bryce1 Posted September 12, 2010 at 09:34 PM Report Posted September 12, 2010 at 09:34 PM 大家好, I am wondering about the pronunciation of the character 燕. My dictionary gives this as yan1 and yan4. As a surname, I know that it is read yan1, but how about as a given name? I am assuming it is read yan4, but am not sure. Example: 董燕妮 (a singer's name I came across when listening to music) Usually I can look it up on Wikipedia, but this one is not popular enough! Would a 燕 in someone's given name (almost) always be read in the same way or would it depend on the person? Thank you in advance for your help! Quote
Hofmann Posted September 12, 2010 at 10:47 PM Report Posted September 12, 2010 at 10:47 PM 燕 yan1 is a state name, which is the surname. In given names, it is more likely that they were thinking about the swallow 燕 yan4. Quote
bryce1 Posted September 12, 2010 at 11:56 PM Author Report Posted September 12, 2010 at 11:56 PM Thanks for the confirmation, Hofmann! Quote
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