How are Western names translated into Chinese?

Names don’t translate directly from Western languages to Chinese. It isn’t like translating from English to Spanish (e.g., James to Diego) or French to Russian (e.g., Michel to Mikhail or Misha). For the Chinese, names are chosen mainly for the meaning or the combination of sounds.

Can you write American names in Chinese?

The simple answer is no, you can’t. There are specific characters that have been designated to ‘transliterate’ foreign names. They all have meanings of their own, and are used in other contexts as well, but they have been chosen and ‘borrowed’ for their sounds.

Do foreigners get Chinese names?

English-speakers who study French, Spanish or Russian don’t generally get a new name. But just as it’s not unusual for Chinese people to take English names when they study English, many foreigners who study Chinese or live in China adopt a Chinese name.

What is a Chinese last name?

According to a comprehensive survey of residential permits released by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security on 24 April 2007, the ten most common surnames in mainland China are Wang (王), Li (李), Zhang (张), Liu (刘), Chen (陈), Yang (杨), Huang (黄), Zhao (赵), Wu (吴), and Zhou (周).

How do I write my last name in Chinese?

Chinese Phrase – My surname is

My surname is.
我姓
Pinyin. wǒ xìng.

How old is Chinese?

The Chinese language is the oldest written language in the world with at least six thousand years of history. Chinese character inscriptions have been found in turtle shells dating back to the Shang dynasty1 (1766-1123 BC) proving the written language has existed for more than 3,000 years.

What names are banned in China?

Religious naming restrictions In 2017, the Chinese Communist Party enacted bans on a list of Muslim names it deemed “too extreme”, or may have “connotations of holy war or of splittism (separatism)”. Examples include “Islam”, “Quran”, “Mecca”, “Jihad”, “Imam”, “Saddam”, “Muhammad”, “Hajj”, and “Medina”, among others.