Can you translate a Chinese name into Chinese?

[Nerd]

I have a friend named Wen-ying I would like to write her name in Chinese. I've tried Google Translate and it gives me a ton of variations.

Is 文瀛 correct?

Thanks in advance.

Also, some Google translations just look weird. "Beautiful" is U.S. + Korea? wtf? :-)

[lingo-ling]

FWIW, I've never encountered the second character you posted.

There are dozens of combinations of characters pronounced "wen" and characters pronounced "ying" to come up with a feminine name pronounced "Wen-ying". So without more information it's impossible to tell you what characters comprise her name.

Common "wen" include 文, 雯, 玟

Common "ying" include 英, 塋, 盈

The best solution is just to ask her.

Oh, and "beautiful"? 美麗. But 美 mei (beautiful) is also short for 美國 (America - literally "beautiful country"), and li 麗 (beautiful, graceful) forms a component of 高麗 (a phoneticization of Koryo, an older name for Korea).

[roddy]

Just ask her out. She probably gets like 10 guys a week trying to connect with her culture by learning to pronounce her name properly and write cheesy notes in Chinese. Stand out from the crowd by ignoring all that and making a pass at her after buying her dinner.*

*Unconventional advice for this site, I know, but I suspect in the long run it'll prove itself.

[skylee]

FWIW, I've never encountered the second character you posted

Do you mean 瀛? It is fairly common as in 東瀛 (meaning: Japan).

[Guest realmayo]

Just ask her out.

I think there's a typo there Roddy, somehow you omitted your first sentence about deciding whether to learn the characters singly or focus on words instead. We don't want anyone being over-hasty here!

[anonymoose]

If you really want to impress her, have her name tattooed in Chinese characters on your body.

[Lu]

There are dozens of combinations of characters pronounced "wen" and characters pronounced "ying" to come up with a feminine name pronounced "Wen-ying". So without more information it's impossible to tell you what characters comprise her name.

Plus Wen-ying could be the transcription from Cantonese or another dialect, broadening the field even further. If you have an interest in Chinese that goes further than her name, ask her; if the interest is mainly in her, talk to her about something that you have in common instead.

Good luck!

[Demonic_Duck]

If you really want to impress her, have her name tattooed in Chinese characters on your body.

Upvoting this just cuz it made me laugh.

@OP: you will never know for certain unless you

a) ask her

b) ask someone else who knows her Chinese name

c) partake in some online stalking

d) hire a private detective to find out

I'd suggest the easiest and least creepy option is a). With very few exceptions, any pinyin syllable (assuming it is a pinyin transliteration of Mandarin), especially one that doesn't take tones into account, could be any of a number of different characters, and in this particular case, a goodly number of them could plausibly be used in names.

Edit: just realised this is basically what lingo-ling said. So, yeah, what s/he said.

[sleepy eyes of death]

And after tattooing her name, don't forget to open up a thread here asking for a translation.