yet kind of different problem, which I think applies to any westerner or Chinese ...
Alenanno's user avatar
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18 votes
5 answers
14k views

Is there a rule of thumb for distinguishing male and female names in Chinese?

I often get tripped up when reading names of Chinese people, and trying to work out if they are male or female. Is there a good rule of thumb to follow to determine which is which?
Ciaocibai's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
4k views

How does the Chinese translation of an English name get established? [duplicate]

This isn't a question on how to choose a Chinese name equivalent, but how the one that most media and people use, gets used. For example, if some unknown person out there who never had a Chinese ...
Steve's user avatar
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1 vote
4 answers
740 views

How can I make a two-character Chinese girl's name, perhaps using 静?

I'd like to make a chinese name (girl). I wonder if you could help me, since I don't know what wouldn't be weird for a name. If any native speaker could help me, I'd appreciate it. I want a name that ...
Sofia's user avatar
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12 votes
5 answers
2k views

Are people's names always pronounced the same in Mandarin?

In many languages, you can not be really sure how to pronounce a person's name, so you have to ask them first, and remember. For instance, "Broglie" can be brɔɪ or brɔˈgli, "中島" ...
Nicolas Raoul's user avatar
12 votes
5 answers
2k views

What is a good form of address for a male friend who is too old to be 小, too young to be 老, and too humble to be called 大?

I have a male "friend", last name 柯 (kē) who is over 30. From ages 18-30 or so, he went by 小柯, but that seems less and less appropriate as he gets older. Always going by his full name seems overly ...
2snacc's user avatar
  • 473
4 votes
4 answers
2k views

Is there any official way to translate Chinese names into English?

Is there any official way to translate Chinese names into English? Chinese is of course: surname + name, usually when translated into English why is the same formatting kept? 毛泽东 is usually written ...
Mou某's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
160 views

At what age is it inappropriate to call people 小李, 小王, 小刘, etc.? And is it different for males and females?

It's common for children to be referred to as 小李, 小王, 小刘, etc. in Chinese (basically 小[姓], where [姓] is the family name). I expect there is a certain age where it's no longer appropriate to call ...
Becky 李蓓's user avatar
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0 votes
4 answers
409 views

How would you say "X, the Y" in Chinese?

I am currently learning Mandarin in Simplified Chinese. I've just started learning so I cannot speak all that well. However, here is my problem: I have a Chinese family coming over. They are proud ...
Moth's user avatar
  • 11
0 votes
2 answers
211 views

An extremely rare same name used by two people

The rare name 澹台灭明 is used by two people: A disciple of Confucious. A character is one of Liang Yusheng's novels. As I understand, the surname 澹台 and the given name 灭明 are both extremely rare in ...
Zuriel's user avatar
  • 1,995
0 votes
1 answer
119 views

How may "Donald" be rendered in Chinese?

Would 董 be a possibility? (Thinking a great deal about rulers in the context of conduct and character lately, and 董卓 keeps jumping to mind;)
DukeZhou's user avatar
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