Speak Real Chinese

Chinese names follow some rules that are seldom adopted in western cultures. Typically, a full Chinese name consists of a surname of a single character (there are some two character surnames but not common), and a given name of one or two characters. In Chinese, each character has a ‘one-syllable’ reading. So we refer to ‘character’ in the following text. The #1 rule is that a family name always goes before a given name. Keeping this in mind, let’s look at other conventions.

When you call a Chinese name, you have two choices, either the full name or only the given name. They are both casual ways of calling a person in China. But if the person’s given name is of only one character, you need to call him/her with full name, because two character words sound better in Chinese. Still, remember, whenever using a full name, we put the surname before the given name.

Now, let’s learn some authentic Chinese. In the first case, a female Chinese (same rule applies to male) is called ‘Lǐ Jīngjīng’. So her given name consists of two same characters. Sometimes you don’t want to call her ‘Jīngjīng’, which shows an intimacy, nor ‘Lǐ Jīngjīng’, which is a little bit long, then you’ve got a third choice. That is ‘Lǐ Jīng’, dropping the last character. It’s a quite popular way of calling people’s names in north China. I first got to know this in my college and I still think it’s most authentic. Moreover, there are some nickname rules. Chén Fēng’s nickname might be ‘ā Fēng’, originated from South China; or ‘Fēng gē’, where ‘gē’ means ‘brother’; or in a very sweet way, ‘Fēng er’, where ‘er’ means ‘baby’. If someone has a two-character family name, such as ‘ōuyáng’ and ‘sīmǎ’, then you can call him/her with the family name, or with the two-character given name. So the #2 rule is that never use just one character.

All right,  that’s all my knowledge about Chinese names. They are perfectly understandable all over China despite of their regional features. Why don’t you surprise your Chinese friends with what you just learned? I promise you it will work! By the way, if you need a Chinese name, feel free to consult me,  or make a comment to say what you want. We would love to help you on that.

If you prefer using Skype to speak real Chinese with Chen Feng, add the contact below to start.

Click here to get an English version Skype. A Chinese version is also available. View this topic to know my working hours, then add me and let’s practice some Chinese

It’s not an advertisement of QQ software. But that QQ has the largest online community in China is a truth. So, in order to speak real Chinese with Chen Feng, QQ is not a bad choice. Certainly, you can add more native speakers to practice your Chinese on QQ platform.

QQ has both Chinese and English version. Most times an English version is enough for basic needs. Just click to download and install. If you insist on using a Chinese version, click here. Then in the new opened page, click the green icon with Chinese characters “立即下载” to start downloading.

After the installation, you need to get an account and corresponding password, like many other popular instant message softwares do. Here is the guide. Sign in once you get an account.

By following this link, you will know how to search and make friends on QQ. Now it’s time to add Chen Feng as your friend (if you don’t hurry to know someone else). My QQ number is 584796238.

Usually I will be online during 8:00 am~12:00pm in Beijing time. That is roughly 8:00pm~12:00pm in Easten time. You may need a precise way of shifting the time between different zones. So, all it remains to say is Xiè Xiè and see you on QQ!

Your animal sign or Chinese zodiac is precisely determined in the lunar calendar, which is not the same as the Gregorian calendar, the calendar which people normally use. As a result, if you were born 1964 in a Gregorian calendar day, it’s possible that you were born in 1963 in lunar calendar instead. But it could also be 1964 because those two calendars still have 90% match. So In order to know your Chinese zodiac, first you have to find out what your birthday is in lunar calendar. How do we get to know that?

First open this web page in a new browser tab. You should see a page simiar to the following picture. I marked in the picture 3 red boxes which will help us follow the instructions easily.

1. Select your birth year and month in the upper red box which contains 2 text boxes.
2. Click your birth date in the biggest red box.

Now you should see your Chinese zodiac in the right up corner, in the smallest red box, a Chinese character within brackets. Try to recognize which one is yours in the following table.

If your animal sign is ‘pig’, then you say ‘wǒ shǔ zhū’. ‘wo’ (我) means I, and ‘shǔ’ (属) means ‘category’. So ‘wǒ shǔ zhū’ (我属猪) is meaning ‘My Chinese zodiac is pig’. Yes, Chen Feng shǔ zhū. Listen to the audio if you want to learn how to pronouce 12 animals precisely. BTW, tell us what your animal sign is with a comment. It’s gonna be a lot of fun.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.