音译 is a tool
When Xinhua transliteration is correct
《世界人名翻译大辞典》 / Names of the World’s Peoples is how a newscaster says John. It is not how you become a person in Chinese. The engine is excellent at its job. It is not a naming studio.
Cite the authority — then draw the line
nametochinese.com’s 外文人名音译总则 is a clear public restatement of Xinhua practice: 名从主人, 约定俗成, 音似为主. Cut syllables. Use the 译音用字表. Put a full-width 间隔号 · between Western name parts. Keep Western order (名·姓), do not flip it to 姓-first. Michael in English is 迈克尔; in German, 米夏埃尔. That is how you file a foreigner in copy.
Those rules are correct for news, passports, subtitles, and academic footnotes. They become an identity mistake the moment someone pastes the output onto WeChat, a business card, or a classroom “Chinese name.” A native personal name is 姓 + 名, two or three characters, no middle dot. Native vs transliteration is the grammar. Funny Chinese names foreigners actually got is what happens when the table leaks into real life.
Source: 外文人名音译总则：外国人名怎么翻译成中文（原则·用字·间隔号） — nametochinese.com naming-rules
English names, news 音译, why they fail as identity names, and sourced native-style counterparts
- English
- John
- News 音译
- 约翰
- Why it fails as an identity name
- Two foreign syllables, no 百家姓. The table row for John.
- Native-style (famous page only)
- 费正清 · 潘吉
- English
- Kevin
- News 音译
- 凯文
- Why it fails as an identity name
- Textbook Kevin. Natives hear the English name written in Chinese.
- Native-style (famous page only)
- 陆克文
- English
- Sarah
- News 音译
- 莎拉
- Why it fails as an identity name
- Near-homophone of 沙拉, salad. Still no surname.
- Native-style (famous page only)
- — (no Sarah on the famous table; we will not mint one)
- English
- Olivia
- News 音译
- 奥利维亚
- Why it fails as an identity name
- Four graphs, no 姓. Class-vote 奥丽维娅 is the same length problem.
- Native-style (famous page only)
- — (not on the famous table; not a fake 李雅琴)
- English
- Michael
- News 音译
- 迈克尔
- Why it fails as an identity name
- nametochinese: English Michael → 迈克尔. Three graphs, no 姓, 尔 as the tell.
- Native-style (famous page only)
- — (not on the famous table; we will not invent a student)
- English
- Rosamund Pike
- News 音译
- 罗莎曼德·派克
- Why it fails as an identity name
- 间隔号. Filing a foreigner, not introducing a person.
- Native-style (famous page only)
- 裴淳华
- English
- Mark Rowswell
- News 音译
- 马克·罗斯维尔
- Why it fails as an identity name
- Dotted paperwork form. He lets offices use it and does not wear it.
- Native-style (famous page only)
- 大山 (stage name; sourced exception, no 姓)
- English
- Chris Patten
- News 音译
- 柏滕
- Why it fails as an identity name
- Earlier official transliteration. Sounds like a file, not a 姓名.
- Native-style (famous page only)
- 彭定康
- English
- David Wilson
- News 音译
- 魏德巍
- Why it fails as an identity name
- Ghost radicals, unlucky puns — 音译 characters read as meaning.
- Native-style (famous page only)
- 卫奕信
| English | News 音译 | Why it fails as an identity name | Native-style (famous page only) |
|---|---|---|---|
| John | 约翰 | Two foreign syllables, no 百家姓. The table row for John. | 费正清 · 潘吉 |
| Kevin | 凯文 | Textbook Kevin. Natives hear the English name written in Chinese. | 陆克文 |
| Sarah | 莎拉 | Near-homophone of 沙拉, salad. Still no surname. | — (no Sarah on the famous table; we will not mint one) |
| Olivia | 奥利维亚 | Four graphs, no 姓. Class-vote 奥丽维娅 is the same length problem. | — (not on the famous table; not a fake 李雅琴) |
| Michael | 迈克尔 | nametochinese: English Michael → 迈克尔. Three graphs, no 姓, 尔 as the tell. | — (not on the famous table; we will not invent a student) |
| Rosamund Pike | 罗莎曼德·派克 | 间隔号. Filing a foreigner, not introducing a person. | 裴淳华 |
| Mark Rowswell | 马克·罗斯维尔 | Dotted paperwork form. He lets offices use it and does not wear it. | 大山 (stage name; sourced exception, no 姓) |
| Chris Patten | 柏滕 | Earlier official transliteration. Sounds like a file, not a 姓名. | 彭定康 |
| David Wilson | 魏德巍 | Ghost radicals, unlucky puns — 音译 characters read as meaning. | 卫奕信 |
Native-style column is only names already sourced on famous foreigners’ Chinese names. Empty cells stay empty. We do not fill them with a costume 李雅琴.
Correct uses of 音译
- A news desk spelling Barack, Olivia, or Smith aloud.
- A visa form that needs a Chinese rendering of a passport.
- Subtitles and encyclopedias that must match last night’s broadcast.
Identity mistakes
- WeChat / LinkedIn “中文名” set to 约翰 or 迈克尔.
- Business cards with 间隔号 pretending to be 姓名.
- Week-one Mandarin class: thirty Johns become 约翰.
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