<ul>
<li><p>C for Cristiano</p></li>
<li><p>罗 for 罗纳尔多 (Ronaldo)</p></li>
</ul>

<hr>

<p>Apparently before him:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Ronaldo (罗纳尔多) (Luís Nazário de Lima) was known as <a href="https://www.baidu.com/s?wd=%E5%A4%A7%E7%BD%97&amp;tn=SE_PcZhidaonwhc_ngpagmjz&amp;rsv_dl=gh_pc_zhidao" rel="noreferrer">大罗</a></p></li>
<li><p>Ronaldinho (罗纳尔迪尼奥) was called <a href="https://www.baidu.com/s?wd=%E5%B0%8F%E7%BD%97&amp;tn=SE_PcZhidaonwhc_ngpagmjz&amp;rsv_dl=gh_pc_zhidao" rel="noreferrer">小罗</a></p></li>
</ul>

<p>So, with big (大) and little (小) already taken, the first letter of his first name was given to him instead.</p>

<hr>

<p>As for 朗 vs. 罗:</p>

<p>It seems that 朗 is Cantonese (<a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E5%9F%BA%E6%96%AF%E5%9D%A6%E5%A5%B4%C2%B7%E6%9C%97%E6%8B%BF%E5%BA%A6" rel="noreferrer">Hong Kong</a>, <a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-mo/%E5%9F%BA%E6%96%AF%E5%9D%A6%E5%A5%B4%C2%B7%E6%9C%97%E6%8B%BF%E5%BA%A6" rel="noreferrer">Macao</a>) while 罗 is Mandarin (<a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/%E5%9F%BA%E6%96%AF%E5%9D%A6%E5%A5%B4%C2%B7%E6%9C%97%E6%8B%BF%E5%BA%A6" rel="noreferrer">Mainland</a>, <a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-sg/%E5%9F%BA%E6%96%AF%E5%9D%A6%E5%A5%B4%C2%B7%E6%9C%97%E6%8B%BF%E5%BA%A6" rel="noreferrer">Singapore</a>, <a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/%E5%9F%BA%E6%96%AF%E5%9D%A6%E5%A5%B4%C2%B7%E6%9C%97%E6%8B%BF%E5%BA%A6" rel="noreferrer">Taiwan</a>).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-10T11:53:32.207Z
@user3306356 It's Chinese behavior, If someone is called 小XX，it means he is similar to XX，either his appearance, characteristics, style or skills. To differentiate them, people call  Ronaldo 大罗.
sfy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-10T17:34:26.263Z
Here in Brazil Ronaldo was first called "Ronaldinho" ("小Ronaldo" in Portuguese). When he was still playing, Ronaldinho came up and we differentiated them adding "Gaúcho" (the state he was born at) to the latter and then we had Ronaldinho and Ronaldinho Gaúcho. Slowly we started calling Ronaldo as Ronaldo Fenômeno ("fenomenon" in Portuguese) and Ronaldinho as Ronaldinho Gaúcho, until we came up with plain Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Maybe 小罗 was a Portuguese language influence and they came up with 大罗 opposing 小 with 大.
Enrico Brasil
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-05T18:12:51.867Z
Do you know why there are two versions of his surname? 罗纳尔多 and 朗拿度?
marcanuy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-05T18:24:15.843Z
In Hong Kong, Ronaldo  (朗拿度) is nicknamed '大哨' and Ronaldinho(朗拿甸奴 ) is nicknamed '細哨' because both of them has 哨牙 http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/48091/
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-05T18:28:11.000Z
@TangHo How bizarre. Is it just a coincidence that both Mandarin & Cantonese split them as 大/小 but for different reasons? 大朗 and 小朗 don't seem to be *things*.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-05T18:32:25.133Z
While we are at it, the Williams sisters (Venus and Serena ) are nicknamed 大威 and 細威 respectively because Williams is transliterated as 威廉斯 in Cantonese
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-05T18:34:08.403Z
@user3306356 we don't call them 大朗 and 細朗 in Cantonese
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-05T18:34:58.150Z
@TangHo Exactly, so my question was: **Is it just a coincidence that both Mandarin & Cantonese split them as 大/小 but for different reasons?** Doesn't it seem like quite a coincidence?
Mou某
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-05T18:36:35.207Z
@user3306356  It is a coincidence for sure. We Cantonese like to nickname people base on their appearance and traits more, (better to make fun of); as for 大威 , 細威-- the character 威  has the meaning of 'awesome' that suit them very well too.
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-05T18:38:38.260Z
I suggest to use "big" and "little", not "small",  to translate 大 and 小 when you mention 大罗 and 小罗.
Bruce Huang
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-07T02:57:36.513Z
@BruceHuang Alright, I took your suggestion on board and edited it.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-05T18:08:21.473Z
2018-07-07T02:57:20.353Z
2018-07-07T02:57:20.353Z
Mou某
<p>I see Cristiano Ronaldo is often referred as C罗 in Chinese. I find it curious because:</p>

<ul>
<li>This is not a nickname pattern followed in any other player name, and</li>
<li>罗 isn't even part of the full name transliteration 基斯坦奴·朗拿度, which would have led to a shorter name.</li>
</ul>

<p>How did C罗 originated or why it is called like this?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-09T11:02:32.950Z
We now have James Rodriguez as J.罗, following the same pattern
jf328
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-10T11:56:18.443Z
C罗 once called 小小罗 and 迷你罗， and 迷你罗 is given to C罗‘s son.
sfy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-05T18:19:03.300Z
基斯坦奴·朗拿度 is the Hong Kong transliteration, We do call him C.朗
Tang Ho
<names><transliteration><surnames>
Why is Cristiano Ronaldo known as “C罗” in Chinese?
# Why is Cristiano Ronaldo known as “C罗” in Chinese?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-07-05)

I see Cristiano Ronaldo is often referred as C罗 in Chinese. I find it curious because:

* This is not a nickname pattern followed in any other player name, and
* 罗 isn't even part of the full name transliteration 基斯坦奴·朗拿度, which would have led to a shorter name.

How did C罗 originated or why it is called like this?

**Tags:** names, transliteration, surnames

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: 基斯坦奴·朗拿度 is the Hong Kong transliteration, We do call him C.朗  
> **username_1**: We now have James Rodriguez as J.罗, following the same pattern  
> **username_2**: C罗 once called 小小罗 and 迷你罗， and 迷你罗 is given to C罗‘s son.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2018-07-05. Score: 10 | Accepted answer

* C for Cristiano
* 罗 for 罗纳尔多 (Ronaldo)

---

Apparently before him:

* Ronaldo (罗纳尔多) (Luís Nazário de Lima) was known as [大罗](https://www.baidu.com/s?wd=%E5%A4%A7%E7%BD%97&tn=SE_PcZhidaonwhc_ngpagmjz&rsv_dl=gh_pc_zhidao)
* Ronaldinho (罗纳尔迪尼奥) was called [小罗](https://www.baidu.com/s?wd=%E5%B0%8F%E7%BD%97&tn=SE_PcZhidaonwhc_ngpagmjz&rsv_dl=gh_pc_zhidao)

So, with big (大) and little (小) already taken, the first letter of his first name was given to him instead.

---

As for 朗 vs. 罗:

It seems that 朗 is Cantonese ([Hong Kong](https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E5%9F%BA%E6%96%AF%E5%9D%A6%E5%A5%B4%C2%B7%E6%9C%97%E6%8B%BF%E5%BA%A6), [Macao](https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-mo/%E5%9F%BA%E6%96%AF%E5%9D%A6%E5%A5%B4%C2%B7%E6%9C%97%E6%8B%BF%E5%BA%A6)) while 罗 is Mandarin ([Mainland](https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/%E5%9F%BA%E6%96%AF%E5%9D%A6%E5%A5%B4%C2%B7%E6%9C%97%E6%8B%BF%E5%BA%A6), [Singapore](https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-sg/%E5%9F%BA%E6%96%AF%E5%9D%A6%E5%A5%B4%C2%B7%E6%9C%97%E6%8B%BF%E5%BA%A6), [Taiwan](https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/%E5%9F%BA%E6%96%AF%E5%9D%A6%E5%A5%B4%C2%B7%E6%9C%97%E6%8B%BF%E5%BA%A6)).

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Do you know why there are two versions of his surname? 罗纳尔多 and 朗拿度?  
> **username_3**: In Hong Kong, Ronaldo  (朗拿度) is nicknamed '大哨' and Ronaldinho(朗拿甸奴 ) is nicknamed '細哨' because both of them has 哨牙 http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/48091/  
> **username_4**: @username_3 How bizarre. Is it just a coincidence that both Mandarin & Cantonese split them as 大/小 but for different reasons? 大朗 and 小朗 don't seem to be *things*.  
> **username_3**: While we are at it, the Williams sisters (Venus and Serena ) are nicknamed 大威 and 細威 respectively because Williams is transliterated as 威廉斯 in Cantonese  
> **username_3**: @user3306356 we don't call them 大朗 and 細朗 in Cantonese  
> **username_4**: @username_3 Exactly, so my question was: **Is it just a coincidence that both Mandarin & Cantonese split them as 大/小 but for different reasons?** Doesn't it seem like quite a coincidence?  
> **username_3**: @user3306356  It is a coincidence for sure. We Cantonese like to nickname people base on their appearance and traits more, (better to make fun of); as for 大威 , 細威-- the character 威  has the meaning of 'awesome' that suit them very well too.  
> **username_6**: I suggest to use "big" and "little", not "small",  to translate 大 and 小 when you mention 大罗 and 小罗.  
> **username_4**: @username_6 Alright, I took your suggestion on board and edited it.  
> **username_2**: @user3306356 It's Chinese behavior, If someone is called 小XX，it means he is similar to XX，either his appearance, characteristics, style or skills. To differentiate them, people call  Ronaldo 大罗.  
> **username_5**: Here in Brazil Ronaldo was first called "Ronaldinho" ("小Ronaldo" in Portuguese). When he was still playing, Ronaldinho came up and we differentiated them adding "Gaúcho" (the state he was born at) to the latter and then we had Ronaldinho and Ronaldinho Gaúcho. Slowly we started calling Ronaldo as Ronaldo Fenômeno ("fenomenon" in Portuguese) and Ronaldinho as Ronaldinho Gaúcho, until we came up with plain Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Maybe 小罗 was a Portuguese language influence and they came up with 大罗 opposing 小 with 大.  

---

