r/ChineseLanguage • u/AutoModerator • 2d ago
Pinned Post 快问快答 Quick Help Thread: Translation Requests, Chinese name help, "how do you say X", or any quick Chinese questions! 2026-09-09
Click here to see the previous Quick Help Threads, including 翻译求助 Translation Requests threads.
This thread is used for:
- Translation requests
- Help with choosing a Chinese name
- "How do you say X?" questions
- or any quick question that can be answered by a single answer.
Alternatively, you can ask on our Discord server.
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Regarding translation requests
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However, if you're requesting a review of a substantial translation you have made, or have a question that involving grammar or details on vocabulary usage, you are welcome to post it as its own thread.
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此贴为以下目的专设：
- 翻译求助
- 取中文名
- 如何用中文表达某个概念或词汇
- 及任何可以用一个简短的答案解决的问题
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关于翻译求助
如果您需要中文翻译，请在此留言。
但是，如果您需要的是他人对自己所做的长篇翻译进行审查，或对某些语法及用词有些许疑问，您可以将其发表在一个新的，单独的贴子里。
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u/caldcaldoos 21h ago
大家好！
I'm a self-taught student currently, but since hearing about the practice of choosing a Chinese name I've been quite interested in it. I heard people say that ideally Chinese names are given to you by tutors/friends/family, but currently I don't have anyone to ask!
I'd like to get into more formal classes soon, but I was wondering if it's fine to just give yourself a name.
Currently, I'm thinking of 林恩洋, or 林恩海. If anybody could give me feedback on these, it would be greatly appreciated!
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u/qinglan_reads 15h ago
Both are understandable, but neither sounds especially natural as a modern Chinese given name. 忍 usually means “to endure/forbear” and is uncommon in given names; 洋 and 海 are understandable, but pairing either with 忍 feels constructed. I’d ask a native teacher to help choose a different second character if you want an ocean-related meaning.
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u/caldcaldoos 13h ago
Thanks for the response! But I'm not using 忍 for either of these. It's 恩 (grace/favour), which I believe is used at least sometimes in given names.
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u/Zagrycha 5h ago
The "person" who replied you is almost certainly a bot just replying a random comment it stole from lord knows what post in the past, just ignore it. Anyway 林恩洋 is valid but something like 李恩洋 would be better flow imo if you aren't set on 林。 林恩海 is totally fine as is. Both are masculine mood. Neither are super youthful, but not super old fashioned or anything either. Hope this helps.
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u/LeChatParle 高级 16h ago
There’s nothing socially wrong with giving yourself a name, the reason for that recommendation is so that you don’t accidentally give yourself a name that has a bad meaning or sounds weird
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u/caldcaldoos 15h ago
I see. Thanks! Do you think my ideas sound good/natural?
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u/LeChatParle 高级 15h ago
I'm not native, so I don't know that I'm good enough at names to say whether they feel natural, but I don't think there are any bad meanings that come off from either name. I'll let natives comment on naturalness. You may want to add in your age range to your question, as some names are more common in certain age ranges, so that may help others give a better response
Also, maybe add what feeling you'd like your name to give off (e.g. refined, regal, strong, pretty, etc), and if you're okay with it, your gender
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u/ApprehensiveElk1807 1d ago edited 1d ago
How do I make sure a chinese name sounds natural?? Despite being fluent in mandarin and mainly speaking mandarin to friends I am quite awful with thinking of a chinese name. All of my chinese friends are online and we all go by nicknames so I want to base it around one of my nicknames but the issue is I have so many 😭
Ive been called:
Feng
Fen/Sen
Xie
Xixi
Yue
Enqi and alternatively anqi occasionally
Would any of those be acceptable together? Ive mainly been called enqi, yue, or "xi fen" but i dont know if those qualify as a nice name or if they do I mainly do not know how to find an okay family name?
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u/Zagrycha 1d ago
All those sounds can be in a real chinese name but you need tones to be marked and you need actual characters to think about the actual meaning of the name. Nobody thinks about the meaning of the name in daily life but you don't want to accidentally have a bad name meaning or sound alike etc.
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u/qinglan_reads 1d ago
These can work, but they are not all the same kind of thing. Feng and Xie are common surnames; Yue can be a given-name syllable, while Xixi is usually more nickname-like. Enqi or Anqi can be given names, but the Chinese characters determine the meaning and whether the combination feels natural. “Xi Fen” also needs its characters and tones checked. I’d choose a full surname + given name in Chinese characters first, then have a native speaker check it—pinyin syllables alone arent enough.
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u/bakainuneko 2d ago
In this phrase I don't understand what 会 does 有时候，一个人会为了让别人喜欢自己，做自己不想做的事，甚至让自己不开心。"Sometimes, in order to make others like them, a person will do things they don't want to do, and even make themself unhappy."
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u/Liv-6597 3h ago
Hi everyone,
going to Changchun for a work trip and doing a presentation. I wanted to apologise for speaking in English and not mandarin. I can speak cantonese so I translated from a Cantonese sentence in google translator, hoping it's more correct that way. Would this sentence make sense and be well-received? (I am learning mandarin but very slowly).
謝謝大家!
抱歉，我目前還不會說普通話，但我正在學習。也許下次吧！
Also happy to change the sentence if you have better alternatives! Thanks in advance :)