My name in Chinese
There are two answers to "what is my name in Chinese". The first is a transliteration: characters chosen only for sound, the way a newspaper writes a foreign name (Emma Watson becomes 艾玛·沃森, Àimǎ Wòsēn). It is correct, and nobody is called it. The second is a Chinese name: a surname that echoes yours, then a given name with meaning (王婉清, Wáng Wǎnqīng). Type your name below and you get the second kind, three ways, with every character explained. Ask for the sound-first style if you want the name to stay close to how yours sounds.
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Choose how it is written
Pick a collection and we write in it; the first piece is written now, free. The pictures below are samples of 诸葛亮 Zhuge Liang. Yours carry your own characters.
Write in this collection
The first piece is written now in your own characters, free. Unlock the rest when you like it.
Simplified is standard in mainland China; traditional in Hong Kong, Taiwan and most tattoo studios. The seals use seal script, which predates the split.
Six common names, both ways
Every English name has a standard transliteration, and none of them is a name a Chinese person is called. The table puts the newspaper form next to a real Chinese name for the same person, so you can see the difference in length, in shape and in what the characters say.
| Name | Transliteration | Real Chinese name | What the real name carries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grace Smith | 格蕾丝·史密斯 | 施雅琳 | Shī Yǎlín: 施 for the S of Smith; 雅 elegant, 琳 fine jade, the meaning of Grace |
| James Miller | 詹姆斯·米勒 | 米嘉言 | Mǐ Jiāyán: 米 for Miller; 嘉 fine, echoing Ja-; 言 words |
| Sarah Johnson | 萨拉·约翰逊 | 钟诗然 | Zhōng Shīrán: 钟 for Johnson; 诗 poetry, echoing Sa-; 然 natural |
| Michael Brown | 迈克尔·布朗 | 柏明凯 | Bǎi Míngkǎi: 柏 for Brown; 明 bright, 凯 triumphant, together close to Mi-kel |
| Olivia Taylor | 奥利维亚·泰勒 | 唐若薇 | Táng Ruòwēi: 唐 for Taylor; 若 as if, 薇 wild rose, echoing -vi- |
| William Clark | 威廉·克拉克 | 柯伟霖 | Kē Wěilín: 柯 for Clark; 伟 great, 霖 timely rain, close to Wil-liam |
The transliterations read Gélěisī Shǐmìsī, Zhānmǔsī Mǐlè, Sàlā Yuēhànxùn, Màikè'ěr Bùlǎng, Àolìwéiyà Tàilè and Wēilián Kèlākè. They run to four, five and six characters with a dot in the middle, and their characters (斯, 克, 尔, 勒) are the ones a Chinese reader knows as sound-only. The real names are three characters, surname first, and each one means something. Our guide to transliteration versus a Chinese name explains where each belongs.
A worked example: Daniel Reed
Daniel Reed transliterated is 丹尼尔·里德 (Dānní'ěr Lǐdé), five characters that say "a foreigner called Daniel Reed". It is what a Chinese newspaper would print, and what a translated document would use. Nobody would call him it.
- 李 (Lǐ): family name, one of the two most common in China; as a word, plum.
- 达 (dá): to reach, to understand thoroughly.
- 宁 (níng): calm, at peace.
Reed has no exact Chinese sound, since Mandarin has no English r, and 李 is the surname Chinese speakers reach for with Lee, Leigh and Reed alike. The given name keeps the shape of Daniel, d, a and n, in two syllables rather than three, and adds a meaning: reaching calm. Tones 3, 2, 2, so it dips and then rises twice, and it reads as a man's name without being heavy. A Chinese colleague would use it the first day.
Which answer you need
The transliteration is the right answer when the name has to stay identifiably yours on paper: a translated contract, a Chinese edition of your book, a wedding banquet card where the guests need to know which foreigner you are. It is fixed, so look up the standard form rather than inventing one.
A real Chinese name is the right answer when people will call you by it. A student starting a year in Shanghai is given one by the first teacher anyway, and arriving with a good one saves being named on the spot. A grandparent learning to write a grandchild's name wants three characters that mean something, not six that spell English sounds. Someone who wants the name on a wall, on a seal or on skin needs a name that will still read well in twenty years. For those, type your name above, and when you have chosen, see it in four brush scripts.
How it works
Enter your name. For a closer sound, open "More about the name" and choose the sound-first style.
Compare the three names: each character’s pinyin and meaning, and how the name fits yours.
Choose one and see it written in calligraphy, or cut as a seal.
Questions
How do I write my name in Chinese characters?
There are two ways. A transliteration picks characters for sound only, the way newspapers write foreign names. A real Chinese name takes a surname that matches the first sound of your family name and adds a one- or two-character given name with meaning. Chinese people, students and long-term expats use the second.
What is my name in Chinese?
Your name has a standard transliteration, such as 丹尼尔 (Dānní'ěr) for Daniel, and it can also have a real Chinese name, such as 李达宁 (Lǐ Dáníng) for Daniel Reed. The transliteration is fixed; the real name is chosen. This page gives you three real names for yours, each character explained.
Does my name have a direct translation in Chinese?
Names rarely translate. A name with a clear meaning, such as Grace, Rose or Leo, can carry that meaning into the Chinese given name: Grace becomes 雅 (yǎ, elegant), Rose might become 薇 (wēi, the wild rose, a character common in girls' names). Choose the meaning-first kind of name to get this.
Why is my name so long in Chinese?
A transliteration spends one character on every syllable of your English name, so Olivia Taylor needs six: 奥利维亚·泰勒. A real Chinese name is two or three characters long, surname first. If your Chinese name has more than four characters and a dot in the middle, it is a transliteration.
How do you pronounce a Chinese name?
Every name comes with pinyin, the standard romanisation, with tone marks: Lǐ Dáníng. The marks show the pitch of each syllable: level (ā), rising (á), dipping (ǎ) or falling (à). Say the surname first, then the given name as one word; that is how Chinese names are spoken.
Is the transliteration of my name wrong?
No. A standard transliteration such as 詹姆斯 for James is correct Chinese, and it is the form used in news, translated books and some documents. It is simply a label rather than a name: a Chinese reader sees a foreigner's name spelt out, not a person called by it.
Can I keep my name's sound in the Chinese name?
Yes. Choose the sound-first kind of name and the given name will stay as close to yours as natural Chinese allows. One candidate in each set may also be a close echo, such as 艾玛 (Àimǎ) for Emma. The surname still comes from the Hundred Family Surnames.
Which Chinese name should I choose?
Choose the one you would be happy to hear said aloud across a room. Read the meaning of each character, say the pinyin, and if you can, show it to a Chinese friend. You can also paste it into the free name checker to see how a Chinese reader would take it.
Read more
- Why 艾米丽·沃森 is not a Chinese name: transliteration vs a real nameA transliteration spells the sound of a foreign name in Chinese characters; a Chinese name is a surname and a meaningful given name. What each is for, how to tell them apart, and which one to use.