Is my username okay?

[zhouhana]

Hi,

I've been looking for a unique nickname to use on Internet services like this and came up with zhouhana -- my real name is Johanna, hana (flower in Japanese) is the name I sometimes use as my Japanese name, and zhou, well it sounds sort of like 'jo'. It's just a way to spell my real name uniquely and the Chinese/Japanese connection is because I love those countries.

My question before I dare start using this nickname for real is if it to you as a speaker of Mandarin has any kind of negative ring to it? Weird -- yes, likely -- but negative?

Thanks!

[analgesia]

hana is japanese :flower,sure

lucily there is no negative meaning in chinese,neither good meaning contained

[doraemon]

Very clever name to come up with. Can't imagine why it would be negative to anyone.

[zhouhana]

Thanks doraemon, that's the reply I was hoping for.

[chrix]

So you're always using this in combination? Or are you sometimes using hana on its own as your Japanese name?

[zhouhana]

Actually I've never really used this nickname before, I wanted to know if it sounded "bad" before I started doing that. I've been studying Japanese on and off for a few years and have sometimes introduced myself as "hana" for simplicity -- my IRL nickname is Hanna anyway.

I'm curious about what native Mandarin speakers first think about when they see the word "zhou" in this combination -- I understand it can mean a lot of things. Is there a special meaning that comes to mind? And does "hana" (or "ha + na") mean something in Mandarin, too?

[imron]

If it's the first character of a name, they will almost certainly think of the surname 周

[chrix]

Well, just be aware that Hana might have some connotations in Japanese. But since you're not Japanese, most of them would probably not apply to you, so I don't think it would be a big issue...

[yocoso]

hana sounds a little strange in Chinese

na is OK many female has na ("娜") in their names

but ha ("哈") it is an onomatopoetic word, means laughing

we rarely use it as a name

[isolde]

jo could be both zhou and qiao

like Johanna is always translated as Qiao an'na（乔安娜）

but i guess u want a more chinese one

so maybe Zhou An'na is better?

many chinese girls use anna or anne as their names.

guess no chinese would use"ha"in their names because it sounds like laughter so sort of strange……

hope this make sense.i'm chinese

[zhouhana]

Thanks everyone (and please excuse my very late reply)! I am actually now about to move to China for a year and am thinking about getting a Chinese real name. Your helpful comments about 'ha' made me think twice about going with Zhou Hana as a real name. I then thought of going by just 周娜, but when I googled it it turned out it's the name of a super model .... How would you react to someone with that name -- does it sound too "meaningless", too "modern" in a weird way, weird that it's the same of a super model (I don't know how famous she is), or inappropriate in any other way ...? Do you have any other thoughts about the name?

Recently I've gained the nickname Nana, so I thought it would be fitting to go by the nickname 娜娜 in China as well. Would you write it like that or do you think another character for "na" (in the nickname and/or in the real name) would be more appropriate?

[skylee]

You might wish to note that nana means "seven" in Japanese, and there was a Japanese film called "Nana" a few years ago, in which there were two characters with the same name, ie Nana.

娜娜 seems ok. 周娜 also seems ok. You might also consider 周安娜 or 周漢娜. You could also consider 鄒 (zou) as an alternative to 周.

[Moka66]

Your first name "Zhou" is quite ok in China which is a common surname" 周“, this is no problem.

Since you are going to live in China in the future, i recommand you to choose some chinese name rather than a combination name of Japanese and Chinese. I don't know Japanese at all. However, for Chinese people, 'Hana" is a little bit strange name, just like someone mentioned earlier,'Ha' is a verb which means laugh in Chinese. Not many chinese choose this character as their name. Especially, "ha" can be used as a dialect which has some other meanings in some provice of China, one of them is " stupid". So i don't think it is a good name.

'Na"is a female given name in China, it is a absolutely typical name. Two of my friend are called 娜。

According to your English name:Johanna, in terms of pronounciation, i think the perfect chinese name for you is "zhou han na"--周汉娜If i were you, i will pick this definitely! Because 汉 means traditional chinese， like "汉字“ .This name is not strange in China by the way. Also, people can tell how much you like chinese culture from your name.Hope those are useful for you.

[zhouhana]

Thanks guys, now I have some variations to consider! I'll keep the Internet nickname as it is even though I would have probably skipped the 'ha' if I had known about the laughter/dumb meaning earlier. It seems hard to come up with a name that sounds good to both Chinese and Japanese people!

[Hofmann]

周華. Japanese people might read it as "hana."

[yzl]

You can consider 周华娜 as well. The original meaning of "华"(huá) is flower. And it has a lot of meanings in modern Chinese such as gorgeous, brilliant etc. It's also a synonym of China in Chinese.

周娜 and 周华 are recommended options too.

Both 周安娜 and 周汉娜 are OK, but these names look like direct transliterations of English names and sound more foreign to me.

[Lu]

I then thought of going by just 周娜, but when I googled it it turned out it's the name of a super model ....

Some good comments have been made already, I just want to add that 娜 is a fairly common name for women (see also tennis champion 李娜) and 周 a common surname, so there's nothing strange about sharing that particular name with a supermodel. She's probably sharing it with several hundred women already.

[zhouhana]

Yes, I realize now how popular it is. I've decided to go by 周娜 or 娜娜, when not by my western name.