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Expert Chinese Translation of those all Important Names in Chinese and Your Name Card

You see names are fraught with complex cultural, historical and language issues. If you don’t have a Chinese name, your colleagues in China won't know what to call you or how to pronounce your name and they will feel uncomfortable.  As you’ve already read, a well constructed and translated Chinese business card will overcome all those gaps and questions. A poorly translated name or title can put you back on the next boat.

Put yourself in their shoes, to be presented with a card in Chinese characters only.  Which way is up? What am I going to call him? What is his title? Who is the most senior? Help!

How to translate Western names

Despite the misconception that many Chinese speak English, a Western name will not be accepted, even Microsoft and Google have Chinese names.  The Chinese name will be the only one they remember and it is written in Chinese characters.  Remember: names are not easy to translate and easy to get wrong!

Chinese laws require foreign companies registered in China to have an official Chinese name.

The name – whether it be a business or personal name or a brand should have a good meaning and needs to connect with the product or services’ qualities, like AMP Insurance (安保 anbao), meaning safe and secure.  Most Chinese characters have more than one meaning and when combined more different meanings arise. An experienced translator will take care to ensure that there are no implied or negative meanings.

Cultural issues also impinge on business card translations. For example, choice of colour – the colour red should be avoided in personal names, for example, because of their association with death. Also, the number of characters may need to be balanced in a phrase or slogan or aesthetically, for example Chinese uses a lot of couplets and 4-character phrases. Use a professional translation company to advise on cultural issues in your target market.

Business Card Layout

The standard method for presenting bilingual cards is to use a double-sided card – English on one side and Chinese on the other.  Other possibilities include Chinese and English on the one side or even a bilingual double-sided card.  Cards should usually contain translations of all names – business names and the individual's name.

The general principles for preparing a double-sided card are: logos (if available) should appear on both sides of the card; if the English logo incorporates the business name it should not be changed, but any company names within the logo should appear on the card on a separate line in Chinese, we recommend above the address information and below the individual's name and title.  If colours are used on the English side of the card, these should also be used on the Chinese side – everything should be the same (shows respect). A person's qualifications and other positions held, if relevant, can appear on the card – this element will depend on company policy but it is a good idea to include higher qualifications if possible. A single bachelor degree is normally omitted, because this would be expected. Numbers should be rendered in Roman form; contact information should be translated, eg the words for phone, fax, mobile, email; don't forget the country phone code too, however the address details ought to remain in English in order for any mail sent to the address to be received. We often see business card addresses translated for streets and suburbs in Australia – how would the post office interpret these?  There is no set translation for Australian streets and suburbs.  The only exception to this is that the country name should be translated at the end of the address.

The card layout should mirror the English side – most translators can use electronic artwork, for example a pdf, and create the Chinese version so that all the information is in the correct position, applying appropriate fonts so that the finished Chinese side looks the same as the English card.

Organise the translation and printing well in advance prior to departure to ensure accurate translation and quality printing. Use a qualified, accredited translator and certainly one who can provide a suitable electronic file format to your designer/printer.  As you have read above, names are complex and their translation highly skilled, so select a native speaker of the target language who has experience creating and translating names and can advise you. You should also learn the pronunciation of your name, and its meaning, if applicable.

Never run out of cards – prepare more than you think you could possibly use. Keep them in a special case somewhere safe – not in your back pocket – always have them close at hand when you are meeting people. The cards can be used for Chinese visitors in Australia too.

Titles

Titles are the other exacting and vital piece of information required by the Chinese.  We like to understand the hierarchy before creating titles. Chinese titles are littered with presidents, vice-presidents, directors, vice-directors, general managers and deputy managers.  Titles are important and in the West, where strange titles are sometimes popular, such as Deputy Vice-Chancellor or Company Secretary, Head, Coordinator (might be very senior) and Town Clerk (old fashioned) all have been mis-translated into very junior positions in cards we’ve seen.

Titles are not just a problem for Chinese:

Where names went wrong

The translation of business names is very specialised and takes time and skill, testing and research. Companies can spend a fortune and not get it right.

It took Coca-Cola many years to come up with a marvellous translation of its trademark 'kekoukele' (delicious and happy). An earlier rendition of the combination of sounds (there were 200 options which closely matched the pronunciation) meant 'bite the wax tadpole'; you have probably heard that Pepsi's slogan: Come alive with the Pepsi generation became 'Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave' in Chinese. KFC’s ‘finger-lickin’ became ‘eat your fingers off’ in Chinese. Other companies have spent millions of dollars trying to arrive at a suitable translated name, brand or slogan.

There are many disasters: there was a pen that wouldn't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant, and an airline which wanted to say ‘Fly in leather’ (seats) but somehow the Spanish became ‘Fly Naked’, A General Motors car in Latin America the name of which in Spanish meant 'it doesn’t go'! Read more and get a Bonus Free download - Business Card Check Up – an mp3 file that recaps the important points about Chinese business cards

Where Chinese tattoos went wrong

The selection of chinese symbols for tattoos in Chinese also make for some hilarious copy.  The bloke who wanted his footy premiership winning team and instead got "left arm", "right arm", the chap whose name became "Coca Cola", and another beauty: "This is an ugly boy". Whether you are after the right chinese name, or a tattoo chinese symbols, or characters, must be carefully chosen. To read more of thesee rippers, see our Chinese translation bloopers.

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