New Members hydra Posted July 3, 2020 at 01:58 PM New Members Report Posted July 3, 2020 at 01:58 PM Hi, what is the meaning of the character 萍 when used in female names? Is it same meaning as 平安 or does it actually mean “duckweed”? Thanks for your help Quote
If_IwasaLinguist Posted July 3, 2020 at 02:10 PM Report Posted July 3, 2020 at 02:10 PM A nice question about Chinese names because I am recently writing a paper concerning a few Chinese names in one novel. I may share my idea on it. The character 萍 refers to grass floating on the water. When it is used as someone's name, it means tender, natural, and friendly. However, since this character always appears in ancient works, it is rarely used for naming my generation born after 1995. That's my personal opinion. 1 2 Quote
New Members hydra Posted July 3, 2020 at 04:02 PM Author New Members Report Posted July 3, 2020 at 04:02 PM @If_IwasaLinguist Thanks for your reply! It is the last character of my name and I’ve always been confused of its meaning since my parents aren’t Chinese educated. My aunt was actually the one who chose my Chinese name, but she can’t explain the meaning well. Coincidentally I’m born after 2000 haha. Is there any online resource for finding meanings of Chinese names? I searched so hard for one but no luck Quote
889 Posted July 3, 2020 at 05:19 PM Report Posted July 3, 2020 at 05:19 PM 取名 is the Chinese term for picking a child's name, and if you do a Google search with it you'll come up with helpful pages. All in Chinese, but Google Translate can help if you don't understand the language. 1 Quote
If_IwasaLinguist Posted July 4, 2020 at 06:15 AM Report Posted July 4, 2020 at 06:15 AM Actually each name picked after the serious consideration will contain the giver's sincere hopes and wishes. And I would like to admit that if you like, every character can become a part of your name because you favorite it. As for myself, the English name is If and one of my previous English teachers, who comes from London and is assumed as an authentic British by me, told me that my name for British people sounded like Chinese people hearing 123. And my literary translation teacher told me that this name seemed tricky because "If", usually served as the begining word of adverbial clauses of condition, contained a lot of uncertainty and then the person who is named by it would show a kind of unreliable feeling. Nevertheless, I still use it as my name because I like it. Quote
889 Posted July 4, 2020 at 07:21 AM Report Posted July 4, 2020 at 07:21 AM A good handle for a polyglot Fiddler on the Roof, though I'd use the proper subjunctive. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and select your username and password later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.