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lucar

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Joined: July 05, 2004
Posts: 6313

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Posted: July 20, 2004 - 05:11 PM
Post subject: Choosing Chinese Name

I need to choose a Chinese name. Do people generally choose something that sounds somewhat like their original names or go for broke and make up something entirely new. Unfortunately, my name translates into Traffic Jam Dead Man in Mandarin and I thought I might want to choose something completely unrelated.

Magnolia
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Joined: June 01, 2004
Posts: 31091

Posted: July 20, 2004 - 05:21 PM

I wnet for broke. First day here, I was handed a dictionary and told to find a name. Not even a baby name book! A dictionary!

I selected a surname that has the same first letter as my actual surname and a first name that has the same first letter as my actual first name. For no other reason than it reduced the number of entries I had to look through. My Chinese name is completely unrelated in sound, meaning and everything else to my real name.

Just make sure you run all your choices by a trusted native-speaker so you don't wind up with a name that can be laughed at later. Countless stories about that type of thing . . .

Happy Naming!

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jenming

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Posted: July 20, 2004 - 06:32 PM

Yeah, a lot of people use the first-letter method. if you were Bobby Spencer Donaldson, you might choose a surname starting with d, and a given name with b and s...

But you've got creative license here, if you want it. You might have to do a lot of explaining, but you can feel free to go nuts with choosing your name. You won't even make a dent in the imbalance of crazy english names chosen by chinese folk, but you can try... Wink

dyniquee

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Posted: July 21, 2004 - 12:05 AM

dsb - hey that's the national curse by almost 88% of people from the north ... lol

D

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jenming

FooJay

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Posted: July 21, 2004 - 02:48 PM

sorry, D, i'm not catching you...

what's dsb?

Magnolia
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Joined: June 01, 2004
Posts: 31091

Posted: July 21, 2004 - 02:53 PM

Quote:

Bobby Spencer Donaldson

jenming - I didn't get it either but I think D was using the initials from your example . . . although maybe that would be dbs . . . oh, why am I sticking my nose where it doesn't belong?

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itv1980

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Posted: July 22, 2004 - 03:34 PM

My name is directly translated to Chinese pronouncation. With characters which together means nothing but to pronouncation is very close to my original one. At least I react when people call my name hihi Wink

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lucar

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Posted: July 24, 2004 - 06:43 AM

Thanks for the input. I let a Chinese friend come up with something I can pronounce and in his opinion fitting. I am excited to have to the chance to re-invent myself name-wise.

THanks again.

Edgewood
FooSlinger

Joined: Jan 28, 2004
Posts: 3909
Location: Colonial Shanghai

Posted: July 25, 2004 - 11:08 AM

My Chinese name is Wing Wong Ching Chong Mao Zedong Wu Han Yao Ming Jiang. It's a mouthful but I like it.

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Last edited by Edgewood on July 25, 2004 - 11:15 AM; edited 1 time in total

Edgewood
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Posted: July 25, 2004 - 11:12 AM

I just call my girlfriend Chou Chou 臭臭

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karnex420

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Joined: Mar 08, 2004
Posts: 488
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Posted: July 29, 2004 - 08:35 AM

I think you should keep your Chinese name Lucar. A lot of rock bands would kill for that one. Can I have it if you don't want it?
One name that's got to go though is Fukuman. I'm studying Chinese culture and I find myself being cussed at before I read on. I'm too good for my friends to have names like that.

aloha99

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Joined: Nov 20, 2003
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Posted: Mar 03, 2005 - 11:38 AM

When choosing a Chinese name it's common to look for auspicious words like Hui (very common among girls) = intelligent.

Most foreigners try to get it similar in pronunciation to their real name.
If you're a strong believer in Feng Shui then you could ask a master to choose one for you. They believe even names can create ying and yang.
Not that I'm really into it but when I had to choose a name I thought that I could give it a try. Saw an article about it in the now defunct Beijing Scene.
A real master asks for your birthdate and birth time. Then he spends 15 minutes calculating the different elements (fire, wood, water, metal, earth). He sees the imbalance (too much water, not enough metal...) and try to readjust it by choosing a well balanced name.
It's suppose to bring you luck and happiness.

Don't know if I really believe in it but using my Chinese name hasn't brought me anything bad. And it's still better than a lousy translation of my real name.

Benoist_Shanghai
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Joined: May 18, 2003
Posts: 3057

Posted: Mar 03, 2005 - 01:00 PM

Ok, I am not willing to re-open the discussion on that... still, what's the need of a Chinese name???

Or do you mean that people here cannot READ roman alphabet???
Then 5 billion people should get a Chinese name so that Chinese people can refer to them?

Benoist.

frenchlover1999
Shanghai Royalty

Joined: Sep 18, 2004
Posts: 8730

Posted: Mar 03, 2005 - 01:41 PM

Sure a Chinese character name is useful. I remember auspicious names, only remotely related to the actual Western name, used to be in fashion. I have met forigners with names such as White Tiger and other nonsense. I prefer names that sound like the original name, either firstname or family name, or some kind of combination of both. Still with 2 or 3 characters like a regular Chinese name (4 if you want to pretend you are from Inner Mongolia). Otherwise go for a transliteraton of your full name, with as many characters as needed. In real life people will most likely use your real name if they are able to pronounce it. Interestingly (?) I am the only person in my company without an English name, so I am trying to come up with something. Any good idea for English names? Apple, Pelp, and John Pershing are unfortunately already taken by colleagues or business partners, so I need to find something else.

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zhw7

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Posted: Mar 03, 2005 - 04:48 PM

A lot of words with pronunciation as "lu"

路(road, way, or used as surname); 露(dew, reveal); 璐(fine jade); 陆(land, continent, or used as surname); 鹿(deer); 炉(furnace, stove); 录(list, copy, record, write down, enroll); 鲁(palce name, surname); 庐(palce name, or used as surname); 卢(used as surname); 芦(reed); 禄(salary); 赂(bribe); 麓(the foot of mountain); 虏(captive); 辘(windlass); 卤(bittern, halogen ); 鹭(aigret); 戮(kill, slaughter); 鸬(cormorant)
But some of these Chinese words are not used singlly, but together with others. 虏 as 俘虏(captive); 戮 as 杀戮(kill, slaughter); 鸬 as 鸬鹚(cormorant); 赂 as 贿赂 (bribe); 芦 as 芦苇(reed) or 芦笋(asparagus)

i give you a name:
路遥 ("遥" means distance or far-away)

I you don't like , i can give some other options.

zhw7

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Posted: Mar 03, 2005 - 04:56 PM

I suggest you choose a name related to your original name. It is easy to find an auspicious Chinese character with similar pronunciation.

lijunj

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Posted: Mar 03, 2005 - 05:56 PM

I think Lucar already has a Chinese name since it's 1 year ago that he Need a chinese name.
But if you want yourself be famous soon. Change your currently chinese name and say: 周杰伦 or 刘德华

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ShanghaiUnderground
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Joined: July 15, 2004
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Posted: Mar 03, 2005 - 05:56 PM

My Chinese name is 蔣介石.

Who would have thunk it?!

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good4kicks

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Posted: Mar 03, 2005 - 06:55 PM

I thought your name was really 宋美齡

ShanghaiUnderground
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Posted: Mar 03, 2005 - 07:12 PM

Now she was a Hell of a Dame.

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Kiwi

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Joined: May 07, 2003
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Posted: Mar 03, 2005 - 08:59 PM

Benoist_Shanghai wrote:

Well, more need for foreigners to have a Chinese name than for Chinese people to invent new English 'names' for themselves.

The reason is quite simple really. It is completely impossible to accurately write a western name using Chinese characters. It is however a simple matter to romanize a Chinese name, thus making it just as 'English' as Patrick, Antonio, Sean or a host of other common names.

The desire of the locals to ditch their Chinese name at the first opportunity is a puzzling phenomenon. Even those who speak not a word of English insist on having an 'English name', which they dust off and flash around at every opportunity.

Odd. . .

I mean think about it. . . They don't give the streets here cute little 'English names', they just Romanize the frigging things. Wouldn't it be a mess if 淮海路 was 'huaihai lu' to the locals, and 'Apple Ave' to foreigners, or the locals called 南京路 simply as 'nanjing lu', and white people were expected to call it 'Kinky Boulevard' or something equally ridiculous.
Laughing

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good4kicks

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Posted: Mar 03, 2005 - 10:01 PM

Kiwi wrote:

The desire of the locals to ditch their Chinese name at the first opportunity is a puzzling phenomenon. Even those who speak not a word of English insist on having an 'English name', which they dust off and flash around at every opportunity.

Actually, the desire of chinese to take on an English name at first glance seems puzzling but is actually quite easy to explain.

Many years ago, some Taiwanese tried to explain to me that the reason they took English names was to make it easier on us foreigners to remember names and say them. Later, I learned that Korean names are also, like Chineezzz names, difficult to pronounce but I found that Koreans almost never take on English names. That led me to wonder why it was specifically the Chineezzz that always took English names, even those that didn't speak a word of English, as you have pointed out.

After many years of observation, I found that the Chineezzz are very quick to ditch their culture in favour of Western, more specifically American, culture. You see, deep down, every Chinese wants to be American. Some of them realise it, some don't, although none of them would ever admit to it. But then again, they don't have to. It is very obvious from their actions. Nobody sucks up American culture any faster than the Chineeezzzzzz.

Finally, when you compare, you find that the Koreans are a truly proud people that are not ashamed of what they are. That is why they very seldom take English names and that is the difference.

lijunj

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Joined: Nov 18, 2002
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Posted: Mar 03, 2005 - 10:38 PM

g4s, show your polite manner. lucar just want to have a chinese name.
(i guess he already had one or forget about it)
If you want to blame why chinese like to have an english name. Why don't you submit a new thread to start a flame again? Eventually you know it will be in the deep pit , poor you

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Kiwi

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Posted: Mar 05, 2005 - 02:19 AM

Part of it is just fashion, but Good4kicks does have a point. The Koreans and Japanese generally don't feel the need for 'English names' (despite their names also being written using Chinese characters and difficult to pronounce for westerners).

We have had this discussion before of course. And as usual it ends up in a flame war.

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good4kicks

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Posted: Mar 05, 2005 - 10:00 AM

Even though it is not our intention to start a flame war, it always ends up in one because the locals are incapable of self-critique and are most certainly unable to take any criticism from us foreigners. They get emotional as we can see from lijunj's reply above.