<p>Referencing famous names is a good idea. But if it still doesn't work, you might have to describe the radicals. </p>

<p>For example, my surname is 张. I was often asked to clarify whether it's 立-早 章 or 弓-长 张, when I told them my surname pronounced as 'zhang'. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-19T02:59:50.870Z
Ooo can you actually dive more into this? What would be an appropriate way to do that? I actually try to use 遠 and I want to say without that horse radical. What would be the appropriate way to do that?
aug
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-19T03:04:57.867Z
@aug What dan means is to break down the character into components, e.g. 袁 would be broken down into 土口, but  is not a character so you'd describe it as e.g. "the bottom part of 衣". Btw, the left hand component of 遠 is 辵 or ⻍, not *horse*.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-19T03:10:48.740Z
@aug, as long as you can get that clear to your interlocutor. The way you interpret 袁(*I actually try to use 遠 and I want to say without that horse radical*) is fine. And droooze's is fine too.
dan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-19T03:18:10.570Z
@aug In your method I hope you're clear about the audience you're talking to, because trying to break down 遠 to simplified Chinese users won't work very well, since 遠 is written 远 in simplified Chinese, and they might misinterpret your surname as 元, which is a valid surname.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-19T04:18:09.180Z
Ah sorry my radicals aren't very good >< thanks for correcting @drooze. And thanks for the info @dan!
aug
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-19T01:24:47.963Z
2018-01-19T01:24:47.963Z
dan
<p>As a supplement to the answer:</p>
<p>We generally tend to choose celebrities with a relatively positive image, if possible. The extent of this is very subtle. For example, 袁世凱 is very famous but he has a bad reputation. 袁咏仪, an Chinese actor, is a safer option than him. 袁隆平, almost a saint in the hearts of Chinese people, everyone will know which 袁 you are talking about, But out of respect, if it were me, I wouldn't use him to introduce the surname.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-16T08:36:46.347Z
2022-03-16T08:36:46.347Z
Krahmal
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/m1P46.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/m1P46.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>This visual represents the nationwide distribution of the Yuan (袁) surname, and was created by genetics researcher Yuan Yida (袁义达).</p>
<p>If you're looking for a visual, this one is quite relevant.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-14T08:00:25.797Z
2022-03-14T08:00:25.797Z
LÜHECCHEgon
<p>Just mention a famous person with that surname, e.g.</p>

<ul>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_Shao" rel="noreferrer">袁紹</a> from the Three Kingdoms</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_Chonghuan" rel="noreferrer">袁崇煥</a>, patriot, martyr, and brilliant military commander who was instrumental in repelling the Jurchens for the Ming Dynasty</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_Shikai" rel="noreferrer">袁世凱</a>, first president of the Republic of China</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-18T21:23:07.753Z
2018-01-18T21:23:07.753Z
dROOOze
<p>I know in Chinese people sometimes use other common words or phrases to tell people what characters their Chinese name has.</p>

<p>My Chinese name is Yuan Li Heng (袁禮恒)</p>

<p>For Li I can say Li Wu 禮物 and for Heng I can say Yong Heng 永恒. Yuan is a little harder because from I've heard, it's more just a common surname.</p>

<p>What's usually the best way to tell people what character it is in Chinese if the character itself doesn't really have any associated meanings?</p>

<traditional-characters><conversation><colloquialisms>
What famous word or phrase can I use to tell people my surname is 袁?
# What famous word or phrase can I use to tell people my surname is 袁?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-01-18)

I know in Chinese people sometimes use other common words or phrases to tell people what characters their Chinese name has.

My Chinese name is Yuan Li Heng (袁禮恒)

For Li I can say Li Wu 禮物 and for Heng I can say Yong Heng 永恒. Yuan is a little harder because from I've heard, it's more just a common surname.

What's usually the best way to tell people what character it is in Chinese if the character itself doesn't really have any associated meanings?

**Tags:** traditional-characters, conversation, colloquialisms


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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-01-18. Score: 8 | Accepted answer

Just mention a famous person with that surname, e.g.

* [袁紹](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_Shao) from the Three Kingdoms
* [袁崇煥](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_Chonghuan), patriot, martyr, and brilliant military commander who was instrumental in repelling the Jurchens for the Ming Dynasty
* [袁世凱](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_Shikai), first president of the Republic of China


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### Answer by username_1 on 2018-01-19. Score: 3

Referencing famous names is a good idea. But if it still doesn't work, you might have to describe the radicals.

For example, my surname is 张. I was often asked to clarify whether it's 立-早 章 or 弓-长 张, when I told them my surname pronounced as 'zhang'.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Ooo can you actually dive more into this? What would be an appropriate way to do that? I actually try to use 遠 and I want to say without that horse radical. What would be the appropriate way to do that?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 What username_1 means is to break down the character into components, e.g. 袁 would be broken down into 土口, but  is not a character so you'd describe it as e.g. "the bottom part of 衣". Btw, the left hand component of 遠 is 辵 or ⻍, not *horse*.  
> **username_1**: @username_0, as long as you can get that clear to your interlocutor. The way you interpret 袁(*I actually try to use 遠 and I want to say without that horse radical*) is fine. And droooze's is fine too.  
> **username_2**: @username_0 In your method I hope you're clear about the audience you're talking to, because trying to break down 遠 to simplified Chinese users won't work very well, since 遠 is written 远 in simplified Chinese, and they might misinterpret your surname as 元, which is a valid surname.  
> **username_0**: Ah sorry my radicals aren't very good >< thanks for correcting @drooze. And thanks for the info @username_1!  

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### Answer by username_3 on 2022-03-16. Score: 0

As a supplement to the answer:

We generally tend to choose celebrities with a relatively positive image, if possible. The extent of this is very subtle. For example, 袁世凱 is very famous but he has a bad reputation. 袁咏仪, an Chinese actor, is a safer option than him. 袁隆平, almost a saint in the hearts of Chinese people, everyone will know which 袁 you are talking about, But out of respect, if it were me, I wouldn't use him to introduce the surname.


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### Answer by username_4 on 2022-03-14. Score: 0

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/m1P46.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/m1P46.png)

This visual represents the nationwide distribution of the Yuan (袁) surname, and was created by genetics researcher Yuan Yida (袁义达).

If you're looking for a visual, this one is quite relevant.


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