# Your Chinese Name: How Chinese Names Work, Choose Yours and Say It You build a Chinese name from a surname close to yours, like 史 for Smith, and learn when to ask 您贵姓 and say 王老师. For learners starting from zero, with every line on the free audio. Source: https://www.saymei.app/resources/downloads/choose-your-chinese-name ## At a glance - Level: Total beginner · HSK 1 - Format: Workbook · PDF · 17 pages · US Letter (prints on A4) - Price: Free · free with a saymei account · updated Nov 4, 2026 ## Download Free with a SayMei account, on the workbook's page: https://www.saymei.app/resources/downloads/choose-your-chinese-name. SayMei emails a copy too. ## A line from the workbook 我的中文名字叫史大卫。 (Wǒ de Zhōngwén míngzi jiào Shǐ Dàwèi.) — My Chinese name is Shi Dawei. ## By the end you can - Read a Chinese name and tell the surname from the given name. The surname comes first, it is usually one character, the given name is one or two, and there is no middle name. Some surnames, like 欧阳, take two characters. 林是姓，浩是名。 (Lín shì xìng, Hào shì míng.): Lin is the surname; Hao is the given name. - Say the ten commonest surnames and spell them by their parts. Many surnames sound alike, so people spell them aloud by their parts: 木子李, 弓长张, 耳东陈. The book gives all ten, with the English spellings you'll meet, like Wong and Chan. 我姓李，木子李。 (Wǒ xìng Lǐ, mù zǐ Lǐ.): My surname is Li, the "wood + child" Li. - Ask for a name politely and give your own. Ask 您贵姓？ to someone older, senior or new to you, and 你叫什么名字？ to people your age. 贵 is only for the other person's surname, so answer 我姓王, never 我贵姓王. 您贵姓？ (Nín guìxìng?): What is your surname? (polite) - Choose a Chinese name of your own. Take a real Chinese surname close to yours (Smith → 史, Miller → 米, Lee → 李), then two given characters that sound a little like your name and mean something good. 我的中文名字叫史大卫。 (Wǒ de Zhōngwén míngzi jiào Shǐ Dàwèi.): My Chinese name is Shi Dawei. - Pick good characters and check your name for traps. Choose from twenty well-loved name characters such as 明, 安 and 乐, then check for a bad meaning, a joke sound (杜子腾 sounds like 肚子疼, "stomachache") or a famous person's name. 这个名字是什么意思？ (Zhège míngzi shì shénme yìsi?): What does this name mean? - Say Chinese names right. Get the pinyin letters English speakers trip on: x is a thin "sh", q is a "ch", zh is close to "j" and c is the "ts" in cats. Tones count too: 王 Wáng and 汪 Wāng are different surnames. 曹欣 (Cáo Xīn): Cao Xin (c is the "ts" in cats; x is a thin "sh") - Know what to call teachers, bosses and colleagues. Surname + title is the safe default: 王老师, 王总, 王先生, 王女士. Use 老 + surname for an older colleague you know well and 小 + surname for a younger one. 老王，早！ (Lǎo Wáng, zǎo!): Morning, Wang! - Introduce yourself with your Chinese name and say what to call you. At the review meetup, give your name, spell your surname by a word that has it, like 历史的史, and tell people the short name to use. 我叫陈小雨，耳东陈。叫我小雨就行。 (Wǒ jiào Chén Xiǎoyǔ, ěr dōng Chén. Jiào wǒ Xiǎoyǔ jiù xíng.): I'm Chen Xiaoyu, "ear + east" Chen. Just call me Xiaoyu. ## What's inside - How Names Work: Surname First: How Names Are Built · The Ten Commonest Surnames - Ask and Say: Learn: Ask for a Name, Give Yours · Practice: Ask, Answer and Spell Names - Choose Your Name: Learn: Sound or Meaning? Choose a Name · Characters: Twenty Well-Loved Name Characters · Practice: Check for Traps, Then Choose - Say Names Right: Learn: Say Chinese Names Right · Practice: Listen and Say Their Names - What to Call People: Learn: What People Really Call Each Other · Practice: Choose the Right Form of Address - Review: Names at a Language Meetup ## How to use this book Five chapters in order, then a review. Play each line on the free audio, pause and say it back before you read the pinyin. Write in pencil. At a chapter every two days, you'll have your Chinese name in about two weeks. - Days 1–2: How names work. Pages 3 and 4. Read names surname first, then say the ten commonest surnames and the way each is spelled aloud. - Days 3–4: Ask and give names. Pages 5 and 6. Practise 您贵姓？ and 你叫什么名字？, answer with 我姓…, and spell surnames by their parts with the listening on the audio. - Days 5–7: Choose your name. Pages 7 to 9. Pick a surname close to yours and two characters from page 8, check them for traps, then ask a Chinese speaker 这个名字是什么意思？ - Days 8–9: Say names right. Pages 10 and 11. Work on x, q, zh, c and ü, listen for colleagues' names, and ask 您的名字怎么读？ before you guess. - Days 10–11: What to call people. Pages 12 and 13. Choose between 王老师, 王总, 老王 and 小王, and fix greetings that don't fit the person. - Day 12: The meetup. Page 14. Play the meetup dialogue, then introduce yourself with your new name. Check your answers with the key and audio script at the back. ## Who it's for Adult beginners who want a good Chinese name of their own, and anyone who needs to read, say and use Chinese names correctly with colleagues, teachers, classmates or friends. Before you start: Nothing. Every line has characters, pinyin and English, and the free audio reads each one with a pause to say it back. The answer key and the audio script are at the back. ## Should my Chinese name follow the sound of my name or a meaning? Most learners do both: a real Chinese surname close to theirs plus two given characters that sound a little like their name and mean something good. Ann Miller becomes 米安宁: 米 for Miller, 安 for Ann, and 安宁 means "calm". A three-character name like this sounds like a real Chinese name. ## How do I avoid a Chinese name that sounds wrong? Page 9 shows the three traps: a bad meaning (史笨, where 笨 means "stupid"), a joke sound (杜子腾 sounds like 肚子疼, "stomachache") and a famous person's name (李白, the poet). Choose characters your friends can read and type, and ask a Chinese speaker what your name means before you use it. ## How do I know which part of a Chinese name is the surname? In Chinese the surname comes first: 林浩 is Lin + Hao. In English many people write the Western way (Hao Lin) or put the surname in capitals (LIN Hao). If you can't tell, ask 您贵姓？ ## What else does the book cover? How to ask for a name with 您贵姓？ or 你叫什么名字？, the ten commonest surnames and how they're spelled aloud by their parts, like 弓长张, the pinyin letters English speakers trip on, and what to call teachers, bosses and colleagues, from 王老师 to 小王. ## How long does it take? About two weeks at a chapter every two days. Play each line on the free audio, say it back before you read the pinyin, and finish at the language meetup on page 14 by introducing yourself with your new name. The key and the audio script are at the back. ## What if I want more surnames? This book gives the ten commonest, with the English spellings you'll meet, like Wong and Chan. Chinese Surnames Chart lists the 100 most common Chinese family names. ## Do I need a SayMei account? Yes, to download the PDF, and the account is free: sign up with Google, Apple or your email address. With it we email you a copy of the workbook, keep every workbook you download on your account on all your devices, save your place in the free online practice, and you can practise speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's AI tutor. ## How do I print it? The PDF is US Letter size. On A4 paper, choose "Fit to page" (or "Scale to fit") in the print dialog so nothing is cut off. Print the whole workbook or only the pages you need; colour looks best, and black and white works too. Version 2026-11, updated Nov 4, 2026.