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Picking a Chinese name

I Have a Question
#1

Hi @YuQinCai, @Constance_Fang @Fiona and the ChinesePod team, my question is this:

Hi everyone! I’ve been learning Chinese for a little while, and as I’m interested in doing an internship in China, I’ve been thinking about picking a Chinese name to make things easier for everyone. I’m less interested in having one that sounds very similar to my current name (it’s actually Polish so it’s thrice as hard to get it right in Chinese) and more just getting a decent meaning and natural sound to it.

I’ve narrowed it down to these four:
江铭黎 (Jiāng Míng Lí)
江晨莲 (Jiāng Chén Lián)
雷如心 (Léi Rú Xīn)
雷明精 (Léi Míng Jīng)

As you can see, I am trying to keep them nature-related and avoid “handsome/beautiful” or “intelligent/smart” kind of meanings. Could you let me know if any of these sound like actual Chinese names? I’ll probably just go with whichever one sounds the most natural. If none of them do, I would appreciate any help fixing them!

Thank you in advance!

#2

Hi there,

I would say 江晨 (Jiāng Chén) is quite good. Although I have no idea whether you are male or female, this name fits both! And it absolutely sounds natural to Chinese.

Betty

#3

Hey,

I personally also think 江晨 is a very natural and neutral name, although I would also say it sounds quite “common”.

But generally I think you should just take a name you like most :slight_smile:

#4

I think you also need to consider how easily others can pronounce your Chinese name. For example, 雷瑞楠 is not a good Chinese name as it is hard to be pronounced and these three characters sound too similar. You probably want to avoid that if that is the case. So I don’t think 江铭黎 is a proper name as 铭 and 黎 are not easy to be pronounced when combined. I would choose 江铭 or 江晨 if you are male and 江敏 or 江晨 if you are female. 江晨 can be used by female or male.

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