Getting your English name transliterated into Chinese characters might seem cool - until you realize it creates meaningless syllable soup.
The Story
"I wanted my name in Chinese. I got meaningless syllables."
Many Westerners want their name tattooed in Chinese characters. Jeremy becomes 杰里米. Michael becomes 迈克尔. Jennifer becomes 珍妮弗.
The problem? These are phonetic transliterations that sound vaguely like the original name but mean absolutely nothing in Chinese.
How Name Transliteration Works
When Chinese transliterates foreign names, it picks characters that:
- Sound approximately like the original syllables
- Are commonly used for transliteration
- Don't have overtly negative meanings
But the resulting "name" is not a real Chinese name. It's just syllables strung together.
Example: Jeremy
- 杰 (jié) = Outstanding, hero
- 里 (lǐ) = Inside, village (measure word)
- 米 (mǐ) = Rice, meter
- 杰里米 = "Outstanding Inside Rice"???
No Chinese person is named this. It screams "foreign name badly transliterated."
The Better Approach
Instead of transliterating your name, consider:
- Getting a real Chinese name – Have a native speaker create a meaningful name for you
- Translating the meaning – If your name has a meaning, translate that instead
- Choosing a Chinese concept that represents you
Key Takeaways
- Phonetic transliterations are not real names
- They look awkward to native speakers
- A meaningful phrase is better than meaningless syllables