SC01. How to Get A Chinese Name

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In this Chinese Speaking and Conversation video lesson, we will talk about how to get a Chinese name in Chinese. There are mainly three ways to pick a Chinese name.  Also you can make use of the Top 100 Chinese Last Names and choose your Chinese Last Name.

TABLE OF CONTENT

百家姓 Baijiaxing List - Top 100 Chinese Last Names →
I. Lesson Video →
II. Transcript →

I. INTERPERSONAL - DAILY CONVERSATION CHINESE VIDEO

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百家姓 Baijiaxing - Top 100 Chinese Last Names

 

1. 李 lǐ
2. 王 wáng
3. 张 zhāng
4. 刘 liú
5. 陈 chén
6. 杨 yáng
7. 赵 zhào
8. 黄 huáng
9. 周 zhōu
10. 吴 wú
11. 徐 xú
12. 孙 sūn
13. 胡 hú
14. 朱 zhū
15. 高 gāo
16. 林 lín
17. 何 hé
18. 郭 guō
19. 马 mǎ
20. 罗 luó
21. 梁 liáng
22. 宋 song
23. 郑 zhèng
24. 谢 xiè
25. 韩 hán
26. 唐 tang
27. 冯 féng
28. 于 yú
29. 董 dǒng
30. 萧 xiāo
31. 程 chéng
32. 曹 cáo
33. 袁 yuán
34. 邓 dèng
35. 许 xǔ
36. 傅 fù
37. 沈 shěn
38. 曾 zēng
39. 彭 péng
40. 吕 lǚ
41. 苏 sū
42. 卢 lú
43. 蒋 jiǎng
44. 蔡 cài
45. 贾 jiǎ
46. 丁 ding
47. 魏 wèi
48. 薛 xuē
49. 叶 yè
50. 闫 yán
51. 余 yú
52. 潘 pān
53. 杜 dù
54. 戴 dài
55. 夏 xià
56. 钟 zhōng
57. 汪 wāng
58. 田 tián
59. 任 rén
60. 姜 jiāng
61. 范 fàn
62. 方 fāng
63. 石 shí
64. 姚 yáo
65. 谭 tán
66. 廖 liào
67. 邹 zōu
68. 熊 xióng
69. 金 jīn
70. 陆 lù
71. 郝 hǎo
72. 孔 kǒng
73. 白 bái
74. 崔 cuī
75. 康 kāng
76. 毛 máo
77. 邱 qiū
78. 秦 qín
79. 江 jiāng
80. 史 shǐ
81. 顾 gù
82. 侯 hóu
83. 邵 shào
84. 孟 mèng
85. 龙 lóng
86. 万 wàn
87. 段 duàn
88. 漕 cáo
89. 钱 qián
90. 汤 tāng
91. 尹 yǐn
92. 黎 lí
93. 易 yì
94. 常 cháng
95. 武 wǔ
96. 乔 qiáo
97. 贺 hè
98. 赖 lài
99. 龚 gōng
100. 文 wén

II. TRANSCRIPT - READING & WRITING IN CHINESE

How to Get A Chinese Name

This transcript is not 100% the same as the language used in the video lesson. This is because there are some differences between the language used for interpersonal conversation Chinese and for presentational public speaking Chinese.

Use the transcript and learn how to talk about how to get a Chinese name in presentational situations.

 

你有中文名字吗? Do you have a Chinese name?

 

我们今天要的是,外国人的中文名字。你现在有中文名字吗?(在评论里告诉我们你的中文名字吧!)如果你还没有中文名字,怎么一个地道的中文名字呢?

Today we’ll talk about foreigner’s Chinese name. If you have one, leave a comment and tell us your Chinese name. And if you don’t have one yet, how to get a Chinese Name that is up to standard? 

★ Please note that the Chinese-English translation shouldn't be considered a 100% match. Liberal translation is used when word-to-word translation might not make sense. 

★ Words marked with * is not required for this level.

聊 liáo ▸ v. to talk; to chat
评论 pínglùn ▸ v.  to comment ▸ n.  comment
起 qǐ ▸ v. to give or pick (a name)
地道 dìdao ▸ adj. genuine; up to standard; real; typical

 

你可能想说:“为什么?”为什么要给自己起中文名字?名字就是你的身份,你的名字就代表了你这个人。你在学中文的时候,就是一个“学中文的人”,你有一天也可能会去中国,会人讲中文。那你希望别人怎么叫你?如果你有一个中文名字,就会很容易。

You probably want to ask why. Why do you need to get a Chinese name? Because a name is an important part of one’s identity. When you are learning Chinese, you are a “Chinese learner”. You might go to China one day and talk with people in Chinese. What do you want people to call you? If you have a Chinese name, it’ll be pretty easy.

身份 shēnfèn ▸ n. identity
代表 dàibiǎo ▸ v. to represent
跟 gēn ▸ prep. (to talk) to; with

 

 

给自己起个什么中文名呢?How to pick a Chinese name for yourself?

 

如果你想给自己起个中文名字,怎么起呢?

If you’ve made up your mind and decided to get a Chinese name. You might want to know how to get one.

我在中国和美国都教过中文,我的学生们来自二十多个国家;在ChineseFor.Us网站上,我们的学生来自五十几个国家(到2018年6月),从中小学生退休老人都有。这些学生起中文名字的方法主要有三种。有的比较“正规”、“传统”,有的就更“有趣”一点。是哪三种方法呢?

I have taught Chinese both in China and the US, my students from over 20 countries; and on the ChineseFor.Us website, we’ve had students from over 50 countries(up till June 2018). From school children to retired citizens. Students mainly use three different ways to pick up a Chinese name. Some are “standard and traditional”, while some others are a bit more “interesting”. So, what are the three ways to get a Chinese name?

教 jiāo ▸ v. to teach
中小学生 zhōng xiǎo xuéshēng ▸ n. phrase elementary students and middle/high school students
退休老人 tuìxiū lǎorén ▸ n. phrase seniors who are retired
方法 fāngfǎ ▸ n. method
主要 zhǔyào ▸ adj. main adv. mainly
*正规 zhèngguī ▸ adj. standard; normal; regular
传统 chuántǒng ▸ adj. traditional
有趣 yǒuqù ▸ adj. interesting

 

 

音译法 Translate from the pronunciation of your real name

 

先说最简单的吧。最简单的就是“音译法”——直接翻译名字的发音不管你的本名是英语、西班牙语、法语、意大利语还是德语……你的名字用你的母语是怎么发音的?就用那个发音来翻译。

Let’s start with the easiest one. The easiest way is Transliteration - to directly translate from the pronunciation of your real name, whether it’s in English, Spanish, French, Italian or German… What are you called in your own language? Use that name and translate the sound. 

*音译法 yīnyìfǎ ▸ n. phrase the method of translating from the pronunciation
直接 zhíjiē ▸ adj. direct adv. directly
翻译 fànyì ▸ v.  to translate n. translation; translator
*发音 fāyīn ▸ n.  pronunciation
不管 bùguǎn ▸ conj.  no matter; despite; regardless of
本名 běnmíng ▸ n. one's original name; one's real name
母语 mǔyǔ▸ n. native language; mother tongue

 

一般来说,这些语言里常见的名字都已经有标准的中文翻译了。比如说“Chuck”的标准中文音译是“查克(Chákè)”。西班牙语的“Sofía”,中文翻译是“索菲亚(Suǒfēiyà)”。这些翻译一般用网上的词典都能找到。翻译一下就好了。

Usually, common names in these languages all have a standardized Chinese translation. Take Chuck for example, the standard translation is 查克. And the Spanish name Sofía, has 索菲亚 as its Chinese translation. Usually you can find the translation using an online dictionary really easy. All you need is to translate it.

一般来说 yìbān lái shuō▸ generally speaking
常见 chángjiàn ▸ adj. commonly seen; common
标准 biāozhǔn ▸ adj. standard
比如说 bǐrú shuō ▸ for example
一般 yìbān ▸ adj. normal; ordinary adv. normally; generally

 

 

地道的中文名字 How to get a Chinese name that is up to standard

 

第二方法麻烦一点。但也是最地道的办法。中国人怎么起名字,你就怎么起名字。一个中国姓和一个中国名。

The second way to get a Chinese name might be a little more complicated but it is also the most common, popular or accepted way. You get a Chinese name just like how Chinese people pick names. A Chinese Last Name and a Chinese First Name.

中国人的名字一般有三个字,或者两个字。有时候也有四个字,但是很少。中文名字有两个部分,姓和名。姓在前面,名在后面。姓一般是一个字,名一般是一个字,或者两个字。

A Chinese Last Name is most likely one-character, or two-character. Sometimes it has four characters, but that’s very rare. A Chinese name has two parts, Last Name and First Name. The Last Name goes before the First Name. The Last Name is usually one-character, and the First Name is usually one or two-character.

种 zhǒng ▸ n. kind; type; category
麻烦 máfan ▸ adj. inconvenient
办法 bànfǎ ▸ n. method; means
部分 bùfèn ▸ n. part; portion; section

 

 

中文百家姓 Top 100 Chinese Last Names

在中国,孩子爸爸姓。历史上有一本书叫《百家姓(Bǎijiāxìng, Top 100 Chinese Last Names)》,里面有中国人常见的姓氏。在2018年,中国最常见的一百个姓氏有下面这些。你可以从里面选一个你喜欢的。

In China, kids take their father’s Last Name. There is book called 100 Chinese Last Names that has a long history, in the book there are common Chinese Last Names. In 2018, the most common 100 Last Names in China are as follows. You can pick one that you like. 

那怎么选呢?第一,你有没有喜欢的中国歌手演员作家?或者其他名人,或者你的朋友?你可以用他们的姓。第二,你也可以选一个你觉得好看的、好写的字。第三,大部分的人也会用他们母语的姓,来选一个发音差不多的中文姓。发音差不多的意思,一般是看声母(Shēngmǔ, Pinyin Initial)。

But how do you pick then? Firstly, do you have any Chinese singer, actor/actress or writer that you like? Or any other famous people, or one of your friends? You can use their Last Name. Secondly, you can also pick a character that you feel that look good or easy to write. Thirdly, most people will take their Last Name in their native language and pick a Chinese Name that sounds similar to it. By sounding alike, it usually just use an Initial that shares the same or a similar consonant.

跟 gēn ▸ v. to follow
历史 lìshǐ ▸ n. history
姓氏 xìngshì ▸ n. last name; family name; surname
歌手 gēshǒu ▸ n. singer
演员 yǎnyuán ▸ n. actor, actress
作家 zuòjiā ▸ n. writer; author
名人 míngrén ▸ n. famous people
大部分 dà bùfen ▸ most(of); the bigger portion of
差不多 chàbuduō ▸ almost; more or less; nearly

 

 

什么样的中文名好听?How to pick a Chinese First Name?

 
中国人起名字一般会选意思比较好的字、词,因为名字代表了父母对孩子的美好希望。有的名字女孩用好,有的名字男孩用好,有的名字女孩和男孩都可以用。

Chinese people usually pick characters or words that have meanings, because the name represents the parents’ good wishes for the child. Some names are better for girls, some names are better for boys, and some names are good for both girls and boys to use.

有的词意思很好,可能不太适合做名字。比如说“美丽”、“莲花”,意思好像很好,感觉可以做女孩子的名字,但不一定,因为这些词在生活中太常见了。

Some words that have good meanings but might not be quite suitable for names. For example, “beautiful” and “lily”. They seem to have good meanings and you might feel that they can be a good girl name, but not necessarily, because these words are too common in daily life.

美好 měihǎo ▸ adj. fine; nice; good
希望 xīwàng ▸ n. hope v. to hope
美丽 měilì ▸ adj. beautiful; pretty n. beauty
莲花 liánhuā ▸ n. lily (flower)
不一定 bùyídìng ▸ not necessarily; not surely
生活 shēnghuó ▸ n. life; daily life

 

 

好的中文名字  Resources to get a Chinese Name

 
名字的意思最好模糊一点、美一点,不要太日常。很多人用《诗经 (Shījīng, Book of Poems)》、《易经 (Yijing, Book of Change)》这样的文学经典起名字,因为里面的词有象征性,也很经典

It is better if the name carries the meaning in a vague and elegant way, but not too common. Many people use classic literature like Book of Poems, Book of Change for picking Chinese names. Because they use languages that are symbolic and classic.

名著小说武侠小说里也有很多好听的中文名字。中国的武侠小说和《指环王 (Zhǐhuán Wáng, The Lord of the Rings)》、《权力的游戏 (Quánlì De Yóuxì, Game of Thrones)》这样的故事差不多。很多英文电脑游戏就是《指环王》和《权力的游戏》这样的故事,在中国,电脑游戏就常常会用武侠故事。

Classic novels and sword-men novels also have many nice-sounding Chinese names. Sword-men novels in China are similar to stories like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. A lot of English video games would use stories like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones; in China, video games use sword-men stories a lot.

模糊 móhu ▸ adj. vague; obscure
日常 rìcháng▸ n. daily routine adj. everyday; day-to-day; usual and common in daily life
文学经典 wénxué jīngdiǎn ▸ n. literature classics
*象征性 xiàngzhēngxìng ▸ n. symbolic
经典 jīngdiǎn ▸ n. classics adj. classic
*名著 míngzhù ▸ n. literature masterpiece
小说 xiǎoshuō ▸ n. novel; fiction
*武侠 wǔxiá ▸ n. swordsmen
故事 gùshi ▸ n. story
电脑游戏 diànnǎo yóuxì ▸ n. computer games; video games

 

你也可以多看看一些名人的名字,比如说电影明星、歌手、音乐人什么的。他们的名字一般是过的,为了更符合商业形象,如果没改过,那他们原来的名字也不差。

You can also look at names of celebrities like movie stars, singers and musicians. Their names are usually changed to better suit their commercial image, and if it’s not changed, then their original names are not bad either.

当然了,起了名字以后,最好问问你的中国朋友、中文老师。看他们觉得那个名字怎么样。

Of course, after you picked a name, it’s better to ask your Chinese friends and Chinese teachers and see what they think of that name.

明星 míngxīng ▸ n. (movie; music) star; celebrity
音乐人 yīnyuèrén ▸ n. musician
……什么的 shénme de ▸ ...and so on; ... etc.
改 gǎi ▸ v. to change; to alter
*符合 fúhé ▸ v. accord with; conform to; adjust to; play up to
商业 shāngyè ▸ n. commerce; trade; business
形象 xíngxiàng ▸ n. image
原来 yuánlái ▸ adj. original n. before; the past

 

 

随意一点的中文名字 Any random word or phrase for a Chinese name

 
最后一个办法,可能有意思,但可能有点太随便了。就是随便选一个有意思的词,我见过叫冰淇淋, 狮子王(Shīzi Wáng, Lion King)和月亮的……对,这些名字可能很可爱,也很好。但这些是最好的中文名吗?我不知道,可能每个人的想法不一样吧!不过当网名也还不错。

This last method might be interesting, but it also might be too casual. It is to randomly choose an interesting word, Personally, I’ve seen people called: Ice Cream, Lion King, The Moon…Yes they might sound cute, and are easy to remember. But are they really the best Chinese First Name? I don’t know, perhaps everyone has their own opinions. But they are okay to used as online nickname.

随便 suíbiàn ▸ adj. casual and random; adv. casually and randomly
冰淇淋 bīngqílín ▸ n. ice cream
可爱 kě'ài ▸ adj.  cute; lovely
记 jì ▸ v. to remember
网名 wǎngmíng ▸ n. online nickname

 

最后,我真的很想知道你们有没有中文名字?你们的中文名字是什么?记得在评论里告诉我!

And I really want to know if you have a Chinese name and what it is? Make sure you comment and let me know!

24 Comments
Collapse Comments
Leiana Ianne T. GucabanGuest June 8, 2021 at 3:53 am

lianhua

Leiana Ianne T. GucabanGuest June 7, 2021 at 5:58 am

is my name in chinese is lei ana?

Leiana Ianne T. GucabanGuest June 7, 2021 at 5:57 am

lei ana

John524Premium Student May 30, 2021 at 12:06 am

I am thinking about Wen An 文安. 文 means literature and 安 means content, calm, peace. Do these two work together OK?

LakshmishankarappaGuest May 11, 2020 at 7:03 pm

My first name is lakshmi
Last name is shankarappa

LakshmishankarappaGuest May 11, 2020 at 7:02 pm

What is my name in Chinese language
Lakshmishankarappa

我叫龙勉礼。我觉得这个姓名好好听。免力勉,礼像先礼后兵。 但是,龙不是在百家姓。我应该有吗?

Wayne RadonichGuest January 26, 2020 at 4:46 pm

How do you create a last name when it is Radonich(English) Radonić (Croatian). My first name it Wei en

廉约翰Premium Student June 27, 2021 at 11:51 am

Radonić comes from the word “radonja,” which means “willing,” “eager,” or “keen.” So if you can find a Chinese last name with a character that means something like that, you can do that. Preferably if it begins with the “R” or “L” sound. Wikipedia has a list of the 400 most common Chinese names.

I picked Yì mĕilì i think i did ok

Robert KingPremium Student January 6, 2020 at 5:22 am

My Chinese name is 金萝卜(Robert King). It loosely translates in English to “Golden Radish”. Everytime I get introduced to a local Chinese person, I get laughed at. Love my Chinese name 🙂

晚上好!我叫卡琳娜。Does it sounds okay? I mean, does my native name in Chinese translation is hard to say or does it weird? 谢谢 in advance!

Marlon 高夢覽Premium Student February 24, 2019 at 12:28 pm

马拨 The first syllable of my first name is “MA” and the first syllable of my last name is “BO” so I chose 马拨. Is it a good name?

RadiPremium Student October 19, 2018 at 9:09 am

你好,

it is not easy to decide for me. My name is Ladi Hybl and I would like to keep it short in chinese language, so I have found two words in your list of names and put them together 赖黎, which sounds quite like my thai friends call me here in Thailand. Anyway I am not sure about how it sounds for chinese people=o) I tried to use a name generator on another website and I got name 洪 灵 道 there, which I like due to its meaning, but I am not really happy about its sound. May to make it shorter like 灵 道, would help a bit. Could you just tell me what do you think about these names? 提前感谢

littlespinner07Premium Student September 24, 2018 at 6:26 am

你好! Im still undecided on what Chinese name I should use. :’) I have a long English name Ma Ye Lhen Grace and my cousin who went to a Chinese school gave me a Chinese name 李马爷, simply a translation of my real name Ma Ye and which I use for 5 years now. But through this course, i’ve known what it means and I wanted to change it. Now I have 2 options in mind, 李 夢悦, just a small variation to Ma Ye and another one is 李悦真 for Ye Lhen. Could you help me choose a good Chinese name? 😀 谢谢!

I have a difficult time here to pick one for my last name.. My name is Josaphat Alfons, and Josaphat itself basically taken from Jehoshaphat (Bible’s Character), written as 约沙法 in chinese. So, should I pick my last name or stay with this (约沙法) name?

jdanimejiaPremium Student August 18, 2018 at 10:42 pm

你好!
我的名字是陈哲翰
My chinese friend help me to have it, do you think is a good name ?

这个名字很好!Your friend picked a very good name for you!

你好 ! 我 姓 王, 王 叫 坤 宁
I watched your first video, and then I decided to have a Chinese name. My English name is Keannu Marie.:) I have learned a lot, and certainly, I want to learn more. I am an online English tutor and I tutor Chinese students, and I am also planning to visit China in the future. I want to be a premium student but I have some questions to ask, I hope I would get a response soon. 谢谢!

你好王坤宁,你的名字很好听。Your Chinese name sounds really nice. Thanks for giving a positive feedback to our Chinese video lessons.

dojibearPremium Student August 1, 2018 at 7:03 pm

My English surname is “Crowley”. It is pronounced 3 different ways: “kuao-li”, “kuou-li” and “kuo-li”. My family uses “kuao-li”. In the 100 surname list I found Guo 郭 (18) and Gao 高 (15). I chose 高 because the “ao” vowel is closer, and because the meaning “tall” fits my family (I’m 192 cm; my sister is 180 cm). For Li, I picked 理 because I’ve always been “the smart kid” and “high tech”.

To match the “e” vowel sound in “Ted”, I might use “Tie” (铁) as a first name, since the meaning (iron) seems like a boys name. That would give me the 3-syllable name Gao Li Tie.

But is it worth telling every new person I meet that my surname has 2 syllables? Chinese people will assume Gao is my surname. I dislike “Lee-tyeh” as a first name. I don’t mind “Lee”, a common US first name. So I will probably just use 高理 as my Chinese name.

高理你好!
谢谢你告诉我们你的名字。
高理这个名字很不错!It’s really a good choice!

dojibearPremium Student August 13, 2018 at 8:56 am

Thanks for your comments, 郝老师. I have another question. I like the name 高理 but yesterday I had a new idea. Chinese names are often 1 then 2 (last then first), and my name “Ted Crowley” is 1 then 2 (first then last). I found one surname in the 100 list that sounds like “Ted” to me: 田.

Do you think 田高理 is a reasonable Chinese name? Or should I stay with 高理?

Personally I feel that 高理 sounds better. But 田高理 is not “unreasonable” either. 😀

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