Learn Chinese: culture of Unit 3

The Unit 3 dialogue features a schoolgirl, 月月 Yuèyue, and a teacher, 李明 Lǐ Míng. It shows how you address a teacher in China, how Chinese names are built, and what a given name says about the culture that chose it.

1. How to greet your teacher in China

In the dialogue, 月月 Yuèyue addresses the other person like this: 你是李明老师吗？ Nǐ shì Lǐ Míng lǎoshī ma?: "Are you Teacher Li Ming?"

You never address a Chinese teacher by their given name alone. The standard form is family name + 老师 lǎoshī. Li Ming will therefore be 李老师 Lǐ lǎoshī, "Teacher Li".

The word 老师 lǎoshī reaches far beyond the school. It works as a mark of respect towards anyone with recognized skill or experience: a craftsman, an artist, a lecturer. People started calling me that on my very first stays in China, and it took me a while to understand that it was less a job than a courtesy.

In Unit 2 we saw the titles 先生 xiānsheng (Mr.) and 女士 nǚshì (Ms.), kept for formal contexts. 老师 follows the same mechanism: family name, then title. Never the other way round.

2. How family names and given names are built in China

English says "John Smith", given name first, family name second. Chinese does the opposite, every time: the family name (姓 xìng) comes before the given name (名 míng).

That order says something: the collective, the family, the clan, comes before the individual. When you introduce yourself, you state where you belong first, and yourself second.

Chinese family names almost always fit into a single character. The most widespread are 王 Wáng, 李 Lǐ, 张 Zhāng, 刘 Liú and 陈 Chén. Between them, these five are borne by several hundred million people.

Given names, for their part, have one or two characters. A single-character given name such as 明 Míng gives a full name of two syllables (李明). A two-character given name such as 小明 Xiǎomíng gives three (李小明).

3. How Chinese people choose given names

In the West, a given name is often chosen because it sounds nice, or in tribute to someone. In China, the choice is far more considered, since every character carries a meaning.

The given name 明 Míng, for instance, brings together 日 rì (the sun) and 月 yuè (the moon) ⟶ bright, luminous, clear. A parent who names their child this way is wishing them a bright future and a keen mind.

The given name 月月 Yuèyue, that of the schoolgirl in the dialogue, repeats the character 月 yuè (the moon). That repetition, the 叠名 diémíng, produces an affectionate, singsong effect, very frequent in female given names and in nicknames.

A few recurring themes:

  • nature: 雪 xuě (snow), 海 hǎi (sea), 林 lín (forest);
  • virtues: 德 dé (virtue), 信 xìn (trust), 义 yì (righteousness);
  • aspirations: 强 qiáng (strong), 志 zhì (ambition), 飞 fēi (to fly);
  • beauty: 美 měi (beauty), 丽 lì (elegance), 花 huā (flower).

Some families go as far as consulting a master of 八字 bāzì, the "eight characters" of the Chinese horoscope, so that the characters of the given name balance the five elements (五行 wǔxíng: metal, wood, water, fire, earth) according to the date and time of birth. I could not tell you how widespread the practice still is today: it seems a great deal more alive in the countryside than in Shanghai.

4. Can you call a Chinese person by their given name?

In English-speaking countries, moving to first names is ordinary, often from the very first handshake. In China, it is more delicate.

Among close friends or within the family, the given name is used, often in an affectionate form: the repetition of a syllable (明明 Míngmíng) or the prefix 小 xiǎo ("little") before the family name or the given name (小李 Xiǎo Lǐ, 小明 Xiǎo Míng).

In a formal or professional setting, you use the full name, or the form family name + title: 李老师 Lǐ lǎoshī, 王先生 Wáng xiānsheng, 张女士 Zhāng nǚshì.

For older people, you can put the prefix 老 lǎo ("old", in the respectful sense) before the family name: 老李 Lǎo Lǐ, 老王 Lǎo Wáng. Nothing pejorative about it: this 老 marks esteem and closeness.

5. How to translate your given name into Chinese

Once you arrive in China, you quickly want a Chinese name of your own. Two approaches are open to you.

Phonetic transcription picks characters whose pronunciation comes close to the original name. "Mary" becomes 玛丽 Mǎlì, "John" becomes 约翰 Yuēhàn. The name stays recognizable by ear. On the other hand, the characters chosen do not always have a coherent meaning, and sometimes no meaning at all.

A Chinese given name in its own right picks the characters for their meaning, exactly as Chinese parents do. Combined with an adopted Chinese family name, often close to your own by ear, it gives a name that holds together. This is the approach Chinese people appreciate most, because it shows you have taken a step towards them. My own name, 李天翔 Lǐ Tiānxiáng, has nothing phonetic about it: it was chosen for what it says.

Whichever approach you choose, the rule does not budge: in Chinese, the family name comes first. If your family name is Duncan and your Chinese given name is 明 Míng, you will be 杜明 Dù Míng, and not "Ming Du".