<p>To elaborate on Kabie's comments:</p>
<p>In general, the answer is that you never know for sure what is the right translation without further information but only a Pinyin of the name.</p>
<p>However, the clue for guessing the right family names comes from experience in real life for native speakers. E.g. <code>Li</code> is highly probably to be <code>李</code>, <code>Wang</code> for <code>王</code>, <code>Zhang</code> for <code>张</code>, <code>Liu</code> for 刘, etc. Because you gradually gain this knowledge when you meet people around you who have different family names.</p>
<p>This can be a difficult task for foreigners, so as mentioned by Kabie, the 百家姓 is a great source for you to learn the statistics and major family names.</p>
<p>In the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_Chinese_surnames" rel="noreferrer">English wiki page</a>, I did not find a statistics, but found in the <a href="http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%99%BE%E5%AE%B6%E5%A7%93" rel="noreferrer">Chinese wiki page</a>. As shown, the top 10 (full list in the page) family names in Mainland China are:</p>
<p>in form of <code>Rank. Family name Population(million)</code></p>
<blockquote>
<p>01.王(Wang) 92</p>
<p>02.李(Li)90</p>
<p>03.张(Zhang)85</p>
<p>04.刘(Liu)67</p>
<p>05.陈(Chen)58</p>
<p>06.杨(Yang)40</p>
<p>07.黄(Huang)31</p>
<p>08.孙(Sun)26</p>
<p>09.周(Zhou)25</p>
<p>10.吴(Wu)24</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This will help to get the clue.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-16T21:07:23.513Z
2014-07-16T12:00:13.053Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Flake
<p>Usually people ask. Like people asking if a person's name is spelled a certain way, most Chinese people ask if it is a certain character. E.g., Your surname is 'Li'? Is that 'Li/李' as in plum (<code>李子</code>) or 'Li/理' as in reason (<code>理由</code>) ?</p>

<p>There are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_Chinese_surnames">commonly used names</a>, but it's usually better to ask if you don't know. For exercises, the picking the actual character is arbitrary. As long as it sounds right it should be fine.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-16T21:24:24.453Z
I'm not asking how to locate a name in a speech, but rather how to translate a name written in pinyin, considering we don't know the character.
Alenanno
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-16T21:42:54.777Z
My bad, usually people ask. Like people asking if a person's name is spelled a certain way, most Chinese people ask is it is a certain character. E.g., Your surname is 'Li'? Is that 'Li' as in plum (`李`) or 'Li' as in reason (`理`) ?
Krazer
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-16T21:45:34.723Z
Don't worry. I think you should edit your answer, sometimes they get down-voted when they don't answer the question. :)
Alenanno
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-16T21:06:56.353Z
2011-12-16T21:54:24.903Z
2011-12-16T21:54:24.903Z
Krazer
<p>You clarified your question in a comment that your starting point is the Pinyin.  I'm not sure why this would ever be a starting point in real life for a Chinese name, but the analogous situation in spoken Chinese is quite common.  There is no <em>general</em> solution, of course, since syllables as pronounced do not map to unique characters.  So if you don't know you have to ask or guess.  For family names, of course, the 百家姓 is the best reference, and provides an educated guess. For given names it's very common to refer, when introducing a name, to external uses that specify the character.  My daughter, for example, is named Nora.  Her Chinese given name is 南蕊.  She can introduce herself in Chinese by saying 我叫南蕊，南京的南，花蕊的蕊.  This is unambiguous so long as someone knows the external reference.</p>

<p>In your exercise with Huang and Hu, you should just pick the most commonly used surnames for each.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-15T18:01:45.430Z
It also happens in real life when you watch CCTV 9 and the speakers names are given only in (toneless) pinyin.
Colin McLarty
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-19T16:04:23.697Z
Google led me here.  I am a (mathematics) professor in the US with many native-born Chinese students, studying Chinese for fun.  I get emails from Chinese students and I would like to respond with a few sentences in Chinese.  But the From: line of the email only gives an untoned Western form of the name.  It sounds like the best advice is (a) guess or (b) ask.
Matthew Leingang
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-21T02:38:13.747Z
@MatthewLeingang yes, and I would recommend asking before guessing. It's common to ask even in Chinese when introduced orally.
GTK
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-21T13:38:23.587Z
In real life it happens in spoken Chinese or, as in my case, where a grammar exercise just gives you the pinyin.
Alenanno
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-17T04:20:29.227Z
2011-12-17T04:26:22.910Z
2011-12-17T04:26:22.910Z
GTK
<p>The other posters have already answered the meat of the question: in most cases, there isn't a way to tell except by asking.</p>

<p>As GTK mentions, one way of solving this ambiguity is to reference another use for the character. Another common strategy that hasn't been mentioned yet, though, is to describe the character by <em>radical</em>. (This is true not only of proper names, but of all character questions in general.) For this reason, it's useful to know the colloquial names for common radicals. </p>

<p>For instance, the radical 氵, which appears on the left side of many water-related words, comes from the character 水 (shǔi, "water"). As such, this radical is called "三点水" (sāndiǎnshǔi, "three dots of water"). Someone trying to describe the character 鸿 (hóng, a common character in boy's names) might call it "三点水的鸿" ("the hóng with the water radical").</p>

<p><a href="http://www.albany.edu/eas/205/205%20radicals%20of%20chinese%20characters.pdf" rel="nofollow">This document</a> (pdf) lists several common radicals and their colloquial names; if you can read Chinese, the Chinese wikipedia's <a href="http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh/%E9%83%A8%E9%A6%96" rel="nofollow">page on radicals</a> has a more complete list.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-01-10T04:16:42.170Z
2014-07-16T11:59:51.160Z
2014-07-16T11:59:51.160Z
Alf
<p>This is actually a common problem in newspapers and television in Singapore, where the original report may have been filed by a reporter who did not or cannot use Chinese. In these cases, the author simply chooses phonetically matching characters to fill in the name of the person, then add <code>(音)</code> or <code>(译音)</code> to indicate that the name shown is only a phonetic translation of the person's name and not the actual characters. </p>

<p>An example can be found in <a href="http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp111217_029.shtml">this article</a> from the local newspaper 《联合早报》</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>被告谢国安（26岁，译音）共面对12项控状，包括四项冒充欺骗、两项麻醉物法令、三项偷窃，以及欺骗、失信和伤人罪状各一项。昨天他被判坐牢1年又10个月。</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-21T18:32:29.760Z
Thank you for the insight about the 译音. It's very good to know. I guess there's no way to know but to ask or guess. :)
Alenanno
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-01-10T19:48:59.420Z
Sorry for the off-topic, but in addition to Hanzi is Chinese (mandarin or other) used in Singapore?
Petruza
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-05-17T04:13:43.893Z
Wow, really good answer!!
Mark E. Haase
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-17T14:55:00.647Z
2011-12-17T14:55:00.647Z
Yi Jiang 易江
<p>Recently I've asked <em>"<a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/242/how-do-we-choose-the-correct-characters-for-a-westerner-name">How do we choose the correct characters for a westerner name?</a>"</em>, and now, I'm facing a similar, yet kind of different problem, which I think applies to any westerner or Chinese student at a beginner level. </p>

<p>There are two exercises that ask to translate some sentences, which are not that hard, thanks to the glossary, but I've faced a small, nonetheless daunting difficulty, which is the translation of Chinese names.</p>

<p>When I have to translate a sentence like <em>"<strong>Mr. Hu/Huang/... is a lawyer</strong>"</em>, how do I know which character corresponds to that name? Are there any guidelines for selecting the right character (apart from asking the person directly)?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-16T19:38:03.107Z
That information is missed if characters are not provided. The family names can be found in [百家姓](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_Chinese_surnames).
Kabie
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-17T02:17:13.997Z
In general, if there is no way to go back and contact the person, and you don't have the correct characters, you can add `(音)` behind the name to indicate the name presented may not be accurate is only based on phonetics
Yi Jiang 易江
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-17T11:54:44.717Z
@YiJiang易江 That's very good to know!!! Thank you! You could post it as an answer as well. :)
Alenanno
<mandarin><translation><names><proper-nouns>
How do we know what characters correspond to Chinese names?
# How do we know what characters correspond to Chinese names?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2011-12-16)

Recently I've asked *"[How do we choose the correct characters for a westerner name?](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/242/how-do-we-choose-the-correct-characters-for-a-westerner-name)"*, and now, I'm facing a similar, yet kind of different problem, which I think applies to any westerner or Chinese student at a beginner level.

There are two exercises that ask to translate some sentences, which are not that hard, thanks to the glossary, but I've faced a small, nonetheless daunting difficulty, which is the translation of Chinese names.

When I have to translate a sentence like *"**Mr. Hu/Huang/... is a lawyer**"*, how do I know which character corresponds to that name? Are there any guidelines for selecting the right character (apart from asking the person directly)?

**Tags:** mandarin, translation, names, proper-nouns

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: That information is missed if characters are not provided. The family names can be found in [百家姓](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_Chinese_surnames).  
> **username_2**: In general, if there is no way to go back and contact the person, and you don't have the correct characters, you can add `(音)` behind the name to indicate the name presented may not be accurate is only based on phonetics  
> **username_0**: @username_2 That's very good to know!!! Thank you! You could post it as an answer as well. :)  

---

## 5 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2011-12-17. Score: 19 | Accepted answer

This is actually a common problem in newspapers and television in Singapore, where the original report may have been filed by a reporter who did not or cannot use Chinese. In these cases, the author simply chooses phonetically matching characters to fill in the name of the person, then add `(音)` or `(译音)` to indicate that the name shown is only a phonetic translation of the person's name and not the actual characters.

An example can be found in [this article](http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp111217_029.shtml) from the local newspaper 《联合早报》

> 被告谢国安（26岁，译音）共面对12项控状，包括四项冒充欺骗、两项麻醉物法令、三项偷窃，以及欺骗、失信和伤人罪状各一项。昨天他被判坐牢1年又10个月。

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you for the insight about the 译音. It's very good to know. I guess there's no way to know but to ask or guess. :)  
> **username_9**: Sorry for the off-topic, but in addition to Hanzi is Chinese (mandarin or other) used in Singapore?  
> **username_10**: Wow, really good answer!!  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2011-12-16. Score: 6

To elaborate on username_1's comments:

In general, the answer is that you never know for sure what is the right translation without further information but only a Pinyin of the name.

However, the clue for guessing the right family names comes from experience in real life for native speakers. E.g. `Li` is highly probably to be `李`, `Wang` for `王`, `Zhang` for `张`, `Liu` for 刘, etc. Because you gradually gain this knowledge when you meet people around you who have different family names.

This can be a difficult task for foreigners, so as mentioned by username_1, the 百家姓 is a great source for you to learn the statistics and major family names.

In the [English wiki page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_Chinese_surnames), I did not find a statistics, but found in the [Chinese wiki page](http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%99%BE%E5%AE%B6%E5%A7%93). As shown, the top 10 (full list in the page) family names in Mainland China are:

in form of `Rank. Family name Population(million)`

> 01.王(Wang) 92
>
> 02.李(Li)90
>
> 03.张(Zhang)85
>
> 04.刘(Liu)67
>
> 05.陈(Chen)58
>
> 06.杨(Yang)40
>
> 07.黄(Huang)31
>
> 08.孙(Sun)26
>
> 09.周(Zhou)25
>
> 10.吴(Wu)24

This will help to get the clue.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2011-12-16. Score: 5

Usually people ask. Like people asking if a person's name is spelled a certain way, most Chinese people ask if it is a certain character. E.g., Your surname is 'Li'? Is that 'Li/李' as in plum (`李子`) or 'Li/理' as in reason (`理由`) ?

There are [commonly used names](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_Chinese_surnames), but it's usually better to ask if you don't know. For exercises, the picking the actual character is arbitrary. As long as it sounds right it should be fine.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I'm not asking how to locate a name in a speech, but rather how to translate a name written in pinyin, considering we don't know the character.  
> **username_4**: My bad, usually people ask. Like people asking if a person's name is spelled a certain way, most Chinese people ask is it is a certain character. E.g., Your surname is 'Li'? Is that 'Li' as in plum (`李`) or 'Li' as in reason (`理`) ?  
> **username_0**: Don't worry. I think you should edit your answer, sometimes they get down-voted when they don't answer the question. :)  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2011-12-17. Score: 3

You clarified your question in a comment that your starting point is the Pinyin. I'm not sure why this would ever be a starting point in real life for a Chinese name, but the analogous situation in spoken Chinese is quite common. There is no *general* solution, of course, since syllables as pronounced do not map to unique characters. So if you don't know you have to ask or guess. For family names, of course, the 百家姓 is the best reference, and provides an educated guess. For given names it's very common to refer, when introducing a name, to external uses that specify the character. My daughter, for example, is named Nora. Her Chinese given name is 南蕊. She can introduce herself in Chinese by saying 我叫南蕊，南京的南，花蕊的蕊. This is unambiguous so long as someone knows the external reference.

In your exercise with Huang and Hu, you should just pick the most commonly used surnames for each.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: In real life it happens in spoken Chinese or, as in my case, where a grammar exercise just gives you the pinyin.  
> **username_6**: It also happens in real life when you watch CCTV 9 and the speakers names are given only in (toneless) pinyin.  
> **username_7**: Google led me here.  I am a (mathematics) professor in the US with many native-born Chinese students, studying Chinese for fun.  I get emails from Chinese students and I would like to respond with a few sentences in Chinese.  But the From: line of the email only gives an untoned Western form of the name.  It sounds like the best advice is (a) guess or (b) ask.  
> **username_5**: @username_7 yes, and I would recommend asking before guessing. It's common to ask even in Chinese when introduced orally.  

---

### Answer by username_8 on 2012-01-10. Score: 2

The other posters have already answered the meat of the question: in most cases, there isn't a way to tell except by asking.

As GTK mentions, one way of solving this ambiguity is to reference another use for the character. Another common strategy that hasn't been mentioned yet, though, is to describe the character by *radical*. (This is true not only of proper names, but of all character questions in general.) For this reason, it's useful to know the colloquial names for common radicals.

For instance, the radical 氵, which appears on the left side of many water-related words, comes from the character 水 (shǔi, "water"). As such, this radical is called "三点水" (sāndiǎnshǔi, "three dots of water"). Someone trying to describe the character 鸿 (hóng, a common character in boy's names) might call it "三点水的鸿" ("the hóng with the water radical").

[This document](http://www.albany.edu/eas/205/205%20radicals%20of%20chinese%20characters.pdf) (pdf) lists several common radicals and their colloquial names; if you can read Chinese, the Chinese wikipedia's [page on radicals](http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh/%E9%83%A8%E9%A6%96) has a more complete list.


---

