For those who have a Chinese name, do you feel a sense of identity with it?
Does your Chinese name feel like a part of your identity, or is it more like a nickname or title?
Does it feel academic or formal to use your Chinese name?
Do you just think of it as practical and not care much for it?
I have asked a similar question on r/AskAChinese about Chinese people with Western names, so I thought it would be interesting to see what you all think.
If there is a more appropriate subreddit for this, please inform me
Chinese indonesian here, definitely
Same+1
Would you consider it more personal to use one name over the other? Or do they have a different meaning to you/show your relationship with another person in any way?
I mainly use my chinese name for family and close friends. My English name would be more formal/professional setting and for friends who i not yet considered close.
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My first year there, it only felt like a nickname. After 6 years of being there, it feels the same as my actual name.
Definitely feels tied to my identity in some sense, as for usefulness in China though, idk? It’s not like foreigners are required to have/use one (as far as I know anyway), many of us just choose one for WeChat or whatever. Or a teacher gives us one when taking Chinese lessons.
It certainly helps with the immersion factor, and Chinese people will definitely call you by it if that’s how you introduce yourself. I’ve rarely had anyone ask me afterwards what my English name was. They prob assume you’re doing the same thing as them, except with a Chinese name instead of an English one.
It’s a fucking head turner in the States though when I call an order in for Chinese food and then here comes saltine cracker walking in ready for pickup. Never gets old.
It was the opposite for me - in my first year, I used a Chinese name given to me by a friend regularly. But as I spent more time and my friendships and relationships became more ordinary and less tied to my initial burst of language learning, I ended up just using a transliteration of my English name...
Back when I was in Hong Kong my Chinese name always felt like a bit of a "stage name", the only time anyone would call me by it was in Chinese class, outside of that everyone, even people who didn't speak English, would prefer my English name.
Now in Mainland China my Chinese name is by far the most common way people refer to me, especially because most people I know here don't speak English. It feels like a core part of my identity now after several years, but I still slightly prefer my original name because it was thoughtfully given to me by my family, whilst I made up my Chinese one during university.
Generally I am indifferent to how people refer to me, but it can feel jarring or a bit condescending when someone who usually uses my Chinese one calls me by my English name, I guess like when your parents call you by your full name haha.
In Hong Kong, would you introduce yourself with your Chinese name, English name or both?
When speaking Chinese I originally started with only my Chinese name, but later used both as I found most people preferred that (they often ask directly straight afterwards). When speaking English I would start with both, but eventually just used my English name with people who spoke very fluently.
I study alongside local Chinese students, so I'm pretty used to my Chinese name by now. It's on my student id, roll call, uni's system, police registration etc etc. It's an actual name too, not a transliteration or "John doe", no one ever expects it to be the laowai lol
I always get the funniest looks from teachers when they call out my name and I answer hahaha like "Wtf that's you????" which I always think it's hilarious because they can see its an international student and who the fuck would it be 😂 (I'm latino and don't have a single Asian trait, my class has 130 ppl lmao)
I've heard some people say it's cringeworthy or that I'm trying too hard to be Asian, but I don't think it's that big of a deal. Makes my life and the life of those around me much easier, the only time I use my full name is when I want to scare natives on how long latino full names are hahahaha
But yes, I would say it's totally part of my identity. If tomorrow everyone started calling me by my original name I would find it way too weird. It also makes me feel slightly less out of place, which is neat
> I've heard some people say it's cringeworthy or that I'm trying too hard to be Asian, but I don't think it's that big of a deal
Any specific type of people? Just fellow foreign students? Or Chinese students? Or everyone?
Ironically, I've ever only heard that from other foreigners heh.
I think a lot of foreigners living here can't fathom that some of us do actually integrate quite well and don't really feel the need (or have the opportunity!) to meet or interact with other foreigners
I guess that leads many of them to project some insecurities or whatever, I don't know. I got called an "asianboo" quite a few times already for saying I don't know any other foreigners, which isn't intentional, we just don't cross paths often :p
Fuck yeah, I love my Chinese name, 周乐. Sounds like my English name Joel haha
Did you choose it because it sounds like your english name?
Yeah exactly why.
I often wondered, do many foreigners get the officially recognised Chinese name thing? Does it make your life easier for official things / registration things?
How do go about getting that done? I always write my Chinese name down in official visa forms and such but they never use it, presumably because I'm not ethnically Chinese. It would make my life a lot easier when using certain websites that get confused when my full name has spaces in it.
I had to go to my local police station and then register, the same way I would before (not online) and signed a form saying my passport name is the same as a Chinese name. I only did it because I needed a "real" name for license plate registration, I don't think it's necessary otherwise
You mean it's to say it's equivalent to the passport name? Or your Chinese name has to match your passport name?
It's a chosen Chinese name, doesn't match anything, mine was just made up on the spot really. I just had to sign something and do the regular address registration with both names, then I could officially use the Chinese name for the documents that required a Chinese name
There's a process but I don't know how to do it. I don't know whether it's as simple as just filling in a form and paying a fee or if there are further requirements
There are certain instances where a Chinese name is necessary. I needed one when getting a license plate in my name, they didn't accept foreign names. I know there's a few other things but that's the one that I most recently used one for. I just go with my own name though to avoid any confusion/problems
I wonder about this too. I have heard about some Chinese-Canadians with their Chinese name as their middle name, so it doesn't seem crazy to me for this to happen
They use it for the permanent resident id card. So when e.g. buying train tickets you can do that with the Chinese name on that card only. However, for other things like banking or phone plan their system automatically takes my "normal" name and ignores the Chinese one.
Wow, interesting. That must get confusing I imagine
I have a friend, Wayne, who after having trouble booking tables at Chinese restaurants, now switches to "Ben". I guess that's his Chinese name now. Truth be told, I'm not sure if he realizes that "Ben" is a Chinese syllable.
For me, my Chinese name feels just as valid as my English name. Some Chinese people use my English name, and some use my Chinese name. It's in my Reddit username.
Ive been using the name 柯杰 for 8 years in China . I chose the name myself and at this point more people call me 柯杰 (in China) than they call my real name.
Most of my colleagues have forgotten my English name.
It feels like it’s me, I 100% identify with it
So in that case, do you think that the term "real name" is still accurate? Part of this question is also how you see your name through identity and sense of self
I purposely didn’t use the term “real” name and instead used “English name” because to me they are both just as real. It didn’t feel right to call my English name my real name.
My name is “daddy” to my daughter , They are all on the same “realness” as my English name
I am just as much 柯杰 as I am daddy as I am (English name)
I’ve internalised it as myself.
I see this on my side
sorry for the confusion
Ahahaha, that first paragraph I did slip it through
Yes, all my Chinese family and friends call me that so definitely that's part of me. However, it's a pity I am not able to officially use that first name. When making my driver's license and Chinese permanent resident card they insisted that my Chinese name can only be a max of 4 characters and that my family name as phonetic translation should be printed, not my first name only.
I’ve got an official Chinese name for my documents, and have been referred to that way in certain formal/government settings.
I don’t identify with it at all. Pretty much everyone I know either calls me Chris or “克里斯” (direct transliteration of Chris).
Backup of the post's body: For those who have a Chinese name, do you feel a sense of identity with it?
Does your Chinese name feel like a part of your identity, or is it more like a nickname or title?
Does it feel academic or formal to use your Chinese name?
Do you just think of it as practical and not care much for it?
I have asked a similar question on r/AskAChinese about Chinese people with Western names, so I thought it would be interesting to see what you all think.
If there is a more appropriate subreddit for this, please inform me
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Only time I was asked or needed a foreign name was in Japan.
It's just a name. I don't care much for it. Some Foreign names could be hard to pronounce because that's just how languages work. So schools usually give students a chinese name to make it easier on staff and faculty.
“Chinese names are two crisp beats—half the airtime of some marathon-mouthed Western handle.”
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