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How to Pick a Chinese Name and Avoid Tattoo Catastrophes
By Susie Gordon, eChinacities.com RepostIt's not uncommon in China to meet locals who introduce themselves using names like Apple, Ghostly, Puppy and Whisper. Anyone familiar with the TV show Sexy Beijing (http://www.sexybeijing.tv/) will recall its (oddly attractive) faux-Carrie Bradshaw host interviewing various city dwellers named Samanfar, Frog and the unforgettable ayi Smacker. The naming phenomenon has been discussed, mocked, analysed and blogged almost to death. It's even had a book written about it, In China, My Name Is by Valerie Blanco and Ellen Feberwee, which features photos of 200 Chinese along with the reasons they chose their English name. But what about the other side of the coin – expats choosing Chinese names? It's a cultural minefield, but one that is easily navigable if you bear these points in mind.
Photo: Bobby Edwards
1) Fitting in vs. sticking out
For many expats fresh off the boat, thinking up a Chinese name is part of the settling-in process – a rite of passage, and a way to make yourself feel as if you belong. Many greenhorns go for a syllable-by-syllable transliteration of their name and surname, often leading to ridiculously long monikers (and, thus, unintentionally amusing business cards). No one in China has a given name of more than two syllables; that's not how they roll. Other new arrivals lay the fate of their nomenclature in the hands of those maverick street vendors who will write your name "in Chinese". Only tourists get this done. Anyone who has studied more than five minutes of Mandarin knows that it's baloney. Ai Li Ke does not "mean" Eric, just as Ai Li Sha Bai doesn't "mean" Elizabeth. If you insist on following semantics, it makes more sense to use the literal meaning of your name and translate that, i.e. Roy = king = wang (王).
The same goes for Westerners who decide to get Chinese tattoos. This rarely ends well. While the truth is that most tattoo artists aren't experts in hanzi (Chinese characters), and even if they copy from a book, things tend to go awry. As the excellent HanziSmatter (http://hanzismatter.blogspot.com/) points out, an imprecise or misplaced stroke can lead to the unfortunate client being branded with what ought to have been 美 (beautiful), but looks more like 羊 (sheep) defecating.
This point basically comes down to a culture clash of sorts. Rushing gung-ho into China brandishing your new Mandarin name belies the same misunderstanding and naïveté as a Beijing bank clerk calling himself after a cartoon character. While you may be in a rush to get business cards printed up, take time, and care, when choosing a Chinese name, and be sure to get plenty of expert help.
2) Being Understood vs. losing your identity
While most people in the bigger cities will be familiar with Western names, if you're out in the sticks, your new friends and colleagues might find your name difficult to pronounce (especially if it contains syllables to which the Chinese tongue is unaccustomed). Thus, Maximilian may find life easier as something like Ma Lian, and Rick may have a smoother ride as Li Ke. However, some people take umbrage to altering their identity like this. Jonathan, a Brit living in Shanghai, says "My name is Jonathan. It's not Jia Na Dan or Zhou Na Fen or any of the alternatives that have been foisted upon me to make life easier for other people. If I can learn how to say Xue, Qian and Zhuan, then my colleagues and friends ought to make the effort to learn my name too."
English teacher Claire feels the same: "I don't adopt a different name for each country I visit. I mean, I don't have a Malaysian name or a Dutch name, so why should I take a Chinese one? It's just as ridiculous as Chinese people calling themselves Sandwich and Shopping; it makes a mockery out of both parties".
3) Integrating vs. offending
It's all well and good to try and ingratiate yourself with your newly adopted homeland, but it pays to bear in mind that Chinese naming traditions are ancient, complex, and imbued with cultural importance. Selecting a baby's name is a serious affair for a family, with the task often falling to elders. Randomly picking a couple of pretty characters for your new moniker might seem like fun, but locals might not see it that way. British Jonathan says "Just as I find it affronting to have to call my colleagues Princely and Milk, I'm sure locals would see it as jarring for me to labour under a pseudonym like Zhang Xiao Zhou. I'm not a member of the Zhang clan. I didn't have those characters picked out for me by a special grandparent or aunt. Having some elaborate Mandarin name doesn't magically make you more of an Old China Hand. In fact, it often makes you look like a prat."
So whether you've chosen a Chinese name, are in the process of selecting one, or have bitten the bullet and stuck to the one you were born with, it all comes down to the way you see the situation. In a way, you're damned if you do, and damned if you don't. Even if you and your acquaintances don't use it much, having a Chinese name can be seen as a sign of respect. Ask a friend or two to help you come up with a name, and then get a second and third opinion on it. Check to see if people laugh when you say your potential new moniker. Be aware that given the significance of Chinese names, and the amount of effort that goes into choosing a unique one for a child, your friend will find it difficult to just "give" you a name. If possible, try to get a Chinese name that is fairly easy to write. Beware as well of sounds that can easily be confused with other, less appropriate words. A little bit of tonal trouble, which might not occur to people who take correct tones for granted, can go a long way in transforming a beautiful Chinese name into a profanity. Lastly, if you're thinking of getting a tattoo of a Chinese character, do all the previously mentioned things twice, and be sure to pick a tattooist familiar with Chinese characters, or at least able to faithfully follow a proper design. You can change a name, but it's much more difficult to get rid of a tattoo intended to read "prosperity", but really means "spoon".
Have you come across some especially Chinese or English, or any ill-advised tattoos? Share your experiences in the comment section below.
Related Links
What's in a Name? How English is Changing the Way Chinese Choose Names
The Chinese Name Game
Confusion over Confucian Names for Foreigners
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After adjusting to a lot of the food here- and deciding Life needs to be enjoyed- here or back in the states I think i have decided my Chinese name will be No Lo Fat !
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Name - see section 1 of the article above 'Fitting in vs sticking out'. Perhaps you chose an odd name.
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I think adapting a Chinese name has something inherently fake about it. I used to introduce myself using my Chinese name when I first got to China, but soon my Chinese firends wanted to know my real name and call me by that on their own accord. Whenever i try to use my Chinese name they laugh because they feel it is pathetic. But having said that, my name is simple to pronounce in Chinese and is short so noone has problems. Other foreigners in the group i hang out with always go by their Chinese name because it's got about 10 syllables. Even I can barely pronounce their name, so I guess that makes sense.
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This is an identity. so one should have a name that makes him feel free in a community he lives".When you go to Rome you behaive as Romans do"
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Do as the Romans do... which does NOT mean: try to become a Roman.
I have a host of Chinese names - which all suit different occasions. Like Chinese: the same person can be known as Liu Laoshi, Xiao Liu, Lao Liu, Jimmy Liu or Jim, depending on the situation.
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You need software. You then type in the Pinyin (e.g. Su) and you will then be shown all the characters that share that Pinyin. You then select the character you want.
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well.....i have a chinese name its su shu lian but i dont know how to type it i wanna learn how to type chinese names
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I heard of a Chinese girl with a name given to her by her expat teacher. And was ever so happy with it. I wouldn't have the heart to burst her bubble. When a young woman comes up to you and says 'Hi! My name's Pervy.' you cannot help but smile.
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A good friend gave me my Chinese name, and though I have had it, few Chinese friends use it. After 8 years teaching in classes from kindergarten to adults, I quit trying to figure out their reasoning for their English names. I had many Kobe's, Michael Jackson and Johnsons, I had Window and Close in the same classroom, I had Gorilla, so many Apples, and even a teacher named herself Watermelon... Their take on English names was quaint in most cases, but in the case of the ex-pats, it was usually ignorance of the culture, or their sense of humor. I just let it be.
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If the job were so darned lucrative, they would not be posting 'free' adverts on here.
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Ed. Please delete the drive-by spammer.
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I often explain to my students the importance of choosing a realistic name, and especially not a made up (unreal) one. To get the point home, I tell them the story of my friend. I have a friend called Ben and his father is called Dan. And so my friend chose the name Ben Dan. It gets a laugh, but it makes the point.
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My name was chosen for me, I needed a Chinese name. Firstly I hated the way family could not pronounce my name (Mark er Mark ee). Also I am in a home with three generations. Our daughter calls out to her mum 'Ma'. My wife calls out to her mother 'Ma', they all call out to me 'Ma ke' but I fail to answer as I assume it is for someone else. The name was chosen for me by a friend of the family who is consulted by the family in naming ceremonies. The name chosen is Ma (horse) Le Tian (optimistic). I thought Ma would be a problem, but my family do not use my Chinese family name.
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I like Chinese names. Though they are not easy to pronounce and i am familiar with Hindi and English names so far, it feels a little tricky but not tough to pronounce a Chinese name. And i thing must learn the original names of people and call them with the original names only, this might look tough and you may not pronounce correctly but must try. One more thing is that the way Chinese people write their real name in English is a bit tricky too, like Quiang will be pronounced like Chang and qin ai da (dear) like chinai da. But still what is better in the world to here your own real name then hiding it behind the comfort of other people. If Chinese people can try and pronounce names of people around the globe, then why not all other people can do that. I love to ask anyone in China what their real Chinese name is? I am from India and some Chinese friends initially found it difficult to pronounce my name but now they can do it very well, some call me only Ku but i don't mind.
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I’d like to know my English name Nancy, is that really funny for the native English speakers?
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Nancy Ding has a strange ring to it. Why not use your real name? It might sound less odd and more natural.
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@ Nancy
Actually Nancy is a lovely name. But Jess is right. The combination of sounds when you say "Nancy Ding" just doesn’t sound right.
I really dont mean to be disrespectful of your family name, but in English (American as well as Brit, Canadian, Aussie, etc.) the word "Ding" has unfortunate connotations. One definition means a dent (as in "that pot has a ding in it.") Another definition refers to the sound a small bell makes (as in "I heard the doorbell ding.")
So the "problem" is this. By choosing a Western first name, you emphasize the Western meanings of the word "Ding." If you use your full Chinese name, then the "Ding" portion wont cause an English speaking person to make an unconscious translation to a "dent" or the "ding-dong" sound of a doorbell.
And, besides, Ill bet your full Chinese name has a very pretty sound.
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I picked my chinese name myself. Our teacher explained us how to do it, that there is just one character for family names and one or two for firstnames, she told us, we could use translation or go after the same tones. My original Name Marie-Louise Martina Marbach is really long and I was quite happy to pick out something shorter... also my name gets pronounciated english, french, german... all acording to the speaker, so I’m used to change names.
I picked the character 河(he) for a family name, because it also means river. But a lot of people already recomended to change it into 何 which is a official familyname. I refused...
My given name is really long, so I wanted to use a shorter name with a similar pronounciation and a nice meaning. I like rain and dont want to be named after a flower so I chose 曼雨(manyu), that means gracefull rain.
No the funny sides: There are a lot of ways how to make that name sound terrible for instance : 河马雨(hemayu) A rain of Hippos / 河鳗鱼(hemanyu) here just one tone is different and I transform into a river of eels...and my hopeless effort to discribe that 曼 is written like the man of 馒头(mantou = bread) just without the radical for food... "What? youre called bread?"
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So it sounds like you walked straight into a name catastrophe yourself.
And you are refusing to take the advice of others?
Chinese people are usually too polite to tell us that we have made a mistake. Unless it is a big mistake.
The writing is on the wall.
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My first Chinese name was chosen by a friends father I had not met " YingHan英汉" and though I felt honoured that he did this, personally I did not like it ( well, Han was ok) in the end i used a name making program, just write your name, gender, and choose something like mind spirit or body,and it gives you a name( a few choices) anyway I finally chose " Rui Ning瑞宁" So far all my chinese friends like it, ( and would tell me if they didn't....i hope) and its not to difficult to write.
The reasons I wanted one? well, they had english ones so why not. some use it, some still call me Ronny ( one calls me Roony , which is ok)
But besides the obvious fun to have reason, most of my chinese friends use an english name so that thier chinese one will not be miss spoken by inept foreigners, saying our names incorrectly is not so bad, even cute or amusing, but it can change theirs drastically.
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If you are silly enough to get a tattoo to be trendy like Beckham then being forced to wear a mistake on your arm or where ever for the rest of your life is a just reward.
When those obscenely ridiculous full arm tatts [ a la Beckham] go out of fashion [ soon I hope] those poor sods wont be able to afford the plastic surgery he can afford to "return to normal".
Second thoughts , Beckham should carry a health warning [ near his tattoo] saying something like" the person wearing this tattoo is not normal and although obscenely rich is not to be taken seriously"
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Who died and made you judge? Why should it bother you what other people choose to do with their own skin? I know alot of people with tattoos and not a single one of them was trying to be trendy(like Beckham?) or has any desire to have them erased. I have 4 tattoos....3 on my shoulder and 2 very accurate and well made(in Hawaii) traditional Chinese characters on my neck, behind my ear. Each one has a special and personal meaning for myself. Most of the time I forget it's there until Chinese point it out and ask if I know there's Chinese words on my neck.(?) I could care less about what's "fashionable" and never even heard of Beckham until I arrived in China. Don't hold your breath about tats going away anytime soon. They've been around for thousands of years, are intregal parts of many cultures and are here to stay. Live with it.
As for names, it doesn't matter what you're name is. Your character will define your name as "cool" or not. As a Native American, my name is unusual to begin with and I would never, ever think of changing it to something more trendy or acceptable to "normal" guys like David L.
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I got a big portion of myself covered in ink, starting in 1967 in 'Nam. Now, many years later I still dont regret it. In fact, if not for my tats, I would not have met my wife! My kids loved them and my grandkids do too. And m most importantly, so do I.
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