People may also change the arrangement of their names to suit English-Western naming conventions. Some people may keep their original given name as a middle name, but essentially adopt a new name and format it in the Western way: [Western given name] [Chinese given name] [family name]. Most people will revert to using their original Chinese name whenever speaking or writing in Chinese. The family name always comes first in the Chinese language.
Names It is common belief that a good name brings luck, and an unfit name may bring bad luck. Therefore, Chinese parents generally prefer names that embody goodwill, prosperousness or seem auspicious.
Many Chinese given names symbolise an aspiration, e. Kang healthy , Yong brave , Mei beautiful and Ling wise. Names may also reflect the decade a person was born. It is not customary or appropriate to name a child after their elder or family member. Addressing Others People generally address one another by their full name. However, it is generally seen as awkward or disrespectful to address a normal friend or acquaintance this way.
It is a big challenge for new arrivals. Chinese names are much more complicated than English names. There are no hard and fast rules but there are guidelines that I would like to share with you. Chinese names usually consist of three elements. A single Chinese character pictograph represents each element. So, which is the surname, and which are the given names? The surname consists of a single character most of the time.
Chan, Lee and Wong are typical examples. However, there are a few two-character surname combinations. Au Yeung and Sze To are examples, but these are the exceptional cases. The given name most usually consists of two characters, Tai Man from our earlier example. There are occasional exceptions of given names that consist of a single element. An example would be Chan Man with Chan being the surname and Man being the given name, but fortunately, these are unusual.
The order that the three name elements appears is important. Chinese surnames usually come first, followed by the given name. In some situations, the order is switched around so that the surname comes last, and the given name usually two elements, often separated by a hyphen appear first. This is usually to accommodate English language oriented situations. The idea is gracious and considerate, but the result can be confusing to Westerners.
Sometimes you will see one of the name elements in upper case letters. This is a helpful clue because that upper case name element will always be the surname. First, one element is in upper case. The Asia Media Centre looks at naming conventions in Asia. Foreign Minister Kono Taro whom we would usually refer to in English as Taro Kono wants reporters to write Japanese names in the East Asian style, which is to put the family name before the given name. For those who are used to the western convention, the format has been known to cause confusion.
In some countries, the family name is king, while in others, calling someone by their given name is the polite thing to do.
The Asia Media Centre has put together a rough style guide that can act as a rule of thumb when it comes to using Asian names in your reporting. If in doubt, just ask! Note: Most Chinese family names consist of one syllable. If you see a three-syllable Chinese name, you can be confident that the two-syllable name is the given name, and the one-syllable name is the family name. But in cases where the person has two one-syllable names, it can be impossible to tell which should be the first and last name.
Wang Yang. Note: Like Chinese names, most Korean family names are single-syllable. Most given names have two syllables, often joined with a hyphen. Also note that Kim is the most common surname in the Korean Peninsula, so if referring to more than one "Kim" in a story it can be helpful to write the names out in full.
Order: Depends on region. You can check out a huge list of characters commonly used in names and get their meanings here. Again, unlike in English, the name comes before the title. Here are a few examples:. A more detailed guide on titles and addressing people can be found here and is well worth a read.
For an easy way out, translate your name to Chinese on this website. Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. Available anytime, anywhere, on any device. Sasha is an English teacher, writer, photographer, and videographer from the great state of Michigan. He and his wife run the travel blog Grateful Gypsies, and they're currently trying the digital nomad lifestyle across Latin America.
Her reasons for this are the family name is similar to my English family name, the meaning of Jing gifted and virtuous expresses my character and Na fascinating, elegant, delicate and gentle shows my appearance and behaviour and is similar to my English middle name.
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