shandongcn Posted May 8, 2004 at 01:09 AM Report Posted May 8, 2004 at 01:09 AM Quest: I know few about Cantonese but ,I know ,In Mardarin,sai4(赛or 塞) is a very bright pronunciation.You can try it ,xia4 or sai4,which is louder? Quote
Quest Posted May 8, 2004 at 08:05 AM Report Posted May 8, 2004 at 08:05 AM well sai1 is suk, sai4 is tsoy. but I still prefer Xia4 - Ha by far. Quote
Lu Posted May 8, 2004 at 03:04 PM Report Posted May 8, 2004 at 03:04 PM I think 夏 sounds really beatiful for a surname, but 石 matches your real surname better. And there must be loads of girls called 石, it's a surname, not a first name. To me, 安娜 sounds very foreign, but it is possible. 安 is a surname (more common in Korea than in China, but still, a Chinese surname), and 娜 is also very possible as a first name. Quote
Alleluia Posted May 10, 2004 at 10:56 AM Author Report Posted May 10, 2004 at 10:56 AM Thanks for your interest and suggestions, all. I still think I'll stick with 安娜 even if it sounds a bit foreign. Even though the connotation to Vietnam in 安南 sounds nice, I don't want people to think of Kofi Annan when they hear my name. Besides, I like the obvious femininity of 娜. 夏 is a good one, I'll have to consider it too. Maybe I'll just sound out the different options in my mind and see which I like most. How is 石 pronounced in Cantonese? What about 安娜? Quote
Quest Posted May 10, 2004 at 11:35 AM Report Posted May 10, 2004 at 11:35 AM 石安娜 -- Sek Ngon Na 夏安娜 -- Ha Ngon Na 夏 is a lot prettier than 石。 Quote
skylee Posted May 10, 2004 at 11:49 AM Report Posted May 10, 2004 at 11:49 AM 石安娜 -- Sek On Na 夏安娜 -- Ha On Na 夏 is prettier than 石。But 石 in both Putonghua and Cantonese starts with an S, whereas 夏 does not in either case. Hard to decide ~~ Quote
Lu Posted May 10, 2004 at 05:58 PM Report Posted May 10, 2004 at 05:58 PM Well, 夏 is pronounced as shya, so in pronounciation it does start with an S. And that is what counts, I think, not the pinyin. Pinyin is only a tool. Quote
Quest Posted May 10, 2004 at 07:24 PM Report Posted May 10, 2004 at 07:24 PM 石安娜 -- Sek On Na 夏安娜 -- Ha On Na 懒音 Quote
skylee Posted May 10, 2004 at 10:19 PM Report Posted May 10, 2004 at 10:19 PM Quest, no, it is not 懶音. I had looked it up in the dictionary before I posted my reply. Take a look at this link -> http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-can/search.php?q=%A6w Quote
Quest Posted May 10, 2004 at 11:27 PM Report Posted May 10, 2004 at 11:27 PM I hear ngon too for the first pronunciation on that site, and the second one is....... wayyyyy too exaggerated. 安's correct pronunciation should be Ngon. It's like 我 -- o and ngo... On is 懒音。Try to say 办案，按照. well at least I say them with an "ng" sound in front, just like the other words -> 牛， 我， 岩， 眼，硬 etc. It is more acceptable in HK when people ignore the "ng". Quote
skylee Posted May 11, 2004 at 01:45 AM Report Posted May 11, 2004 at 01:45 AM No, I don't agree. I have now used four dictionaries to check this word (commercial press, longman, 中華書局 and the on-line one), and they all give the pronunication "on". Only the link I've given above also lists "ngon" as an alternative pronunication. But of course you can go on to pronounce it in your way and I in mine. No big deal. Quote
pazu Posted May 11, 2004 at 03:08 AM Report Posted May 11, 2004 at 03:08 AM Anna, I don't mean to confuse you more, but I want to give you some more options. 桑 (Cantonese) SONG1 / (Mandarin) SANG1 : It means mulberry tree and it's a traditional Chinese name though not as common as Xia and Shi but it matches your name in both Cantonese and Mandarin. (And mulberry is delicious~) I've checked the meaning of your name, Anna, it means grace or favor. So A can be translated as "雅": (Cantonese) aa1 or ngaa5; (Mandarin) ya3: grace or elegant. 桑雅 is a good name, and I think it's indeed better than 夏安娜 ... IMHO. But in that case, you'd better not to add "na3" at the end because 桑雅娜......... people may make some fun of you by omitting the character in the middle... sauNA! Anyway, 雅 is better to be used as a single-character name in your case because 雅娜 sounds a little bit unclear, and people may add one more character between the two to make fun of you.... 雅典娜 (Athena~) Quote
Alleluia Posted May 17, 2004 at 02:12 PM Author Report Posted May 17, 2004 at 02:12 PM Thanks, everyone, for your time and attention! Now I'm so confused that I think I'll just write all the suggestions down and decide later, when my own Chinese is better. I'm going to Beijing this summer (first time in China!), but I guess it isn't critical if I don't have a Chinese name quite yet. Pazu: a friend of mine is called Sanna and she's really having a hard time trying to find a way to transliterate her name into Chinese without the result sounding too much like the Chinese word for sauna. So compared to her, I have no problem at all... Quote
handbus Posted May 17, 2004 at 03:16 PM Report Posted May 17, 2004 at 03:16 PM I have an idea. What about the name "冼娜 xian3 na4" 夏安 -> 冼 Quote
pazu Posted May 17, 2004 at 03:59 PM Report Posted May 17, 2004 at 03:59 PM But Xian Na (冼拿) died in Imola long time ago... Quote
Quest Posted May 17, 2004 at 08:15 PM Report Posted May 17, 2004 at 08:15 PM But Xian Na (冼拿) died in Imola long time ago... yes more than a decade ago, plus it's a guy's name. Quote
handbus Posted May 18, 2004 at 08:50 AM Report Posted May 18, 2004 at 08:50 AM haha I was fans of 冼拿 when I was only about 10 years old. But in Mainland Mandarin we called him 塞纳 sai4 na4 冼娜 will be a girl's name. There was a famous musician in the 1940's named 冼星海, who was as famous as 聂耳 Quote
Lu Posted May 18, 2004 at 01:28 PM Report Posted May 18, 2004 at 01:28 PM Totally off topic, but I still think 聶耳 is the best name ever for a composer. Four ears! Quote
pazu Posted May 18, 2004 at 02:36 PM Report Posted May 18, 2004 at 02:36 PM OH then I still think the best translation for a girl named Karen is "驚雲", better to have a surname with something beginning with "P" or "B", then her name could be 步驚雲........... she can give a name to her boyfriend as "聶風" too. Quote
skylee Posted September 9, 2004 at 12:08 AM Report Posted September 9, 2004 at 12:08 AM Alleluia, which Chinese name have you finally adopted? Quote
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